(OT) Mozilla Firefox Advice

I have sort of the same problem - I've been using Firefox in an older
version, but suddenly it INSISTS upon offering me the newer versio
I'm curious why you wouldn't want the newer version
Because they keep offering versions that don't run on my system
(MacOS Tiger - any Version 3 of Firefox works, Version 4 doesn't).
Is Tiger 10.4? I don't have a Mac, though I plan to get one, so I don't
remember the sequence of big cats.

Yep.

It's very old and if you don't have as big an investment in legacy
software as I do, you don't want it. The later versions are Leopard
(10.5), Snow Leopard (10.6), Lion (10.7) and Mountain Lion (10.8).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile 07800 739 557 http://www.campin.me.uk Twitter: JackCampin

Jack Campin wrote:

It's very old and if you don't have as big an investment in legacy
software as I do, you don't want it. The later versions are Leopard
(10.5), Snow Leopard (10.6), Lion (10.7) and Mountain Lion (10.8).

Presumably they're putting more and more features into the OS whenever
there's a new version, right? So it stands to reason that the cats should
be getting bigger with each new release: mountain lion, leopard, snow
leopard, lion, tiger, and then... smilodon? Then they have to switch
to a new family of animals, I guess.

When I worked at Apple it was snakes. Cobra, Mambo, and I don't remember
what else. I also remember "Mongoose", but doesn't that imply that it was
going to eat the other products? You won't remember those names, though.
They weren't actual product names, they were just internal *project* names
we used while the software was under development.

The funny thing is that when the first one, Cobra, was named, the person
who came up with it was thinking cars, not snakes. The next person
misunderstood the trend and named the second project after another species
of snake, and it stuck. Fine with me, I think snakes are a lot more
interesting than cars.

--
Joyce

I prefer to live with Feline Sapiens, thank you very much.

On 7/31/2012 4:51 PM, EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) wrote:
I have sort of the same problem - I've been using Firefox in an older
version, but suddenly it INSISTS upon offering me the newer version, and
I must quickly click on "no thanks, I'll risk it" before the download
starts. (If I don't, I must reinstall the "exec" option of the older
version, which is fortunately still on my computer.) It's a real PITA,
and I'm not sure what else I can do about it.

Not installing updates is a bad idea since these typically contain
security as well as functional updates, running old browsers is a bad idea.
--
Nik Simpson

nik Simpson wrote:
On 7/31/2012 4:51 PM, EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) wrote:
I have sort of the same problem - I've been using Firefox in an older
version, but suddenly it INSISTS upon offering me the newer version, and
I must quickly click on "no thanks, I'll risk it" before the download
starts. (If I don't, I must reinstall the "exec" option of the older
version, which is fortunately still on my computer.) It's a real PITA,
and I'm not sure what else I can do about it.

Not installing updates is a bad idea since these typically contain
security as well as functional updates, running old browsers is a bad idea.


In this case, it appears to be a choice between "old browser" or none at
all, since the newer one chooses not to function on my computer.
(Fortunately, Earthlink's security functions are being regularly
updated, and I don't have to download any E-Mail that does not originate
from someone in my Earthlink address book.)

It's very old and if you don't have as big an investment in legacy
software as I do, you don't want it. The later versions are Leopard
(10.5), Snow Leopard (10.6), Lion (10.7) and Mountain Lion (10.8).
Presumably they're putting more and more features into the OS whenever
there's a new version, right? So it stands to reason that the cats should
be getting bigger with each new release: mountain lion, leopard, snow
leopard, lion, tiger, and then... smilodon? Then they have to switch
to a new family of animals, I guess.

The pattern isn't as obvious as that. Apparently they started out naming
them after German WW2 tanks, which were themselves named after big cats.

I still wanna see OS X Maru.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile 07800 739 557 http://www.campin.me.uk Twitter: JackCampin

"Arthur Shapiro" wrote in message
...

In article , "jmcquown"
wrote:
I cannot figure out how to install this without it
asking me to d/l all this other add-on stuff I don't want.

I don't recall such prompting - can you cite one or two of the items it
suggests you install???

I certianly install AdBlock Plus and FlashBlock when I install Firefox, but
that's my own choice. Hearing a couple of specifics might give me some
insight on your installation's behavior.

Art
***************
Mozilla is asking me to install some sort of shopping/sweepstakes option
which also wants to add something to the computer. That would be a NO. And
what the heck is with making Babylon the default search engine? What is
that?

So I tried installing Firefox again and even though I clicked Cancel when it
asked about Babylon, now IE (my current default) has Babylon as the search
engine. (If this screws up my new computer I'll scream so loudly they'll
hear me across the pond!)

Now, can anyone give me info on using Thunderbird as a newsreader? I don't
want to change my email program. I finally figured out (sort of) this
version of Windows Live Mail. Can I use Thunderbird as a newsreader and not
have it take over as my email program?

BTW, I did have a fairly recent backup on a flash drive. The hard drive
wasn't damaged, but the monitor on the old laptop was completely shot. I
confess: I spilled a glass of water on the keyboard and it took out the
monitor. The guys at Best Buy loaded the data from my old PC onto a
portable HD. But I can't figure out where to tell it to put it so I can get
things right. I haven't kept up with the technology. And to think I used
to be so proficient at this sort of thing. (sigh)

Jill

In article , "jmcquown" wrote:

So I tried installing Firefox again and even though I clicked Cancel when it
asked about Babylon, now IE (my current default) has Babylon as the search
engine. (If this screws up my new computer I'll scream so loudly they'll
hear me across the pond!)

Jill, that's HIGHLY irregular. I wonder if you got hold of a "diddled"
Firefox with inbuilt Babylon garbage from someone other than Mozzila.org.

I've been prompted by other software to install Babylon, and have turned it
down. Still it installed. Happily it was removable from the normal
Add/Remove Programs (or Programs in Windows y) with no apparent aftereffects.

I am frequently prompted to upgrade Firefox and have never had to go through
that grief. I can appreciate your irritation. But just remove it. And go
through the usual routine (I don't recall specifically which Firefox you're
on now) to change the default search engine.

Regarding Thunderbird as a newsreader: I use it at home, and it seems OK
although I don't like the user interface. And the way it abbreviates
newsgroups in one's subscription list (this would be r.p.c.anecdotes) is
ludicrous. I still personally prefer an ancient Windows 95 (!) era product
called NewsXpress, which is what I'm using here in the office with Win 7. It
has its quirks, but I've always felt at home with the interface.

Art

jmcquown wrote:


***************


Now, can anyone give me info on using Thunderbird as a newsreader? I
don't want to change my email program. I finally figured out (sort of)
this version of Windows Live Mail. Can I use Thunderbird as a
newsreader and not have it take over as my email program?

I don't think Thunderbird offers anything BUT an E-mail program -
Firefox seems to be the Mozilla newsreader.

Jack Campin wrote:

It's very old and if you don't have as big an investment in legacy
software as I do, you don't want it. The later versions are Leopard
(10.5), Snow Leopard (10.6), Lion (10.7) and Mountain Lion (10.8).
Presumably they're putting more and more features into the OS whenever
there's a new version, right? So it stands to reason that the cats should
be getting bigger with each new release: mountain lion, leopard, snow
leopard, lion, tiger, and then... smilodon? Then they have to switch
to a new family of animals, I guess.

The pattern isn't as obvious as that. Apparently they started out naming
them after German WW2 tanks, which were themselves named after big cats.

Well, there you go. That's just like when someone tried to name a development
project after a make of car (cobra), and everyone thought he meant the snake.

(I just realized that in my last post, I might have said one of the snake
names was "Mambo" - LOL. I meant Mamba. Though it would also be great to have
a line of products named after Afro-Cuban dances. )

I still wanna see OS X Maru.

Wouldn't that be great!

--
Joyce

The heck with top and bottom -- I want relationships with strangeness
and charm.

Arthur Shapiro wrote:
In article , "jmcquown" wrote:

So I tried installing Firefox again and even though I clicked Cancel when it
asked about Babylon, now IE (my current default) has Babylon as the search
engine. (If this screws up my new computer I'll scream so loudly they'll
hear me across the pond!)

Jill, that's HIGHLY irregular. I wonder if you got hold of a "diddled"
Firefox with inbuilt Babylon garbage from someone other than Mozzila.org.

I've been prompted by other software to install Babylon, and have turned it
down. Still it installed. Happily it was removable from the normal
Add/Remove Programs (or Programs in Windows y) with no apparent aftereffects.

I am frequently prompted to upgrade Firefox and have never had to go through
that grief. I can appreciate your irritation. But just remove it. And go
through the usual routine (I don't recall specifically which Firefox you're
on now) to change the default search engine.

Regarding Thunderbird as a newsreader: I use it at home, and it seems OK
although I don't like the user interface. And the way it abbreviates
newsgroups in one's subscription list (this would be r.p.c.anecdotes) is
ludicrous. I still personally prefer an ancient Windows 95 (!) era product
called NewsXpress, which is what I'm using here in the office with Win 7. It
has its quirks, but I've always felt at home with the interface.

Art

I've been using, Google Chrome, for quite a while now, if you're having
problems with Firefox it might be worth a try.
--
Adrian