Ubuntu: Firefox 3 beta and unhappy users

by Sachin Posted on May 29, 2008

Prohibited

Beta software prohibited! (Photo obtained from here)

I was really disappointed over past few weeks about Ubuntu 8.04 release. The major reason of disappointment was Firefox 3 beta 4-5. The browser might be having lot of new things which are amazing, the performance might is improved for JavaScript execution but in reality, the overall performance of the browser wasn't that good. I was experiencing slow browsing speeds, sometimes the browser wouldn't respond and sometimes even crash.

Firefox 3 is still gaining popularity and there are tons of plug-ins which are still not compatible with it. My favorite plugins are no longer usable with Firefox 3 and that was a big drag for me. Firebug was one of them.  The main reason I feel very disappointed was Firefox 3 was in beta!

Ubuntu was simplifying Linux for all the users who don't want to touch command line for writing documents and browsing internet etc. They are doing a great job on that front too. Firefox 3 made me think is it going away from that goal by giving beta software distribution? I will urge Ubuntu community for not including any of the beta software in mainstream distribution for any reason. That might not only discourage non-technical users but also put wrong message on the table.

For those users who have similar problem, they can uninstall the Firefox 3 from synaptic package manager and install Firefox 2 browser instead. Happy browsing!

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  • http://ashlin.wordpress.com Ashish

    My FF 2 on windows crashes every now n then man but its still better than IE. BTW your ubuntu enthu is really getting big on me, ubuntu install is on the card for sure and i know where to look for if i get stuck working on Ubuntu ;)

  • Nate

    I’m not sure how the beta versions compared, but I’m using FF3RC1 and it beats FF2 performance-wise without a doubt. The new features are great (especially the tags against bookmarks — it has changed how I browse, again, much like tabs did back when they came out.)

    I’m still sorting through some of the plugin issues, but I got FireBug working by grabbing the latest milestone from getfirebug.com. Yes, yes. More beta software. It really works quite well, though. I’ve had as few (or possibly less!) problems with this version of FireBug as the last.

  • Glen

    Very disappointing that they thought it would be a good idea to include the beta firefox 3.

    Part of the user experience is making sure everything works. 6 months between releases isn’t a long time to do quality assurance. When you start throwing beta software into the mix it’s just asking for trouble.

  • http://www.kallisti.net.nz/blog Robin

    Ubuntu 8.04 is supported for something like 3 years on the desktop. In 3 years, FF2 is going to be outdated and possibly not getting any more security updates. You think that Ubuntu users that are running LTS should be stuck with an insecure browser for so long? Shipping FF2 as the default browser wouldn’t make sense in the long term. FF3-RC1 is coming to Ubuntu in about a week (it’s in hardy-proposed at the moment, so it is getting some testing).

  • paul

    firefox 3 is un actual shamble!!
    I am extremely dissatisfied…do something about it!!!
    I wll NOT ADVISE TO ANY ONE