Why Would Anyone *Not* Use Firefox?

[Dr. Spirograph]

After using Microsoft Internet Explorer for years and years, I was completely floored by Mozilla Firefox -- it's lean (less than 5 MB), secure, and powerful. Compared to the buggy and bloated IE, I can't think of any reason why anybody would choose Microsoft's browser. But I admit that I'm not a computer expert, so I might be missing something here.

The other day, I was on a different forum, and various IE users were bitching about "Firefox fanboys" and the like. Rather than registering to debate with vitriolic people, I thought I'd ask people here -- If you're using IE, why do you prefer it over Firefox? What am I missing?

[Ryan]

I have both programs, and i dont particuarly prefer one over the other.

[LionelHutz]

I use safari but id choose internet explorer.

[Ryan]

LionelHutz, that quote in your sig didnt sound quite right, so i checked it and sure enough:

Mr. Simpson, this is the most blatant case of fraudulent advertising since my suit against the film, "The Never-Ending Story".

resume discussion.

[grissom]

Firefox is by far the superior browser. I can't stand using IE on school computers and stuff now. It's awful

[Kuje]

I've been using firefoxfor a few years and I am totally happy with it. The 'Open Link in IE' plugin is perfect for the few pages that don't display correctly in FF.

[Paul]

I loathe Firefox. My bookmarks are always being deleted and it's incredibly slow. Thankfully Opera fixed both of these problems.

[buh]

I've been using firefoxfor a few years and I am totally happy with it. The 'Open Link in IE' plugin is perfect for the few pages that don't display correctly in FF.
how and where did you get that plug-in from?

i've only been using firefox for about 3 or 4 months, but i like it was better than internet explorer. it isn't slow, doesn't have errors and its easier.

[Nebuchanezzar]

I keep my favourite...links in the favourites list on Firefox to avoid having to answer questions should I keep them in IE, which everyone else here uses. It just makes life easier.

Oh, and it's layout is crisper.

[Kuje]

how and where did you get that plug-in from?



http://ieview.mozdev.org/

[Veryjammy]

I seem to have so much less hassle with Firefox and the tabbed browsing is excellent. I tried the tab plugin for IE but it was shit. The pop-up blocker actually works 99% of the time too. And the way it keeps all the downloads in one box instead of a million little ones is helpful too.

I do find sometimes though that it eats up a lot of RAM if you've got a few tabs up. For example right now it's somehow eating up 171MB of RAM which is a lot. It may be because I leave the internet on for days at a time though, I don't understand the logistics of it.

[thesimplerules]

I like Tabbed Browsing. When using IE I have about 10 windows open which is not ideal, each working as a seperate browser using more memory.

Firefox isn't faster or any garbage, the simple truth is any speed difference would not be noticable by a human but the extensions and themes are very helpful.

Firefox are usually quicker at patching security holes, but as the browser becomes bigger more flaws will be found.

[skittlebrau]

I found Firefox to be slow and buggy on my Mac. Nosir, I didn't like it. Deleted from my comp.

That's not to say I don't use it on the PCs at work because it works sexily on those. So sexy.

So, in short: Firefox = PC, Shiira/Safari = Mac

[Jolly Bengali]

I switched back to Opera recently from Firefox... I'm enjoying it, although I may go back to Firefox.

[kevin]

i use ie and am generally happy with it. i've thought about switching to firefox but i really have no reason to.

[George]

to answer your question, people fear change.

[bluemoose]

I started out with IE, and it was OK. I switched to Firefox, because I'd heard so many good things about it, and I like it a lot more than IE. Then I switched to Opera, because it was what Linux came with (along with Firefox), and I've used it ever since. I like Opera and Firefox about the same, there's just a few things that I like more about Opera, like the fact that you can have multiple homepages, you can have widgets if you download the beta version of Opera 9, and you can cascade the windows if you want inside one larger window, instead of just using tabs (although I nearly always use tabs).

EDIT: forgot to mention, if I was using a Mac, I would use Safari.

[DotheBartman]

I don't really care too much about having lots of features and whatnot as long as my browser gets me from point A to point B. But IE just blows. One of our PCs got full of so many bugs and adware and all that because of IE. Granted Windows is like that in general, but there's still no excuse. And the tabs in Firefox really are a wonderful feature that I had never realized I needed.

And for the record, I always use Firefox on my mac and don't have any problems. Safari is also good though.

[My Little Needle]

I found Firefox to be slow and buggy on my Mac. Nosir, I didn't like it. Deleted from my comp.

That's not to say I don't use it on the PCs at work because it works sexily on those. So sexy.

So, in short: Firefox = PC, Shiira/Safari = Mac
they're both equally fast for me, but I've found that firefox is way more graceful/easy to use than safari. shiira has never worked for me.

[jim]

Im perfectly happy with Netscape. It has a lot of great features, and the best looking interface.

[Moose of Doom!]

I use IE7 Beta 2. I have no real need/desire to switch over to Firefox at the moment and the new tabbed browsing works fine for me.

[Dennis]

A lot of videos and stuff aren't viewable in Firefox for me, so I have to go back to IE then.

A lot of people are just too lazy to download it...and they don't like listening to other people because they're convinced that they're right and you're wrong...I hate people.

[mr. broom]

I use IE7 Beta 2. I have no real need/desire to switch over to Firefox at the moment and the new tabbed browsing works fine for me.
Apparently a nearly complete lack of security is your cup of tea, too.

[Gatorgod]

I wish i could dump Explorer all together but Firefox wont let me sign in on some things like my Yahoo mail, and image tags don't work on some sites.
Firefox will say I need to download add-ons,...but it will scan forever and never come up with anything

[SideshowTim]

i've never had any problems in using firefox but i had plenty using IE. i've found IE to crash much more easily at random times.

[God]

I switched over in late 2004 to Firefox and haven't returned to IE since. IE is too slow and can be quite prone to crashing.
I've only one gripe with firefox which is you can't resume downloads after you shut down the computer, although i have a download manager to do that function anyway.

[StrideR]

My main issue with Firefox/Opera resides in the fact that I use 7 or 8 tabs at a time, leading to a lot of memory usage.

Maxthon is treating me pretty well. And it's geared towards Explorer users.

[SubSane]

Funny, the feature in Firefox that I dig is the many tabs I can have open.

[Mr. Kurns]

I have no issues with IE so why should I switch?

[SubSane]

TABS. Instead of many windows, many tabs within a single window.

[Mr. Kurns]

Multiple windows are not an issue for me. So in answer to the question, someone (me) might not use firefox because they have no reason to.

[buh]

firefox doesn't have security errors every second site. oh and the pop-up blocker actually works.

[StrideR]

Funny, the feature in Firefox that I dig is the many tabs I can have open.

Oh, maxthon supports tabbed browsing. I just don't run out of memory.

[vinceq]

I believe that their should be as few manufacturers used in a single computer as possible. If I'm using a Microsoft operating system, I will use Microsoft applications where ever possible. This way when a program/device by Company A doesn't work they can't tell you its because of your program/device by Company B because there is no Company B. I can't stand when people pass the buck and deny responsibility.

There's nothing wrong with Firefox based on the last time I used it (~18 months ago?) but right now I have to use Windows and Visual Studio for work so I'll use IE and MS Office and as many MS apps I can use instead of programs like OpenOffice and stuff like that.

[mr. broom]

I believe that their should be as few manufacturers used in a single computer as possible. If I'm using a Microsoft operating system, I will use Microsoft applications where ever possible. This way when a program/device by Company A doesn't work they can't tell you its because of your program/device by Company B because there is no Company B. I can't stand when people pass the buck and deny responsibility.
So when Microsoft programs fail a lot more often than those of other people, at least you're consoled by them not being able to blame someone else.

You might as well prefer to use programs that all use the same colors in their icons for the amount of sense you're making. This is laughable.

[Spartan]

I've had mozilla for a long time now...nearly two years.

but change sucks for a lot of people...I didnt want to be bothered by switching, but i eventually did it and, of course, saw how silly it was later.

[abc10ralph]

I downloaded firefox about a month ago and:

It's not much fater I don't like tabbed browsing and my passwords automaticcly log me in on forums ( NoHomer one of them) so for now I like IE but on faster computers I like Firefox ( + I like the logo much better Firefoes)

[bluemoose]

You don't like the tabbed browsing? I can't imagine why, but if you don't, you know that you don't need to use it, right? You can still open new windows in Firefox.

[zippy]

Because Gorak's subliminal messages in his sig aren't working.