SEE UPDATES AT BOTTOM OF POST
I recently — and unhappily — updated to Firefox 29, which is yet another in a long string of software-engineer-friendly “upgrades” by the boys and girls at Mozilla. Now, I have to admit that Firefox, on the whole, is a more user-friendly browser than the several others that I’ve tried: Comodo Dragon, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera, and Safari — each of which has a serious-to-fatal flaw (e.g., vulnerable to malware, hard to customize, can’t open groups of tabs, can’t import bookmarks).
But being user-friendly is a relative thing, and Firefox seems bent on joining the ranks of its less-friendly peers. Firefox 29, for example, incorporates the page-reload button in the navigation bar (the place where a site’s URL appears). That’s neither a convenient nor intuitive place for the page-reload button. It’s true that one can reload a tab by right-clicking the tab and selecting “Reload Tab” from the pop-up menu. But it’s actually easier to point one’s mouse at a reload button that’s located in a fixed position that’s close to the tab strip — usually on the left.
Speaking of the tab strip, why have tabs if you can’t see them? I exaggerate, but just a bit. In the default mode of Firefox 29, tabs (other than the one that’s currently open) are almost invisible. Navigating from tab to tab involves a lot of squinting. The tabless look may be aesthetic, but it’s worse than useless.
I will say that other than the fixed position of the reload button — which is immovable, even after installing the Classic Theme Restorer add-on — Firefox 29 is more readily customizable than its predecessors. (One exception: It takes some Googling to learn how to put the tab strip back where it belongs, which is just above the page, not at the top of the screen.) But why “upgrade” Firefox to a “look” that many users will immediately try to customize to something more useful? Many (most?) Firefox users cut their teeth on earlier versions of Firefox, and they grew used to the “look” and “feel” of those earlier versions.
What’s wrong with that? Everything, apparently, if you’re a software engineer with fascistic tendencies. Consider this thread from the Firefox non-support forum:
Can I go back to Firefox 28. I have Firefox 29 now. I don’t like it.
I want Firefox 28 back. How do I do that?
Chosen solution
Since the original question was Can I go back to Firefox 28, I don’t see how my response constitutes a hijacking. Everything else in your post is lawyer-speak.
Hi,
Is there a particular reason you want to go back to 28? If this is about the new user interface looks then you can restore the way Firefox acted and looked with this add-on
Why can’t someone answer the question asked? How do you download version 28 and revert to before 29. Classic Theme Restorer goes about 10% of the way to making FF useful again. Specifically, what needs to be remove from my Profile to get it back.
Hi OldRogue,
1) We don’t link to old Firefox versions simply because of the latest version’s bug fixes/security patches, etc.
2) See #1 and We don’t HAVE to link to version 28. I’m pretty sure you’re capable of finding a little download link yourself.
3) You should create your own thread as you’re technically hijacking another person’s thread. Please create a new one at /questions/newChosen Solution
Since the original question was Can I go back to Firefox 28, I don’t see how my response constitutes a hijacking. Everything else in your post is lawyer-speak.
Modified April 30, 2014 11:00:48 AM PDT by OldRogue
I’m not going to argue with you and waste my time. I’m just going to say this:
- From the Forum rules and guidelines For support requests, do not re-use existing threads started by others, even if they are seemingly on the same subject.
I’m not a Mozilla developer or employee so my “lawyer-speak” is all my words. I don’t work for Mozilla in case you haven’t noticed.
Also, to the OP, I’ve already answered their question. They can find the download link on their own. Takes maybe 2 minutes to find it…literally. But just in case someone doesn’t want to take their time and look for it, here it is:
Thread closed as I’ve given the download link!
Modified April 30, 2014 11:22:34 AM PDT by Moses
He may be Moses the lawgiver — with a vengeance — but he’s not the Moses that you want in charge when you’re looking for the promised land of browserdom. What a jerk!
Moses’s protestations to the contrary notwithstanding, he was being legalistic and OldRogue wasn’t hijacking the thread. How “big” of Moses to finally answer the original question. If he’d done that in the first place, he wouldn’t have revealed himself as a first-class a**hole.
Anyway, there’s your answer. If Mozilla slips in a new version of Firefox while you’re not looking, install an earlier version. In fact, take your pick from all of the earlier versions at the Index of pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/. If you happen upon a page that leads you to the Index, you’ll probably see something like this: “Warning: Using old versions of Firefox poses a significant security risk.”
Yeah, well, thanks for the warning. But I keep my firewall turned on, and I have a good anti-malware program (Malwarebytes Anti-Malware), and you should, too. When a version of Firefox gets too old, it stops working properly, which is a good sign that you should upgrade to a newer version, though not the newest one.
One last, important thing. Don’t let Mozilla slip in a new version of Firefox while you’re not looking. Go to “Tools” in the menu bar of Firefox (which I display for ease of use, despite Mozilla’s attempt to hide it), select Options, select the “Update” tab, and then choose either “Check for updates, but let me choose when to install them” or “Never check for updates.” If you choose “Check for updates,” read about an update before you install it — look especially for information about the ability to customize the new version. Don’t rely on Mozilla’s pitch; look for reviews on sites that specialize in computing and internet matters (e.g., PCMag.com and C|Net). And look especially for independent reviews of the kind you can find with a search engine; the lone-wolf reviewer is more likely to be critical than the establishment press.
By the way, I tried Firefox 29 on a gamble, and lost. I then rolled back to Firefox 28, which I had already tweaked to my taste.
Happy browsing.
UPDATE (05/07/14)
A reader kindly pointed me to Pale Moon, a Mozilla-based browser that works like Firefox used to. I’m now using Pale Moon, and loving it. (If I encounter glitches, I’ll add updates to this post.)
Why would I (or anyone) want a browser that works just like Firefox, but isn’t Firefox? Well, here’s one reason: the ousting of Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich for having made a donation to the Proposition 8 campaign in California. (See my post, “Surrender? Hell No!” and the articles I link to at the end of the post.)
And what does that have to do with Pale Moon? This from Pale Moon’s FAQ (as of today):
Will Firefox and Pale Moon work together in the future?
Since Mozilla has obviously chosen to follow a different path at the management level, it doesn’t seem likely that Pale Moon and Firefox will ever see a unification or joining of forces….
Read between the lines.
Nor is Pale Moon a mere copy of Firefox. This is from the same FAQ entry:
[T]here have been and are growing conflicts of interests between Pale Moon and Firefox as far as the so-called UX (User eXperience) developments are concerned. This results in a different user interface approach in Pale Moon. For example, less stress is put on minimizing the size of UI elements or saving every pixel possible to benefit the content area – in this day and age of full HD monitors and laptops that seems to be very counter-intuitive. Australis is considered unacceptable, and will not be aimed for – quite the opposite.
In other words, Australis-based Firefox 29 is a step in the wrong direction if you care about users. (Right on!) And Pale Moon isn’t going in that direction. Indeed, when I say that Pale Moon works like Firefox used to, I mean that it works like Firefox 28, to which I had returned after uninstalling Firefox 29.
If you want to try Pale Moon, you can download it here. If you’re currently a Firefox user and want to import your Firefox profile to Pale Moon, select the “don’t import anything” option at the end of the installation. There’s a separate tool for importing Firefox profiles, which you can download here. I used the tool, and it worked perfectly.
Happier browsing.
UPDATE (05/08/14)
My transition from Firefox 28 to Pale Moon has been seamless, as they say. So seamless, in fact, that I’ve made Pale Moon my default browser and unpinned Firefox from my Windows task bar. At this point I can’t see a reason to return to Firefox.
My next step will be to switch from Mozilla Thunderbird to Pale Moon’s FossaMail.
UPDATE (05/12/14)
I am now using FossaMail. After some unsuccessful attempts to copy my Thunderbird profile into Fossamail, I found a migration tool that works perfectly. During the migration, you might get a message saying that a script is taking longer than expected to run. If you do, select “continue” and let it run; it won’t take much longer for the tool to finish the job.
When you’re alerted that migration is complete, FossaMail may not respond immediately. The migration seems to continue in the background. Wait a few minutes, then try to open FossaMail. If your experience is like mine, when FossaMail opens it will contain an exact duplicate of your Thunderbird folders and messages.
Bye-bye, Mozilla.
Politics and Prosperity 