I fixed my browser issue. The key: do the exact opposite of what the experts say. Strange how often this happens to be the solution …

Browser issues solved, for now. Cyberfox to the rescue, the Mozilla browser capable of displaying text.

Rock and a hard place Here are my browsing choices. Either I use a Waterfox that crashes thrice daily (top) or download the newer one that displays no text. I won’t use Chrome (or, as I call it, the ‘Aw, snap!’ browser) because it crashes all the time and, because, Google. Anyone know of something using the Mozilla Firefox architecture that actually is capable of displaying text on Windows 7? It works fine on OS X.

Firefox 2014 I had some well meaning advice on my browser issues, but as you can see, it’s still pretty hard to follow it when you can’t  figure out if you really are following their instructions.

Firefox, the text-free browser In October, Firefox for Windows “upgraded”. Most of the text disappeared. I filed a bug report. I see that there have since been revised versions of both Firefox and Waterfox. You’d think, having been alerted to the bug, they would have fixed it, since having no text in a browser is a bit of a problem. Sadly, it hasn’t. Two versions later, still SNAFUed. Oh well, it’s time to file more bug reports.    Loic, who answered me in my report, suggests it’s to do with something called OMTC, and it could be switched off. (Given that having it on causes all text to disappear, why isn’t it off by default? Let the people who like browsing without any words turn it on.) I advised that it was impossible to switch it off, since without text, I couldn’t see how to. He was helpful enough to suggest I use safe mode, but, guess what? Even safe mode has no text.    This is one time when the Mac version of Firefox presents no problems—but I sure wish the Windows-version developers would get off their arse to sort what is quite a major bug.

So buggy Firefox has updated—and still doesn’t show much text.

Goodbye, Waterfox Sadly, I gave up on Waterfox today after a very productive eight months. I switched after Firefox crashed on a regular basis. However, Waterfox simply will not start any more: the problems began last week, before the version 31 update. Safe mode is fine, which suggests a plug-in problem, but I can’t find out which plug-in if it crashes on start-up. So it’s back to Firefox for now, to see if it’s more stable than it was at the end of 2013.

Spot on There’s an extra spot in the bottom-right of my Firefox window. Anyone know what it is? It’s not clickable. Is it a computer equivalent of acne?

Google wants my Analytics data I’m using Mozilla Firefox, idiots.

Firefox 4 crashes are up It’s interesting that since last week’s updates to Flash, my Firefox crashes are up. No surprises, I suppose: Flash has not been stable for a long time. The other interesting thing to note is that many crashes come in pairs. These are not of a single crash giving two separate signatures: Firefox 4 would crash, it would close, and I would restart. The restarted one would, invariably, hang. It would only be after two crashes that I could get Firefox to work again.

As before, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Firefox never seems to record all crashes, which makes me wonder if certain ones get missed.

Too all those who went on and on about how Chrome is better than Firefox to my previous post, I recommend the above link on my experience with your favourite browser. Some of us are type-savvy, and don’t like how Chrome can’t cope with some things that, well, Netscape 4 could.

The point of the previous post, to all those who missed it, is that we are the masters of technology, not vice versa. If you find something that works better for you as a tool, use it. And if you like Chrome, use that. But not everyone has to use the same things, and it’s worth remembering computers and programs are tools to aid people. Explore, experiment, and have fun—but don’t get stuck in what the mainstream tell you.

That goes for other aspects of life, too.

Firefox gets worse before 4 comes out Firefox’s crash frequency has increased. Seven times today (our computers are on GMT), including three in a 12-minute period earlier and another three in a 17-minute period just now. The time in between with no crashes: well, that was when I was out.

And if you’re thinking it was more reliable yesterday—I was on my laptop, and out of town.

Well, at least it’s not Internet Explorer 9. That won’t even display web pages.

Can’t wait till Firefox 4 comes out. That’s been relatively stable, at least in beta.

And I thought I was frustrated with Firefox 3

I’ve had more Firefox crashes than anyone I know, and with the Wrapped Native Proto Marker error, which I experienced right after I opened the new 3·6·15, I read what others wrote when their browsers crashed. (It’s not the most common error, based on my evaluation.) The spelling mistakes are those of the original writers.

And the best one:

No surprise, then, that Chrome’s market share is rising, even though it’s inferior in quite a few ways. But with this frequency of crashing, people are looking for ways out.

The only thing I can say is that Firefox 4 is excellent, judging by the betas, and the Mozilla team actually listens to people, unlike Google.

How Firefox prints Here’s how Firefox 4 prints. Not happy. Maybe no one has tested it. Considering I couldn’t even read anything in Firefox 4 Beta till a few versions ago, I could hardly use the browser. I’m surprised, still, that no one has picked this up.