Why I Don't Use Firefox
People have reasons when they switch to Macs. Mine was so I don't have to fiddle around with so many optimization software, having to deal with unstable systems, and to avoid dealing with virus, malware and the like.
The fact that everything about the Mac comes from the same people was an added bonus since that means I only have to deal with one tech support source most of the time. I'm all for that integration business.
Earlier this year a research was done by Mindset Media that shows Mac users are a particular bunch. Meaning we are much more specific regarding what we want, in how we do things and generally more demanding. Some consider that snobbery though. Whatever.
Anyway, are we demanding because we use Macs or do we use Macs because we're choosy? I ask this because I have made my position clear on several occasions ( http://search.twitter.com/search?q=aulia%2C+firefox) about Firefox.
Background
I actually have used Firefox a lot longer than a lot of you may think. I was a Firefox user from when it was called Phoenix way back in 2002 (Surprise!). Before then, I also used Chimera which then (sort of) split into Safari and Camino.
Firefox is a noble cause in providing a standards-compliant web browser out of the garbage that was the Netscape Communicator and Mozilla suite. The browser was clean, small, relatively fast, and very basic. Same goes with Chimera at that moment.
Being the original Mac browser based on Mozilla's Gecko engine, Chimera quickly became my secondary browser after Internet Explorer which at that time still came as the Mac's default browser. I also evangelized for Phoenix at work where I had it installed on every single Windows PC there. Yes, even at pre 1.0 release.
Even as I was rooting for Phoenix for Windows, I didn't really enjoy using it on my Mac, it felt like a direct port of a Windows app, not enough Macness. Regardless, I wanted Phoenix to be a great Mac browser so I was hopeful (little did I know 6 years later it was still no better than Camino)
So I closely followed each of the two Mozilla browsers and installed each major build within a week of their respective releases. Due to David Hyatt leaving to create Apple's Safari, Camino was left nearly ignored for almost a year while Firefox gained traction until its eventual 1.0 release in 2004. Camino didn't hit 1.0 until 2006.
One interface does not rule them all
The obsession to develop identical cross-platform experience made Firefox a great app for a lot of its users but for Mac users, it became one of the worst apps to use. This fixation left a lot of Mac features out of the browser such as keychain support for user ID and passwords, modifiable shortcut keys from System Preferences, standardized GUI and keyboard navigation, and no support for Services (includes lack of dictionary support).
All this remained until Mozilla launched 3.0 in June this year. I was pleased when they decided to have a completely different skin for the Mac version of Firefox (and for other platforms as well). This shows that the LotR approach (One interface to rule them all) does not make for an appealing browser.
Alex Faaborg explained the whole shift on his blog under the sub heading
"Why do We Believe Visual Integration is Important?"
http://blog.mozilla.com/faaborg/2008/05/14/firefox-3-themes/
I applaud them for this move. This was the goal that they wanted to set with Firefox 1.5 when we were calling for an Aquafied release–which didn't eventuate even until Apple themselves dropped Aqua from Leopard. No it doesn't mean they were right in not implementing Aqua. They were still wrong because it meant Firefox did not look like an app that belonged in the OS people were using for a long time. It still barely does.
As explained above, Mac users can be a fastidious bunch. The smallest detail can be a major sticking point and a roadblock for the rest of the app no matter how wonderful it may be.
What'd I miss?
I suppose you can say I'm missing a lot by dismissing Firefox simply because of a (seemingly) cosmetic issue. However, what people find amazing and attractive about Firefox–which is the whole plug-ins, add-ons, and themes environment–does not attract me at all. I want a straight out browser that does well what a browser is supposed to do.
I'm not interested in a browser that tries to be a platform or anything else. The entire reason Firefox and Camino were created was because the Netscape–and then Mozilla–teams wanted to have a browser that's not a bloatware, compliant with web standards, fast, and easy to use. Team Flock turned this anti-bloatware goal on its head and came out with a more complex browser than Firefox with an even more hideous interface that screams out like neon signs outside a casino.
All that jazz about extensions? Not interested. For what I do and the way I work (writing–or more appropriately tyipng), I see very little function in having them. I don't deny that I have them installed, I have DTA, TwitKit, TwitterBar and TwitterFox that doesn't seem to work on 3.0.1.
I do like the search bar because it has options for searching on other sites such as IMDB, Wikipedia, Amazon, a bunch of dictionaries, and a host of others but after using Safari for an extended period, I don't miss it. Safari's exclusively Google search displays a lot of my results on page 1 so I don't really miss is so much.
Much has been made about Safari's lack of anti-phising measures which actually was in the early builds of Safari 3 and even made it to a Stevenote last year. Apple for some reason pulled it out of the final build and is yet to be back in Safari 4 dev preview or in the WebKit nightlies. This doesn't make Safari any less safe.
http://www.macworld.com/article/134851/2008/08/safariphish.html
Rob Griffiths in that Macworld article suggests that Safari is no less secure than Firefox for not having the feature. In fact it is just as secure, you're just not being warned about it.
I'd say that the anti-phising alert in Firefox is like the parking or proximity sensor in cars. useful but if you know your way around parking your car, you won't need it. Suggestions to drop Safari for Firefox just because it doesn't have proximity sensor is absolute rubbish.
You've learned to drive without it, so it makes little difference. In fact, you have your own parking style and preferences that often you'd turn the alerts off anyway because instead of helping, it gets in the way.
State of the browser
Out of the box (or in this case .dmg), Firefox is still a funny looking browser that doesn't really belong on a Mac. They're getting there but we still have to wait. As I mentioned on Twitter, Firefox needs braces. I thank the people behind GrApple theme at http://www.takebacktheweb.org/ for filling the gaps (pun absolutely intended :D).
Firefox guys, why don't you buy this guy out, hire him or license his themes for your default Mac skin? That large back button is such an eyesore (yea, use the small icons but it should be by default).
http://daringfireball.net/2008/04/firefox_3_safari_3
http://www.sanneblad.se/johan/?p=180
John Gruber and Johan Sanneblad elaborated in gory details pretty much every reason why I'm not a fan of Firefox. Arguably, there may have been changes in the final 3.0 and even 3.0.1 (I haven't read the change list) that I may not have noticed and may have rendered some arguments invalid (because those reviews were done on release candidate builds).
As at today, Firefox 3.0.1 sits in my Applications folder as backup for Safari and Camino.
