Early reaction to Firefox 4.0.x -- I can feel the speed
While Firefox 4.0 is no faster than the Google Chrome web browser, 4.0 is certainly faster than Firefox(es) 3.5 and 3.6, all of which I've run extensively on both the Linux and Windows platforms.
And while there's a lot to like about Chrome/Chromium (I run the one in Windows, the other in Linux -- currently Debian Squeeze, if you want to know), I lean toward Firefox/Iceweasel because one of my key web-accessed applications not only prefers it but pretty much demands it. (It could be worse; the same app used to prefer Internet Explorer and begrudgingly work in Opera).
Whether you call it irony or just business as usual, I've had trouble with both Firefox and Chrome in the recent past when it comes to stability.
I haven't yet checked to see whether Firefox continues to be a resource hog, grabbing CPU and rarely letting go (just about any other browser is better in this metric). But 4.0 certainly feels snappier.
My main complaint with Firefox is that over the course of a long browsing session, the app can slow to a crawl, and you can't do anything having to do with Javascript, or even access the menu, until you kill the process and start anew.
I haven't logged enough all-day intense use of FF 4.0 to say whether or not this problem has been addressed/lessened/eliminated.
And while Chrome/Chromium is generally lighter on CPU (and willing to give up cycles when not being actively used), I've had more than a few crashes of the browser in both the Windows and Linux environments.
So yes, a less-resource-hogging Firefox that doesn't completely fall apart after a few/many hours is something I'd use more.
Later in the afternoon: The speed boost is more evident on my older XP box than on my newer Debian Squeeze laptop, but it's still there.
While Firefox 4.0 still seems to be greedy when it comes to CPU, it's still faster than before, and while it doesn't go as low at idle as Chromium, it's still manageable (especially if it stays fast).
I'll have to put in some longer days running both browsers before I can say more.
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while I like Firefox, they don't have support for the add-ons that I particularly enjoy (especially Forecastfox weather). When they get the support extended for these add-ons I may go back to them. Until that happens I will stay with Chromium and Opera. I am tending toward Opera because like you I have had some crashes with Chromium that make no sense.
PS it would be nice if captcha had the characters darker and the background lighter so I can at least read them.
Hi,
I've given up firefox for Chrome because of the speed difference - it was/is simply not comparable. Can you tell us if FF4 is close in speed to Chrome? Or just closer than it was? Can you estimate? Like, two thirds up the way between 3.6 and chrome?
Side note. I tried to "Sign in to comment", but I have become too lazy. The OpenID/Yahoo Id and stuff didn't quite work (for me), so I've given up. Make it easier to get more people to sign in...
Sorry about the comments. Movable Type is a bit creaky in that department. OpenID/Yahoo is the worst, unfortunately. Occasionally works, usually doesn't.
It looks like you did an anonymous comment, and that always works.
I'd say Firefox is a whole lot closer to Chrome in terms of speed. You don't notice the differences as much, although Chrome still seems a bit faster.
The improvement in Firefox is more noticeably on my old XP box (Celeron 3 GHz, 1 GB RAM) than on this Debian Squeeze-running laptop (AMD Athlon II 2.1 GHz dual-core, 3 GB RAM).
I have a major web-accessed application that doesn't work very well in Chrome, and for web development I need to run FF and even IE more than you'd think. If you want pain, run IE 8 on an older XP installation.
IE 8 isn't so bad on my newer laptop, but it's torture on the 5-year-old Dell Optiplex GX520.
What I'm really looking for from Firefox is a more robust application that doesn't slow down appreciably over the course of a day and require a restart to bring it back.
I've also had stability problems with Chrome in Windows. It can quit when you least expect it. At least Firefox has a gradual decline.
Hopefully the new Javascript engine and other improvements (memory management??) will make the intense use of Firefox more pleasant.
i wouild ahve to say firefox 4.0 is ugley i will now be using internet explorer and it dosnt suport my norton which shows what websites are badwere the tabs are is like to top of the screen were you cant even see it i hate 4.0 i dont care less about speed looks and saftey are more important