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derekn · May 17, 2003, 09:54 PM

http://www.mozilla.org/projects/firebird/

It's the 0.6 release and the release notes say it as succinctly as possible:
Mac OS X

Mozilla Firebird is available for Mac OS X. It's still quite rough around the edges but it's a start.

Can't control the tabbed browsing as much as I want and navigation via the arrow keys isn't in there yet but it is already VERY nice. Some people say it's faster than Safari but for me it's faster. As fast as or faster than Chimera... err Camino.

Looking forward to the progress of this and see what becomes of it.

Jowy · May 17, 2003, 10:04 PM

I still can't figure out why every version of Pheonix insists on opening a new window everytime I try to browse one of my bookmarked websites. It's somewhat aggravating moving my bookmarks folder to the bookmarks toolbar because I don't normally use that. I haven't really seen this posted elsewhere so does that mean I'm the only one with this problem?

fortepianissimo · May 17, 2003, 11:49 PM

Frankly I really don't understand why they chose to port Firebird to Mac OS X instead of consolidating efforts to make Camino better (or just simply leave Mac OS X to Camino folks).

derekn · May 17, 2003, 11:49 PM

Originally posted by Jowy:
I still can't figure out why every version of Pheonix insists on opening a new window everytime I try to browse one of my bookmarked websites. It's somewhat aggravating moving my bookmarks folder to the bookmarks toolbar because I don't normally use that. I haven't really seen this posted elsewhere so does that mean I'm the only one with this problem?

No, you are NOT alone.

That was one of the problems I was referring to about not having enough control over tabbed browsing. The other being if I control click a link, it does nothing. So, hopefully by each nightly, it'll get better and better.

derekn · May 18, 2003, 12:27 AM

Originally posted by fortepianissimo:
Frankly I really don't understand why they chose to port Firebird to Mac OS X instead of consolidating efforts to make Camino better (or just simply leave Mac OS X to Camino folks).

Well the new roadmap has the compoents of Mozilla being seperated into it's own app. Instead of having the one big package. Camino is going to be the native OS X browser and what is now known as Firebird will be the browser component. I assume as development on that and the other parts continues, they'll be adopted by Netscape and used in the Communicator suite.

This should make things better overall. You can see the performance difference between Mozilla and Firebird.

iamnotmad · May 18, 2003, 02:03 PM

just tried this milestone on www.ign.com and it's sooo much faster than safari, which has huge major problems on IGN.

I've sent feedback on IGN and Safari, I sure hope they fix it. (I've sent it several times since the first release of Safari). I like safari way better tho. But Firebird is so fast, seems much faster than safari overall (on IGN theres no camparison.)

Anyone else ever visit IGN.com in Safari? I get the SBoD at each page. ugh.

unlinear · May 19, 2003, 04:50 PM

"Frankly I really don't understand why they chose to port Firebird to Mac OS X instead of consolidating efforts to make Camino better (or just simply leave Mac OS X to Camino folks)."

Mozilla (and Firebird) have things Camino doesn't have.

JS Debugging, etc, seem to be features Camino developers don't care for; I care for them a lot. I'd like a JS debugging console in Camino. Will I get it? not bloody likely based on the emphasis on end-users that Camino has.

End-user emphasis is good; however, I'd like a non-monolithic browser that amuses me when I'm doing web development.

I think that's where Firebird comes into play.

JB72 · May 19, 2003, 06:24 PM

I'd encourage people to give this Firebird release a shot. At least as a backup to your usual default browser. I'm no Mozilla fan, but they are on to something here. And it's fast. Also, be sure to checkout the extensions, and maybe the Pheonity theme (this guy needs to make a icon Container for CandyBar.)

Adam Betts · May 19, 2003, 06:34 PM

Originally posted by iamnotmad:
just tried this milestone on www.ign.com and it's sooo much faster than safari, which has huge major problems on IGN.

I've sent feedback on IGN and Safari, I sure hope they fix it. (I've sent it several times since the first release of Safari). I like safari way better tho. But Firebird is so fast, seems much faster than safari overall (on IGN theres no camparison.)

Anyone else ever visit IGN.com in Safari? I get the SBoD at each page. ugh.

I visit www.ign.com everyday and I agree with you about it being slow but it isn't Safari's fault. IGN have a script that is designed for Windows and it will make Safari choke. I've also reported this to IGN and Safari.

fireside · May 20, 2003, 01:19 AM

Originally posted by Adam Betts:
I visit www.ign.com everyday and I agree with you about it being slow but it isn't Safari's fault. IGN have a script that is designed for Windows and it will make Safari choke. I've also reported this to IGN and Safari.

and because ign has more ads than humanly possible.

MindFad · 01:39 AM

Hmm. Just testing it out now. It is pretty damn fast. Has some potential! I like it.

Edit: Wow, I'm realaly impressed with this app. It's like the mozilla interface, but a whole lot faster. And fast is goof.

It certainly does have some rough edges, but it should shape up into a very nice app!

Severed Hand of Skywalker · May 20, 2003, 02:16 AM

What is up with that big "M" icon?

I'mDaMac · May 20, 2003, 03:05 AM

Originally posted by iamnotmad:
just tried this milestone on www.ign.com and it's sooo much faster than safari, which has huge major problems on IGN.

I've sent feedback on IGN and Safari, I sure hope they fix it. (I've sent it several times since the first release of Safari). I like safari way better tho. But Firebird is so fast, seems much faster than safari overall (on IGN theres no camparison.)

Anyone else ever visit IGN.com in Safari? I get the SBoD at each page. ugh.

Yeah, i hate surfing ps2.ign.com with Safari. It's like watching paint dry. I also sent feedback.

juanvaldes · May 20, 2003, 04:06 AM

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
What is up with that big "M" icon?

I guess they just swipped it off Mozilla and haven't bothered to replace it yet.

undotwa · May 20, 2003, 05:46 AM

Originally posted by fireside:
and because ign has more ads than humanly possible.

IGN is what the Safari project should use as an extreme case scenario to test the limits of their engine

biscuit · May 20, 2003, 08:49 AM

Hey, you know this thing ain't half bad. Just a bit of spit and polish here and there really. Probably won't be as good as the OSX-centric browsers though.

Anyone know if there's a CaminoKnight style app for Firebird? I'd like to keep my eye on it...

biscuit

maxhedrum · May 20, 2003, 02:32 PM

I downloaded Firebird last night, and tried it out this morning.
All my bookmarks disapeared. Every time I had installed the new version of Mozilla, the bookmarks had been transfered to the new version.
I take it that this is a completely separate app. and does not do this automaticaly. Checked the bookmark manager, and did not find a way to import.
Any help would be appreciated.

JLL · May 20, 2003, 02:34 PM

Originally posted by juanvaldes:
I guess they just swipped it off Mozilla and haven't bothered to replace it yet.

I guess they kept it because the name is Mozilla Firebird, which will later become Mozilla Browser.

delete · May 20, 2003, 03:22 PM

Originally posted by maxhedrum:

I take it that this is a completely separate app. and does not do this automaticaly. Checked the bookmark manager, and did not find a way to import.
Any help would be appreciated.

If you're using Mozilla, go to the folder that has your profile and copy the bookmarks.html file and put the copy in your Firebird profile folder. Works like a charm. The one difference is that the Personal Toolbar Folder in Mozilla is now called Bookmarks Toolbar Folder in Firebird.

maxhedrum · May 20, 2003, 11:18 PM

Thanks.
Will give it a try.