Firefox on Macs giving people fits

Oops re: my earlier comment about Google Reader in Camino, it was more user error then anything, I hadn’t updated in awhile. Just installed the new version and it’s going nicely…

Same slow down and refusal to respond after web pages have been open for hours on my Mac Book Pro Core duo. The only good thing I can say about Firefox presently is that the restore function works well after it finally crashes or I force quit it. Safari is behaving much better.

Robert: I’d be curious to know if you’ve found any patterns (particular sites, usage patterns, etc) that cause problems in Firefox.

A little collaboration to find the common element makes finding the bug (and a fix) 1000X better.

May also want to try “Minefield” aka Firefox 3.0 alpha and see if you encounter the same problem. While still alpha quality (be careful) it may give you an idea if the problem has already been fixed in the next release.

Robert: I’d be curious to know if you’ve found any patterns (particular sites, usage patterns, etc) that cause problems in Firefox.

A little collaboration to find the common element makes finding the bug (and a fix) 1000X better.

May also want to try “Minefield” aka Firefox 3.0 alpha and see if you encounter the same problem. While still alpha quality (be careful) it may give you an idea if the problem has already been fixed in the next release.

Firefox is not the issue on Macs.

Macs are the problem

Apple=shit

Hey Scoble… I have noticed it slow too… so since then I have been using Webkit and it is a lot faster… I even had a problem using the email feature and I submitted a bug and they fixed it in the next release.. Any way if you are interested check it out.. http://webkit.org/

FF 2.0.0.4 on an 800MHz iMac G4 and an 1,67 PowerBook G4.

FF starts up slower than Safari and Camino but otherwise I can’t recognise any of the problems discussed.

An Intel-issue (wonders the chip-analphabet)?

(I can tell you some curious stories about the Finder and iTunes on the iMac – both have become seriously slo-o-o-o-ow after 10.4.9 but the endless kernel panics the machine experienced for almost a year disappeared without a trace – but that’s another story)

BonEcho/optimized Firefox/whatever you want to call it – http://www.beatnikpad.com/archives/2007/03/29/firefox-2002 is the reason I still use Firefox on my Mac. I don’t know how anyone can use the non-custom builds and enjoy FF on a Mac. Greatest thing since sliced bread.

Robert, I’m having the exact same problem on my old powerbook titanium G4. It developed two nights ago and it just started happening. It’s not like I ran an update. Before Firefox, I tried Camino and had nothing but problems with it, frequent crashes. I’m talking like twice a day. Now I’m back to Safari (not 3.0) which actually seems to be okay. No google reader problems but I don’t have nearly as many feeds as you.

Robert
is the post title correct? did you switch to a Mac?

My Mac isn’t here yet (still waiting) but I can tell you that under Vista Firefox is a constant battle, some days its fine, other days it will freeze up constantly. I’ve even gone as far as having Task Manager open all the time so I can deal with it immediately; and thank god for session restore

I love Firefox but seriously, every new version gets worse and worse. Eventually someone out there is going to build a FF alternative that natively supports FF plugins and millions will make the switch because of these issues; most ppl only stick to FF because of the addons (in my experience anyway).

I’m on XP, a 1 1/2 year old PC. I have the latest XP patches, latest Firefox update and only one plug-in (Firebug). I have no such problem, everything is smooth and I use it heavily.

I generally don’t have problems with either browser on my MacBook Pro. I’ve probably had more problems with Safari, but Firefox can by clunky at times. I usually switch between the two browsers depending on the task at hand.

If I need to open 5 tabs with important data and ensure I won’t accidentally close it and can get back to it if I do, I use Firefox. I hate it when Safari “unexpectedly quits” and takes 30 minutes of web research with it. If I run anything with flash or javascript, Firefox has proved more reliable for me. Safari, on the other hand, blasts past Firefox on Google Reader and everyday surfing. I’ve never experienced the DAMN SLOWNESS of which you speak .

I used to have problems with FF, Camino and Safari on Google Reader all the time. I usually have Reader running as one of 3 table that I use all day and I never shut my MacBook Pro down, just put it to sleep as I go back and forth between place. I just figured that having it open forever was causing the issue and would just close the Reader tab, reopen it, and I’d be good for a couple more days. I tried the Safari Beta and have not seen this at all and have had pretty much nothing but positive things to say about the beta, so I now use the Webkit nightlies and life has been pretty sweet.

I think Apple finally nailed it.

I use FF 1.07 on my Mac G4 Mini about 80% of the time and it’s great; Safari the rest of the time. I “upgraded” my wife’s Intel MacBook to FF 2and it was AWFUL . Super slow. I had to downgrade her.

I wonder if all the f***ing Flash ads everywhere might be part of the problem. FF 2 for XP “sticks” pretty often when you try to leave a tab with flash content running.

I think Safari for Windows may prove to a Good Idea, after all– but I’d still like to FF fixed up.

Hey Robert,

You’ve likely gotten a truckload of comments — I’ll add mine here. I’m a Google Reader fanatic and a browser snob (of a sort). Very particular about what I use.

Firefox leaks memory like no tomorrow. I’m off of it on the Mac, though I love it on the PC.

For the Mac, I use the latest nightly build of WebKit for my general browsing and use Camino for Gmail, Docs, Calendar and Reader. The Google Metaverse.

I’ve found WebKit to be VERY fast running JavaScript — almost as fast as Camino, which beats every other browser insofar as performance for JavaScript-based “Web 2.0″ apps on the Mac.

Use Camino for your Google apps — you’ll be VERY happy. Gmail takes a bit to load the first message composition window, but thereafter is quick.

While Safari/WebKit 3.0 seemed to be fast with Google Apps, and GReader in particular, there are a number of quirks which make it unusable for me. One is that if you keep using “N” to move down through your posts, once you get to a post beyond the visual range of your window (vertically), Safari won’t start scrolling the main GReader window. BAD.

Oh, and if using Safari, be sure to download Inquisitor. The ability to do previews of searches and search shortcuts is AMAZING. A must have for performance.

Another thumbs up for Camino. There are still a few features I miss from Firefox (see http://www.digitalhobbit.com/archives/2007/06/16/camino-15/), but the 1.5 version has come a long way. I use it as my standard browser on the Mac now and almost wish there was a Camino version for Linux, where I’ve had serious stability issues with Firefox recently…

Yes, I agree, Firefox could do a better job. I have similar problems on my Gentoo-Linux with Firefox 2.0.0.4

I must be a freak. I use the latest FF 2.0.x on my iMac (Core2duo) and surf lots and lots o sites. It’s very stable, and leaks less memory than FF 2 on XP. I’ve observed (though not scientifically) that the FF 2 memory leak is less of a problem on Vista than on XP? Anyway, bottom line, FF 2 on Mac OS X 10.4.x has been rock-solid for me.

Gone off Firefox in the last few weeks on my Mac, but I still use it on my PC. I use Camino on the Mac, and it’s very fast and stable. Started to mess about with Safari recently as well after not using it at all since I got my Mac (Jan) and it’s not as bad as I thought it was initially. In fact I’d say it’s almost as quick as Camino.

Yeah, FF leaks memory all over the place and slows down massively. I recently switched to Safari 3 Beta + Saft + Inquisitor and I’m mostly happy (I miss the Stylish and Firebug extensions, but it’s not a huge thing). I have to say, I find Safari much faster for GReader than FF even though they broke keyboard shortcuts under Safari for about a week recently. Maybe you should try Safari 3?

Robert, on behalf of Opera Software I’d like to formally invite you to try the Opera browser on your Mac.

Daniel
Opera Software

For me FF on Win is a memory hog… with 4 tabs open, it shoot up to 1GB+. Also, once in a while it spikes up the CPU to near 100%. Thats when I have hit the kill switch.

Perhaps it’s just a feeling – but It certainly seems like FF has been resource hog. Sometimes I will be blogging with several tabs open – and wordpress just doggs in it. I kind of have the funny balance of Safari and FF at the same time. FF runs most web 2.0 stuff better – but safari can have a bunch of tabs open without jamming the system.

Wow what a grumpy old coot…

hey i have a question. how do you change the header picture to your own with out cropping it.