I am going to the dark side...

[NotChetHanks]

I am an IE fanboy, well not really. I won't fight anyone over it's "superiority" or anything, it's not that serious to me. But I love IE. I have used it ever since Windows 95. Tried Maxthon for a while because of the tabbed browsing, but went back to IE after they jumped on board. I am using Windows 7 and IE8 right now and love it.

Now that THAT is out the way...

I want to try Firefox.

^^I NEVER thought I would say that lol. The Firefox fanboys always turned me off to using the browser or even giving it a fair shot but I think it's time to stop ignoring it. So Neowin, I need your help once again. Besides downloading the program, where do I start? I know I can browse the net and find tons of reviews and plugins but I enjoy your responses more than some random ass blog site.

What plugins would you suggest? What is so damn cool about this browser that has everyone downloading it? Any feedback would be appreciated!

I look forward to your suggestions and trying them out. Also, why do you love/like Firefox?

Thanks!!

[Raa]

Good luck.

[NotChetHanks]

Good luck.

Thank you, and yes, you are awesome! (Y)

[clotz2000]

You should actually ditch Firefox for Chrome, I know, I know this is a flame war starting.... But, that being said I used Firefox because I hated IE and now I've switched to Chrome, it's so much better especially if you're on 7, no blue bar to look at :)

[spaceelf]

What's cool about Firefox? It works better than IE. It's faster than IE.

I dunno. I use Chrome.

[sundayx Veteran]

You've been missing out. Never look back.

[Hell-In-A-Handbasket]

recommend AdBlock, makes annoying sites not so annoying

also i like StumbledUpon, when bored brings you to some good stuff.

if you have more then one computer, there is also a Bookmark Sync as well as Gmail notifications

as far as the cool part, is the theme ability and addons i believe, but i stopped using Firefox for Safari

What plugins would you suggest? What is so damn cool about this browser that has everyone downloading it? Any feedback would be appreciated!

Thanks!!

[NotChetHanks]

You should actually ditch Firefox for Chrome, I know, I know this is a flame war starting.... But, that being said I used Firefox because I hated IE and now I've switched to Chrome, it's so much better especially if you're on 7, no blue bar to look at :)

Shoot, all remarks are welcome. Whats so special about chrome? I am just looking for a change so everything is welcome. I am willing to try anything. Im not closed minded at all.

**And please no flaming. It's not worth it. The bashing is not welcome in this thread***

You've been missing out. Never look back.

Yeah, I have been hearing that alot lol.

recommend AdBlock, makes annoying sites not so annoying

also i like StumbledUpon, when bored brings you to some good stuff.

if you have more then one computer, there is also a Bookmark Sync as well as Gmail notifications

Noted! I will take a look into those things.

[buckboii]

Try Opera after Firefox.

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

Plugin wise, I'd say Flash, Silverlight and the Adobe PDF reader.

For Extensions, I'd say Greasemonkey and Stylish, those are the only 2 real web modifying extensions I use.

[spaceelf]

http://www.betanews.com/article/Google-Chr...macy/1257011509

That's pretty much why we love Chrome. Firefox is better if you absolutely need custom plugins, but for those of us who tend to go with the base experience, Chrome is way faster.

[Shokus]

Welcome to firefox, which I use regularly. Personally I don't mind IE8, but my firefox is already customized to my wishes through the many years of using it, and extension support is fantastic, giving many new functions to the browser as compared to what IE8 offers by default.

Why I like firefox:

1. Extension support

2. Themable

3. Portable settings when I reformat my com, saving a lot of hair pulling and teeth gritting when reinstalling my browser

These 3 tie me to firefox despite the many advances IE8 made, therefore firefox is my default browser.

I'd suggest that you first install it to have a feel around the browser. Plain firefox is pretty... nondescript. There's not much more that you can do with plain firefox as compared to other browsers. Then, I'll invite you to this site to browse around for any add-ons you may be interested in! Some that I would recommend:

All-in-One Gestures

Install the 0.20.1 version at the near top of the page

Download Statusbar

FAYT (find as you type)

IETab

Tab Mix Plus

Of course there are many more, which you can have a look around. Remember to look around the theming section. Some are atrocious, but I'm sure you would be able to find one that suit your taste.

Finally your settings are saved in C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox . You can just back up this folder and replace it if and when you reinstall firefox or reformat your computer.

My current browser setup:

Edited November 7, 2009 by Shokus

[NotChetHanks]

Try Opera after Firefox.

I thought about doing that as well as Chrome.

Welcome to firefox, which I use regularly. Personally I don't mind IE8, but my firefox is already customized to my wishes through the many years of using it, and extension support is fantastic, giving many new functions to the browser as compared to what IE8 offers by default.

Why I like firefox:

1. Extension support

2. Themable

3. Portable settings when I reformat my com, saving a lot of hair pulling and teeth gritting when reinstalling my browser

These 3 tie me to firefox despite the many advances IE8 made, therefore firefox is my default browser.

I'd suggest that you first install it to have a feel around the browser. Plain firefox is pretty... nondescript. There's not much more that you can do with plain firefox as compared to other browsers. Then, I'll invite you to this site to browse around for any add-ons you may be interested in! Some that I would recommend:

All-in-One Gestures

Install the 0.20.1 version at the near top of the page

Download Statusbar

FAYT (find as you type)

IETab

Tab Mix Plus

Of course there are many more, which you can have a look around. Remember to look around the theming section. Some are atrocious, but I'm sure you would be able to find one that suit your taste.

Finally your settings are saved in C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox . You can just back up this folder and replace it if and when you reinstall firefox or reformat your computer.

My current browser setup:

Thanks for the in-depth post, it's appreciated. One of the things I dislike about IE8 is the fact I always have to customize it over and over again when I reformat. I just bought a new HDD and I have to face that issue again. Thanks for that.

[freeza]

:( i'm a firefox convert. here's my setup as well:

[thefonz]

I prefer Chrome under Win7. Firefox got too bloated so I uninstalled it.

[NotChetHanks]

:( i'm a firefox convert. here's my setup as well:

You don't look too happy lol.

[NotChetHanks]

:( i'm a firefox convert. here's my setup as well:

And I see you are a fan of Nip/Tuck! Great show. (Y)

[sammy2]

I don't like add ons - which is really bloat, Maxthon is the best browser ive used tho, but since Win7 ive been on IE8 but the minute maxthon 3 reaches a good stable version ill be going back to my baby.

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

You don't have to install extensions if you don't want, they're optional.

Same way Maxthon's extensions are optional.

[a1ien]

Dude, in the tech savvy world, using IE is the dark side. So you're leaving it, like Darth Vader before he dies or something.

[NotChetHanks]

It's 3am so I didnt think anyone is even still in this thread lol. Anyway, just finished tweaking FF and wow. I am trying to remember why I went without this for so damn long.

I don't like add ons - which is really bloat, Maxthon is the best browser ive used tho, but since Win7 ive been on IE8 but the minute maxthon 3 reaches a good stable version ill be going back to my baby.

Yeah I am not really a big fan of a ton of ad-ons. Adblock is cool and a few others but I think I settled on about 3 ad-ons.

You don't have to install extensions if you don't want, they're optional.

Same way Maxthon's extensions are optional.

Dude, in the tech savvy world, using IE is the dark side. So you're leaving it, like Darth Vader before he dies or something.

I see that now. I notice alot about FF that I am loving. I go to sites that I know have a ton of pop ups and they are all of a sudden gone. Better job than IE did. A few other websites omit the ads on the side which I like. Gives it a clean look.

[sammy2]

You don't have to install extensions if you don't want, they're optional.

Same way Maxthon's extensions are optional.

Remember maxthon comes with the best ad blocker pre-installed.

I find firefox sluggish once a few tab are loaded and I was spoiled with maxthon having 40 tabs open when i'm checking out pics etc. I couldn't dare do that with firefox.

[Andre S. Veteran]

Out of the box, the best web browser is Chrome, hands down. The UI is minimal and looks good, it's fastest in most benchmarks, and it's fully Acid3 compliant.

Firefox is unique in that it's designed as a platform for adding custom functionality. If you like to customize your web browser, Firefox is for you.

I'd rather just browse the web, so my personal choice is Chrome.

[M_Lyons10]

The add ons are definitely one of the best things about Firefox. Here are a couple of my favorites:

ForecastFox: http://forecastfox.mozdev.org/

* This allows you to easily view the weather information in your toolbar. It refreshes automatically, and allows you to have several different profiles should you travel or wish to check the weather for other locations.

Firefox Showcase: http://showcase.uworks.net/

* This allows you to easily see a thumbnail and manipulate all of your tabs in one window. REALLY helpful.

Personas for Firefox: http://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/

* This allows you to really easily change the appearance of Firefox without the use of clunky skins (Which can be slow). I like this a lot.

Search WP: http://legege.com/mozilla/

* This allows you to have words typed in the search box highlighted in the current page so that you can easily find them. There are several add ons that do this, but this one is by far the best I've tried.

Tabs Open Relative: http://jomel.me.uk/software/firefox/tabsopenrelative/

* Rather than open new tabs at the end of the tab list, this inserts the new tab right after the selected tab. It makes navigation easier, especially with a lot of tabs open.

TinyUrl Creator: http://mozmonkey.com/

* Easily create TinyUrl's from the current page.

Those are my favorites. I think you'll really be impressed with the customizeability of Firefox. You can have it do just about whatever you want really. That's why it's my browser of choice.

This is the main add ons page: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/ I listed the add on homepages above but most should be on there as well.

I hope that helps.

[NotChetHanks]

Out of the box, the best web browser is Chrome, hands down. The UI is minimal and looks good, it's fastest in most benchmarks, and it's fully Acid3 compliant.

Firefox is unique in that it's designed as a platform for adding custom functionality. If you like to customize your web browser, Firefox is for you.

I'd rather just browse the web, so my personal choice is Chrome.

How is the ad blocker on Chrome?

The add ons are definitely one of the best things about Firefox. Here are a couple of my favorites:

ForecastFox: http://forecastfox.mozdev.org/

* This allows you to easily view the weather information in your toolbar. It refreshes automatically, and allows you to have several different profiles should you travel or wish to check the weather for other locations.

Firefox Showcase: http://showcase.uworks.net/

* This allows you to easily see a thumbnail and manipulate all of your tabs in one window. REALLY helpful.

Personas for Firefox: http://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/

* This allows you to really easily change the appearance of Firefox without the use of clunky skins (Which can be slow). I like this a lot.

Search WP: http://legege.com/mozilla/

* This allows you to have words typed in the search box highlighted in the current page so that you can easily find them. There are several add ons that do this, but this one is by far the best I've tried.

Tabs Open Relative: http://jomel.me.uk/software/firefox/tabsopenrelative/

* Rather than open new tabs at the end of the tab list, this inserts the new tab right after the selected tab. It makes navigation easier, especially with a lot of tabs open.

TinyUrl Creator: http://mozmonkey.com/

* Easily create TinyUrl's from the current page.

Those are my favorites. I think you'll really be impressed with the customizeability of Firefox. You can have it do just about whatever you want really. That's why it's my browser of choice.

This is the main add ons page: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/ I listed the add on homepages above but most should be on there as well.

I hope that helps.

Wow, thanks soooo much for those links!