Why I’m Waiting to Install Firefox 3.5

I’m reluctant to upgrade to Firefox 3.5 because so many of my extentions are incompatible

Enabled Extensions: [28]

  • Adblock Plus 1.0.2 – Ads were yesterday! PASS
  • Auto Copy 0.9.7 – Copies selected text to the clipboard automatically. Like Linux or mIrc. 3.1
  • Better Gmail 2 0.8.1 – Enhances Gmail with a compilation of useful features written by Greasemonkey user script developers. All scripts copyright their original authors. Click on the script homepage in the Help tab for more information. 3.0
  • Better GReader 0.6.1 – Enhances Google Reader with a compilation of user scripts and skins. PASS
  • BetterPrivacy 1.29 – “Super-Cookie Safeguard” Unclear
  • CoLT 2.4.4 – Makes it easy to copy link text and locations. Unclear
  • CookieSafe 3.0.5 – Control cookie permissions. PASS
  • CustomizeGoogle 0.76 – Enhance Google search results and remove ads and spam. PASS
  • FlashGot 1.1.9.6 – Enables single and massive (“all” and “selection”) downloads using the most popular external download managers for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and FreeBSD (dozens currently supported, see Extension’s Home Page for details). FlashGot offers also a Build Gallery functionality which helps to synthetize full media galleries in one page from serial contents originally scattered on several pages, for easy and fast “download all”. PASS
  • Gmail Manager 0.5.7.2 – Gmail accounts management and new mail notifications. PASS
  • Google Redesigned 0.3 – A complete redesign of popular Google services.PASS
  • IE View Lite 1.3.4 – Cut down version of IE View by Paul Roub. PASS
  • Java Console 6.0.13 Why is this still here? How do I get rid of it?
  • Java Console 6.0.14 ???
  • Java Quick Starter 1.0 ???
  • Map This 0.3.1 – Get map for a selected address PASS
  • Microsoft .NET Framework Assistant 1.1 – Adds ClickOnce support and the ability to report installed .NET Framework versions to the web server. No idea.
  • MR Tech Toolkit 6.0.3.3 – MR Tech Toolkit power tools for all users. (en-US) PASS
  • No Squint 1.93.2.1 – Manage site-specific full page and text zoom levels PASS
  • NoScript 1.9.5 – Extra protection for your Firefox: NoScript allows JavaScript, Java (and other plugins) only for trusted domains of your choice (e.g. your home-banking web site). This whitelist based pre-emptive blocking approach prevents exploitation of security vulnerabilities (known and even unknown!) with no loss of functionality — Experts will agree: Firefox is really safer with NoScript 🙂 Unclear
  • Resizeable Textarea 0.1d – Resize textareas to your needs. 3.1b3
  • ScrapBook 1.3.3.9 – Helps you to save Web pages and organize the collection.3.0 (Dealbreaker!)
  • Searchbar Autosizer 1.4.1 – Expand the searchbox as you type 3.0
  • Stealther 1.0.6 – Surf the web without leaving a trace in Firefox. 3.0
  • Tab Mix Plus 0.3.6.1.080416 – Tab browsing with an added boost. 3.1b2pre (eh?)
  • Targeted Advertising Cookie Opt-Out (TACO) 1.8 – Sets permanent opt-out cookies to stop behavioral advertising by 84 different advertising networks, including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, all members of the Network Advertising Initiative, and many other companies. PASS
  • Update Notifier 0.1.5.4 – Notifies you when updates are available for your extensions and themes. 3.0
  • Xmarks 3.1.0 – Bookmark Sync and Web Discovery PASS

Note: the above is for my laptop; I’m afraid there are even more on the desktop…

This entry was posted in Software. Bookmark the permalink.

13 Responses to Why I’m Waiting to Install Firefox 3.5

  1. Chris Soghoian says:

    NoScript works in FF 3.5
    Stealther is no longer necessary, because FF has its own “porn mode” which provides superior functionality.
    Betterprivacy works in FF 3.5
    Microsoft .NET is unnecessary, and was secretly installed by MS with a recent update of the OS

    Thanks again for using TACO 🙂

  2. michael says:

    Thank you. I’m still not upgrading until I get Scrapbook and TabMix Plus. Historically, TMP is slow to catch up….

  3. John Flood says:

    Yes, that’s the reason I haven’t upgraded too. When FF warned me off….Does this mean that Firefox and the Add On people don’t work together? You would think there would be better synchronization especially as Safari is being touted as a faster browser.

  4. John Flood says:

    I notice you are missing one vital add on, namely, Zotero. Very easy to use and a great way to capture documents and pages for later at http://www.zotero.org by George Mason University.

  5. michael says:

    Clipmate does that for me. Which is why I listed it as the “dealbreaker” until they upgrade. Zotero may be better, but I’m sort of used to Clipmate.

  6. joe says:

    • Microsoft .NET Framework Assistant 1.1 – Adds ClickOnce support and the ability to report installed .NET Framework versions to the web server. No idea.

    Reduces the security of Firefox on Windows to that of a typical Windows application.

    Wikipedia:

    ClickOnce enables the user to install and run a Windows application by clicking a link in a web page. The core principle of ClickOnce is to bring the ease of deployment of web applications to the Windows user. In addition, ClickOnce aims to solve three other problems with conventional deployment models: the difficulty in updating a deployed application, the impact of an application to the user’s computer, and the need for administrator permissions to install applications.

    Brian Krebs:

    Annoyances.org, which lists various aspects of Windows that are, well, annoying, says “this update adds to Firefox one of the most dangerous vulnerabilities present in all versions of Internet Explorer: the ability for Web sites to easily and quietly install software on your PC.” I’m not sure I’d put things in quite such dire terms, but…

    Google for more on the controversy.

  7. michael says:

    Sorry, that should have been “scrapbook does that for me”; Clipmate is great too, but that’s not a browser plugin.

  8. Demian says:

    Tab Mix Plus does work on FF 3.5 using this: Tab Mix Plus Dev-Build 0.3.7.4pre.090516 Released (from the author’s website. See notice with the text I just copied here) You can find it on the top of the page : http://tmp.garyr.net/forum/index.php (click on the notice).

  9. Paul Gowder says:

    I just upgraded. The only one I lost is google gears, which I never use anyway. Then again, I only had 4 installed (delicious, personas, adblock plus, and gears), and the only one I ever use is delicious.

    As for the security issue, that’s why you shouldn’t be using windows.

    (Also, I don’t get the appeal of zotero, it always struck me as totally klugey and counterintuitive — I just use evernote for everything.)

  10. Bruce Boyden says:

    It permanently breaks the Google Notebook extension, since Google Notebook is no longer being developed. Guess it’s time to find an alternative; Zotero is incompatible with something else I have so maybe Scrapbook?

  11. ZZ says:

    There is a ScrapBook Replacement which is aptly named ScrapBook+ which works for Firefox 3.5.

  12. Rhodo Zeb says:

    This is very useful info; thanks to all.

  13. Yeah, I was reluctant to upgrade as well. Luckily my favorite plugins have finally been updated

Comments are closed.