Firebird VS Opera

[neoufo51]

Lets try to make this regardless of fact that Opera is a retail browser and Firebird is completely free.

Considering that Firebird is still in pre-1.0 status and Opera is at a healthty 7.X, which do you prefer as your default browser?

[Dessimat0r]

Here is some new config thing on about:config

Set browser.turbo to True (False by default)... Speeds things up slightly for me on Mozilla Firebird.

[uniacidz]

Oh well, i could just make a batch file that will clear the cache upon boot and/or set the cache as a reasonable level.

Thanks for your help again.

[caerma]

Opera here, btw how to avoid the dots that appear when you click over a text link in firebird?

[CrimsonBlur]

I would rather use Firebird instead of Opera, but Firebird (because it's still beta) crashes a lot on my machine. When I open a lot of tabbed windows, it usually crashes after a while. Opera has never crashed on me like that, and it's almost as fast, but I've noticed Firebird does display pages more quickly, but I'm talking like fractions of a second, because just about every browser loads pages instantly with my broadband connection. Sometimes images load slower with Opera and IE than with Firebird. I find the best browser for my needs, however, to be Avant Browser. The tabbed interface in Avant is by far the most effecient. Even in Opera, it is noticable there is a limit to how many tabs you can have open before things start bogging down. Avant never bogs down on me at all. Firebird also bogs down A LOT when I have a bunch of tabs open. I'm sure Firebird will be superior to both browsers once it has matured, but right now, in this case, I think Opera is more stable and so I end up using it more often, but my preferred default browser is Avant.

[HellBender]

OK got another question

Using Firebird, how do i clear the cache when the browser closes like in IE?

Ye si have tried searching.

http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&lr=&ie=...mozillazine.org

There's an extension to do that. I forgot the name, but check the extensions page.. I'm 100% sure there's one.

[NeoMasamune]

I like Opera better than Firebird. Don't get me wrong, I love Firebird but it just needs a few more things before it becomes the browser of choice for me. Although Firebird feels more responsive and faster, Opera is indeed more customizable and it has my favorite feature: start from last session! Not only that, but in Opera you can move your tabs around in the order that you want. You can't do that in Firebird yet.

All in all, Firebird is a great browser, but Opera is better (right now) :happy:

[Redmak Administrators]

Not only that, but in Opera you can move your tabs around in the order that you want.

The Fb tab browser extension can do that. Firebird is useless without it tbh :)

[neoufo51]

I would rather use Firebird instead of Opera, but Firebird (because it's still beta) crashes a lot on my machine. When I open a lot of tabbed windows, it usually crashes after a while. Opera has never crashed on me like that, and it's almost as fast, but I've noticed Firebird does display pages more quickly, but I'm talking like fractions of a second, because just about every browser loads pages instantly with my broadband connection. Sometimes images load slower with Opera and IE than with Firebird. I find the best browser for my needs, however, to be Avant Browser. The tabbed interface in Avant is by far the most effecient. Even in Opera, it is noticable there is a limit to how many tabs you can have open before things start bogging down. Avant never bogs down on me at all. Firebird also bogs down A LOT when I have a bunch of tabs open. I'm sure Firebird will be superior to both browsers once it has matured, but right now, in this case, I think Opera is more stable and so I end up using it more often, but my preferred default browser is Avant.

No offense or anything, dude, but Avant Browser is an IE shell. It basically a sort of front end for IE which adds Opera and Firebird type functionality but it is still IE.

Says on your profile you're a web dev, so I'm almost sure you know this, but in case anybody sees your post, I just want to make clear that "browsers" like Avant Browser and MyIE2 are just shells for IE, meaning its not "another browser" that you are using. I prefer Firebird so I am not restricted to using the IE engine, which isnt really standards compliant to begin with. Soon as it hits 1.0 and matures further, its going to be what Safari is for the Mac, a powerhouse and a direct competitor to Internet Explorer.

[neoufo51]

The Fb tab browser extension can do that. Firebird is useless without it tbh :)

Agreed, TBE features are awesome. In fact, the major ones are being considered for a post 1.0 release.

[CrimsonBlur]

No offense or anything, dude, but Avant Browser is an IE shell. It basically a sort of front end for IE which adds Opera and Firebird type functionality but it is still IE.

Says on your profile you're a web dev, so I'm almost sure you know this, but in case anybody sees your post, I just want to make clear that "browsers" like Avant Browser and MyIE2 are just shells for IE, meaning its not "another browser" that you are using. I prefer Firebird so I am not restricted to using the IE engine, which isnt really standards compliant to begin with. Soon as it hits 1.0 and matures further, its going to be what Safari is for the Mac, a powerhouse and a direct competitor to Internet Explorer.

Yes, I know Avant uses the IE engine to display pages. I prefer the IE engine to Opera's, and I prefer the Mozilla engine over IE, but I really don't like using the Mozilla suite, and Firebird crashes a lot right now and for me renders it useless compared to browsers that do not crash. I like the IE engine, but MS has fallen behind on the tabbed browsing and popup blocking and things of that nature, so I use Avant. At least you didn't assume I'm an idiot, and instead assumed I just knew that and didn't say it already; thanks for that :yes:

[Digital.K]

Ok ,lol, I think we all agree on at least one thing; Opera or Firebird is a thousand times better than IE and anything out there. Again as I stated, I use both in heavy rotation, because they are both very solid browsers. Oh, thanks to the person that posted the about:config turbo start thing for Firebird, it works!:)

[Rapier]

Can u tell me what firebird has that opera doesn't..Plz don tell me about pluginz..what can firebird do that opera cant..without any pluginz..

[neoufo51]

Well, standards compliance is one thing, Angel. Firebird displays pages better (and faster, least for me) on more occasions than Opera. I admit that Opera has more options, but the purpose of this thread was to find out what people like between the two and what they prefer to use, not whether the other one is better. Remember, while Firebird is awesome and running the superior Mozilla engine, its still an XUL based browser that is still very beta compared to Opera, so it will crash for some people on occasion and such. Till Firebird 1.0 hits, or actually, well beyond that, most likely Firebird 2.0, its really tough to make an option-by-option comparison between the two without being fair.

[cbosdell]

Can u tell me what firebird has that opera doesn't..Plz don tell me about pluginz..what can firebird do that opera cant..without any pluginz..

firstly they're called extensions. Seconly your comparing it without them is like saying "Please tell me what mail features Opera has without mentioning M2." You dont compare a browser with its main feature to make it imporved to another browser without using that feature in the first one. By Itself firebird isn't as good imo but with a good skin and some basic extenions it soars way past Opera.

[HellBender]

Indeed. Opera has no extensions/plugins, that's why its not going to go far. If you want a feature in Opera, you twiddle your thumbs and hope that the Opera team will implement it. If you want a feature in Firebird, you make your own extension and you have it.

Far greater power.

[neoufo51]

Agreed. Firebird is pretty much limitless.

And the devs are nicer too. :p

[neoufo51]

In case nobody has seen it...

Here's the new Firebird download manager in action!

[Redmak Administrators]

Can u tell me what firebird has that opera doesn't..Plz don tell me about pluginz..what can firebird do that opera cant..without any pluginz..

Firebird supports Ms Themes and is free (already mentioned that but still :p)

[mikulka]

In case nobody has seen it...

Here's the Opera download manager in action! :shifty:

[Riz360]

FIREBIRD ROCKS!

Ive tried both and firebird is the clear winner

And those that ppl disagree now

it just keeps getting better and better so eventually it will shut them up

[neoufo51]

Very sneaky, Mikulka...

Firebird is the clear winner by preference here and on any other site anyway.

[l0g0ut]

opera is my sweetheart.... but i still use firebird sometimes

i don't understand how some people say opera is bloated. opera installer without java is only 3+ megs while firebird zipped is about 6+ megs... when i run opera it takes about 20-30 megs RAM while firebird takes 30-40 megs with only 1 extension installed.

still i think firebird is a great browser.. it's my backup for sites that don't work well with opera

[Daybreak]

Besides the download size issue, Opera to me has many advantages over Firebird, enough for me to pay for it.

The point about extensions is moot, mainly because the major extensions that are primarily used in Firebird ( TBE, mouse gestures ) come with Opera, and because they are integrated, they don't break every time you update a major version.

[Rathamon]

Firebird , without a doubt , installed about 6 months ago and havent really looked back

BUT

Setting up Java/Flash plugins requires manual work in firebird (not really a problem for me but I can't imagine less experienced users liking it)

For those of you who make the point of firebird being pre-release at present bear in mind that the version number doesnt really tell you how stable it is , since its a non commercial application there's no real rush to slap a nice version number on it to bump up sales, it's also based on mozilla's gecko engine which is probably the most mature and stable in the business. It also has allot of ex-netscape development experience at its disposal and while you can say what you like about netscape/AOL there is allot of know-how available for the tapping

[Zerosignull]

TBE = Tabbed Browser Extention ? cause if iot does then ure wrong. it comes as standard