Mozilla has launched Firefox 3 into beta. I quickly downloaded and installed it. I realized this might be a mistake based on the fact that I need to use Firefox 2 for my development work. Turns out there are two major problems, which caused me to uninstall the program almost immediately.
- I couldn’t run both Firefox 3 and Firefox 2 at the same time. Haven’t we learned this lesson from Internet Explorer. Developers need to run multiple versions at the same time to test. Firefox 3 is clearly different in rendering, as I saw by quickly looking at our application in it. So I will need to see both 2 and 3 at the same time to test. Please do not make me launch a virtual machine for this. Please be developer friendly.
- Firebug didn’t work. None of the plugins worked. I have become 100% dependant on firebug. It is a developer’s dream come true. It works so well, I can’t live without it. Mozilla should incorporate firebug into it’s core development. It is the best developer tool in existence, bar none. But it didn’t work, nor did any other plugin. I think this is a pretty bad thing. Sure, the developers will make new versions, but couldn’t there be a converter or something? My web developer toolbar also did not work. I HAVE to have that.
So overall I gave the beta an F. I can’t use it in it’s current form. I don’t care what fancy cool new things it does. I need the above two conditions to apply. I use Firefox as my primary browser, but I am also a developer who needs to use what the audience is using. (All of them).
I am so sick of browser compatibility wars. I don’t like the time I spend making shit work on different browsers. It just puts me in a bad mood. I will try Firefox 3 beta 2 when it’s released, but I desperately need both points above to enjoy the experience.
Whatya think?