| Firefox 1.5 upgrade brings extension headaches |
Dec. 07, 2005
 The arrival of Firefox 1.5, with its new extensions architecture, has thrown a few curves to users who might not be quite so technically inclined. The new architecture has required a number of existing extensions to be rewritten, and new ones to be developed.
"Many users upgrading ... to Version 1.5 will lose features on which they depend to perform daily business tasks," reader Donald French wrote to DesktopLinux.com. "Only users who thoroughly read through the technical 'Release Notes' are warned about the potential loss of functionality. Other users only discover that these features are missing after the upgrade.
"I got caught up with the excitement over the release, not realizing I was taking one step forward and two steps back," wrote French, a Firefox user who founded the Institute for Advanced Professional Studies in Boston, Mass.
Firefox extensions or plug-ins become an integral part of the browser, and users grow to depend on them, French said.
Extensions must fit correct browser version
Firefox blocks the installation of an extension if it is incompatible with that version of the browser. From a technical perspective, this compatibility requirement is a good idea, preventing the browser from operating unreliably due to incompatible extensions, French contends. But from a user perspective, it's an unpleasant surprise to learn of diminished functionality only after the upgrade, he added.
"Over 25 percent of my extensions were no longer available," French wrote in his blog. "It was quite a shock, and a big disappointment, to learn my upgraded browser removed some vital features. The prior version was good enough and worth keeping until the needed extensions became compatible with the new version of Firefox."
"Prior to upgrading, Firefox users should verify that essential functionality will be preserved. What's needed is a warning about the potential loss of features and an up-to-date list of compatible add-ons. If there was a list, I did not see it," said French.
Once upgraded, Firefox provides a list of the extensions deactivated from the previous version along with the extensions active in the current version.
Article showcases Firefox extensions, answers some questions
In this vein, a new article by Loyd Case, "Fun with Firefox" -- published this week over at ExtremeTech.com -- can help answer some of the questions Firefox 1.5 users may have.
"Firefox's operating philosophy is to stay lean and add features sparingly," Case writes. "The goal is to avoid creating a large 'feature rich' Web browser that can end up slow, bloated and, less secure. Instead, the Mozilla developers are using extension developers as an organic market research team, taking the features from some of the most popular extensions and integrating them into the browser.
"Firefox is a lean, fast Web browser. The download size is a mere 5MB -- tiny by Redmondian standards," Case writes. "What it lacks in features, it more than makes up for in an active developer community that constantly adds features through the extensions mechanism."
In his six-page article -- complete with screen shots -- Case takes a close look at some of the most popular Firefox extensions, such as FasterFox, IE Tab, and FoxyTunes, and explains that the wait for the updated extensions won't be that long. He also examines a few of the existing themes.
To read Case's entire article, go here.
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