Status Messages in Firefox 4 Beta 11

awer commented on the Firefox 4 Beta 11 Released post:

I like that the new connection status messages are now in a overlay on the bottom. It is very good, they are only there when needed.

I was not aware of this new update with Beta 11 as I learned the Status-4-Evar extension overrode that behavior. Once I disabled Status-4-Evar and restarted I was able to see what the commenter was talking about. While a page is loading you will get an overlay of the loading status just above the add-ons bar. This is similar to the behavior of Chrome (sure been saying that a lot about Firefox 4). Grant you it is a little bit of a comprise, but still the new add-on bar is not one of Mozilla’s best ideas. At least Chrome still shows link targets in (overlaid) status bar.

4 Comments on Status Messages in Firefox 4 Beta 11

  1. They should just display link targets there in the same way, yes exactly the way Chrome does it, which I think is the perfect way to do it. I don’t really like the link targets up in the address bar at all, it just doesn’t feel natural, and is going to just confuse a lot of average non techie users when Firefox 4 is final released. At least theres a Firefox extension, Link Target Display, which just copys the way Chrome does it, which again I like a LOT.

  2. Putting link targets in the address bar is beyond D.U.M.B. We’re in the age of interminable urls. The address bar is always at least half full. So the link target is only partially visible and tells you near-nothing. What were they thinking??

    Plus, there’s the whole muscle memory thing. I’ve been around computers since 1978, and using web browsers since before the earliest Netscape. I have my own habits by now and I don’t feel like relearning them unless there’s some benefit to me. Some developer’s concept of cool design is not a benefit. Neither is imitating Chrome. Or the Mac. Come up with a new design that makes my work easier: great. Come up with a new design that makes life more difficult just to achieve the same functionality: not great at all. Dumb.

    /*Thanks for the chance to blow off steam about something that’s been making me Very Grumpy.*/

  3. So what if its “imitating Chrome”, it is the perfect way to do it. The status bars only real purpose these days is to show link targets. Unless you have and or want extension icons there on the status bar, which is a different story, I don’t have any, don’t need any, and don’t need the status bar except for link targets, that is its only purpose to me. I think the way Google Chrome displays link targets without a status bar taking up screen space is the absolute best, genius in design, perfect way to do it.

    Web browsers copying great features and designs from other browsers is not a horrible thing. Only one browser had Tabs when it was created, now everyone does, because its a great feature and design and has become a complete standard in design for a browser. Is is THAT hard to give Google any credit for Chrome, nooo Mozilla just HAD to come up with their own unique special way to do link targets, and its stupid the way Firefox 4 is doing it, its changing the standard location on the browser interface for link targets for the past 20 years.

    Maybe I’m just showing my love for Chrome here, which I admittedly have, posting this comment in Chrome now. I loved Firefox, was a self proclaimed Firefox fanboy, I have Firefox shirts, and stickers, and posters, and got everyone I know to switch to Firefox back in the day, but, they are rapidly moving away from the very principles that made Firefox an awesome browser in the first place. I don’t need a every feature but the kitchen sink browser, I prefer a stripped down lean and fast browser. The extra features I do want, thats what extensions are for. Mozilla has crammed SO many new features into the browser itself, and me, and people I know, never use half of them, and its made the browser slower, it has. I keep my machine very well maintained and fast, and it still takes Firefox 4 a good 4 or 5 seconds to open from a cold start, it takes Chrome 1 split second, even from a cold start, and even after prolonged use, Chrome still just feels faster, and just more responsive and snappier, it just feels alot lighter on resources or at least like its managing them alot better. Firefox loads pages fast as hell now too, but the browser interface itself, it feels sluggish, it does. I wish it weren’t the case, but I haven’t been thrilled with the direction Firefox is heading in a while.

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