Are there any decent free 'Popup Killers'? (And other web site related stuff)

[SeeMoreDigital]

I don't know about you guys, but over the last couple of months I've noticed a lot more 'pop ups' appearing than before!

Are there any decent free 'Popup Killers'?

Cheers


EDIT: Title change

[avih]

yes.
it's called Mozilla (http://www.mozilla.org). it has an email client and irc client as well.
if you're interested in a lean and mean browser only, i would recommend Firefox (http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/) (Mozilla's 'little brother'). that's what i'm currently using, and have used during the last year. best browser on earth imho.

here are the reasons (http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/why/) u should use one of them.

enjoy.

[snowcrash]

Just get the Google Toobar for IE. The popup blocking works very well.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Thanks avih,

I'm a Win Explorer user - sorry about that. And I don't fancy changing browsers!

Cheers

[Angelus]

or if your a mozilla/netscape user, you can get the google search bar too. Got this from the March 2, 2004 PC Mag:

http://googlebar.mozdev.org/index.html

also if you want a standalone one, try:

www.panicware.com

[wmansir]

I hear Google bar might be spyware, but I can't recall if it was a credible source so don't take my word for it.

Anyway, I use Avant browser. It's a IE overlay (like MyIE) that gives a bunch of features (like popup blocking, tabbed interface, google-like bar, Flash blocker, ect) while maintaining IE compatibility and your bookmarks, cookies, saved pwds and all the other junk that makes switching to a new browser a pain.

However it is buggy on some systems, so I can't give it a full recommendation. But I can recommend people give it a try and see how they like it.

[SoonUDie]

I've been using pop-up stopper for years.
http://www.panicware.com/product_psfree.html

Hold down control to allow popups.

[jernst]

The problem with most of these popup blockers is that they even block popups that shouldn't be blocked (for example if you click on a link that opens a webpage in a popup).
So I agree with avih; imho Mozilla - apart from being the best browser I ever used being on windows or linux - has an excellent popup blocker feature that doesn't have the problem described before.

I "don't fancy changing browsers" as well and I only use Mozilla (the only time I use ie is to go on windowsupdate.com) and having a xyz toolbar that tracks the websites I'm browsing and eats some more ram and bandwidth is not an option for me.

On another related topic, the mail client is excellent too and blocks 99% of the spam I'm getting automatically (and you don't get affected by all the security issues you get with ie or outlook)

[communist]

Using something different than IE (-> Opera / Mozilla / Firebird) will also extremely decrease the amount of spyware you get installed without question via IE ;)

[KpeX]

I don't know why anyone wouldn't use Firefox/Mozilla. I don't even remember what popups look like. Plus tabbed browsing, managed downloads, many other things right out of the box...

[Kedirekin]

For what it's worth, I use POW (http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/network/pow.htm) by AnalogX. It's small and simple, but completely manual (if you like that sort of thing).

[Doobie]

I've tried a number of popup blockers. Most of them don't work well. For example, they let the window open then they close it, or they block popups I want. But, the popup blocker on the Google tool bar works great. The downside of the Google tool bar is that it talks with Google whenever it wants to.

The next version of IE will have a built-in popup blocker.

But, we've gotten to the point when you need a flash blocker as well. Google doesn't do that. But, there have been a few suggested alternatives that work.

[mrbass]

Originally posted by Doobie
But, the popup blocker on the Google tool bar works great. The downside of the Google tool bar is that it talks with Google whenever it wants to.

Don't know about you but I never enabled the 'advanced features' and it never contacts google. It's your choice which is clearly laid out during the installation..no trickery involved.

[trapvector]

I'll second the Pop-Up Stopper. It's called Pop-Up Stopper Free Edition. I've had no problems at all. Available from PanicWare.

[Neo Neko]

Originally posted by Doobie

The next version of IE will have a built-in popup blocker.

I hear this rumor alot. Any solid evidence of this? And any inkling of how long it will be delayed by the surfacing and subsequent flood of exploits of the Windows NT source code? I suspect that since it has been delayed as long as it has it may soon be delayed indefinatly as Microsoft goes into crisis mode trying to "fix" all the "features" they have hidden all these years. And if the cookie blocker in IE is any indication I have very low expectations for IE's popup blocker. And think about this. Pop-up ads are one of the biggest outlets for online advertising. Second only to spam. And while spammers have no recourse pop-ups no matter how loathe do. How many are going to cry out in outrage when the defacto browser pushed by Microsoft comes default bundled with this functionality. I suspect MS will try to circumvent this saying that they will have it disabled by default and make it dificult to find for the majority of users. Why would netscape take a browser as their base that offered excelent pop-up blocking and remove it? Simple. Because AOL like MSN has partners who rely on pop-ups.

Originally posted by Doobie

But, we've gotten to the point when you need a flash blocker as well. Google doesn't do that. But, there have been a few suggested alternatives that work.

Mozilla adblock is king. With it I have no pop-ups, no banner ads(text, flash, or otherwise), and next to no spam thanks to Mozilla/thunderbird. I feel like I have been transported back to the net of 1993/1994 but with the content of today!

Mozilla is not perfect. But that is being addressed. I am dumbfounded given the alternatives that people who are aware of them even slightly refuse to release their death grip on IE. Everywhere I go my copy of firebird/firefox goes with me. I absolutely refuse to use IE unless I am accessing windowsupdate. Security and feature wise using IE is downright stupid IMHO. On that note the recent IE5 exploit that doom9 posted on the news page is a prime example. A prime example of stupid programming. And if they did something that stupid in something so simple what does that do for your confidence about the rest of the system. But what is scarrier is that while it is generally accepted that this only effects IE 5 > is that this can't be proven. It simply does not have the same immediate result in IE6. But that does not mean that it is not there. What's scarry though is that several major sites still on average have about 35+% visiting through IE5!

Bender - And even though the computer was off and unplugged, an image stayed on the screen. It was... the Windows logo!
Fry - Pfff... that's not scary!
Bender - It is if you're a laserprinter!

I know I am not the only Futurama fan here. :D

[sysKin]

Just wanted to add my vote for mozilla (/firefox). Apart from being the best web browser I've seen, its popup killer is simply perfect and never failed me in any way (apart form obvious things, like blocking a popup that I didn't want to block. But even then two clicks solve this popup forever, even windows reinstall doesn't kill configuration).

If you stick with IE, make sure this is because of good reasons, not because MS *made you* have IE installed.

Radek

[avih]

SeeMoreDigital, i generally don't like pushing ppl to do something they don't want to. afterall, it's their decision. however, in this case, i would like to ask u to at least give it a try.

use firefox for a week. use the tabs (middle-mouse-button on links), watch how the pop-up-blocking works, install some extensions (http://extensionroom.mozdev.org/main.php/Firefox) (interesting ones include All-In-One-Gestures (http://perso.wanadoo.fr/marc.boullet/ext/extensions-en.html), Ad-Block (http://adblock.mozdev.org/), Flash-Click-To-View (http://extensionroom.mozdev.org/more-info/flashclick), Google-Bar (http://googlebar.mozdev.org/) (although u don't really need it, searching google is built into the browser itself) and SmoothWheel (http://smoothwheel.mozdev.org) (ok, i'm biased with this one ;)). u even have IE-View (http://extensionroom.mozdev.org/more-info/ieview) which allows to view a specific link in IE).

then when someone ask u to use firefox u may answer 'tried that, didn't like it, thx." instead of saying you're just satisfied with IE (and you're not, you obviously need external tools to 'complement' IE's functionality).

it's really a good browser, and that's even without mentionning all the security related stuff. i really think that you'll have a much better online experience with firefox, than u have with IE.

do give it a try.
cheers
avih

[sysKin]

Originally posted by avih
use firefox for a week. use the tabs (middle-mouse-button on links), watch how the pop-up-blocking works, install some extensions (http://extensionroom.mozdev.org/main.php/Firefox) (interesting ones include All-In-One-Gestures (http://perso.wanadoo.fr/marc.boullet/ext/extensions-en.html), Ad-Block (http://adblock.mozdev.org/), Flash-Click-To-View (http://extensionroom.mozdev.org/more-info/flashclick), Google-Bar (http://googlebar.mozdev.org/) (although u don't really need it, searching google is built into the browser itself) and SmoothWheel (http://smoothwheel.mozdev.org) (ok, i'm biased with this one ;)). u even have IE-View (http://extensionroom.mozdev.org/more-info/ieview) which allows to view a specific link in IE).Nice collection, didn't know about Flash-Click and it looks very useful. I would like to add Tabbrowser Extensions (http://extensionroom.mozdev.org/more-info/tbe) which lets you, among other things, redirect all target=_blank links to open new tab instead of new window when clicked with left mouse button, by javascript etc. HUGE configuration included. BTW, one can even keep popups enabled with this because popups just open new, harmless tabs and load in background.

Radek

[snowcrash]

Well, it sure is a Mozilla love-fest in here isn't it?

Let me tell you one thing you can't do with Mozilla that you can with IE. In IE you can move around, rearrange, customize the toolbars as you see fit. For example, I can take the Address bar and put it in the empty space next to the Menu bar. Can't do that with Mozilla/Firefox.

As for the tabbed browsing, well that's not much different from having multiple windows now is it? It's just my "tabs" are on the bottom toolbar, giving me even more area for the actual web content. And instead of using Ctrl-Tab to switch between tabs, I use Alt-Tab to switch between windows. The functionality is the same either way.

[avih]

Originally posted by snowcrash
...Let me tell you one thing you can't do with Mozilla that you can with IE. In IE you can move around, rearrange, customize the toolbars as you see fit. For example, I can take the Address bar and put it in the empty space next to the Menu bar. Can't do that with Mozilla/Firefox.
wrong. firefox does that. right-click on any of the toolbar icons and select 'customize'.

Originally posted by snowcrash
As for the tabbed browsing, well that's not much different from having multiple windows now is it? It's just my "tabs" are on the bottom toolbar, giving me even more area for the actual web content. And instead of using Ctrl-Tab to switch between tabs, I use Alt-Tab to switch between windows. The functionality is the same either way. could be, but u won't know untill u've tried. it turns out that most ppl find the tabs to be one of the best features of mozilla/firefox. and most ppl that use mozilla/firefox know how to arrange their desktops properly. and that includes using the task-bar.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Thanks for all the info you guys.

After reading all the posts in this thread it would seem changing browsers would be advantageous. And being able to see Neo Neko's avatar properly is an opportunity too good to miss!

So I'm going to do as avih suggested and install firefox.

I shall ofcourse let you all know how I get on.

Thanks again


EDIT:
OK then. I'm now using Firefox. However I've checked out my website and it does not look the same as it did with IE.... There's bits missing!

Needless to say I created the site with Front Page....

I guess I'm in for more abuse now!

Cheers

[sysKin]

Originally posted by snowcrash
As for the tabbed browsing, well that's not much different from having multiple windows now is it? It's just my "tabs" are on the bottom toolbar, giving me even more area for the actual web content. And instead of using Ctrl-Tab to switch between tabs, I use Alt-Tab to switch between windows. The functionality is the same either way. I don't agree. If you open new window, this window gets focus and opens on top, so you need extra clicking to go back to your original window and click some more. Tabs open in background.

There is more of course, such as bookmarking a set of tabs, having a set of tabs as your homepage, or a simple ability to undo closing a tab (with tabbrowser extensions).

Also, do you really like having your regular taskbar full of browser windows?

Radek

[avih]

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
... EDIT:
OK then. I'm now using Firefox. However I've checked out my website and it does not look the same as it did with IE.... There's bits missing!

Needless to say I created the site with Front Page....

I guess I'm in for more abuse now!
Cheers
on the contrary.
you took the red pill, welcome to the desert of the real ;)

now there's no way back. unless, of course, u sell yourself to Mr. M$ Smith, and put back into the matrix. but would u really want that? ;)

[snowcrash]

nm

[sysKin]

Originally posted by avih
now there's no way back.Yes avih, this is the worst aspect of mozilla. You can't go back. Whan I'm at uni, I actually walk quite a bit just to go to a computer room with macs, because I have real user account there and I have firebird installed. Even with only one mouse button, it's still easier for me to browse there...

Drawing mousegestures or middle-clicking on IE looks pathetic...

:)Radek

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by avih
on the contrary.
you took the red pill, welcome to the desert of the real ;)

now there's no way back. unless, of course, u sell yourself to Mr. M$ Smith, and put back into the matrix. but would u really want that? ;) How true...

Anyway, after a little bit of fiddling about I've worked out what the problem was and my web site looks okay now.

Looks like IE will get dumped

Oh, and it's so nice to see Neo Neko's avatar!

Cheers

[communist]

Originally posted by snowcrash

As for the tabbed browsing, well that's not much different from having multiple windows now is it? It's just my "tabs" are on the bottom toolbar, giving me even more area for the actual web content. And instead of using Ctrl-Tab to switch between tabs, I use Alt-Tab to switch between windows. The functionality is the same either way.
There is a big difference between cluttering the taskbar with loads of IE-intances and tabbed browsing. I found out that multiple instances of IE eat up way more memory than the same amount of tabs in firefix / Mozilla.
10 (different) Tabs in firefox ~ 28MB
10 (different) IE windows ~ 38MB

+You can surf forums a hell lot faster using gestures to open multiple threads :)
Also the fact you have a totally different surfing behaviour -> I just keep opening tabs in the background and read them later without leaving the first tab and loosing focus :cool:

[avih]

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
...Looks like IE will get dumped...
Good. another convert ;) welcome to the club.

ps.
don't forget to still test your web pages with IE, afterall, there are many more ppl that haven't seen the light. yet.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by avih
...don't forget to still test your web pages with IE, afterall, there are many more ppl that haven't seen the light. yet. Yea, for some reason the grid background in my web pages disappeared when they were being viewed with Firefox!

Sorted now though...

[KpeX]

Originally posted by sysKin
I would like to add Tabbrowser Extensions (http://extensionroom.mozdev.org/more-info/tbe) which lets you, among other things, redirect all target=_blank links to open new tab instead of new window when clicked with left mouse button, by javascript etc. HUGE configuration included. BTW, one can even keep popups enabled with this because popups just open new, harmless tabs and load in background. Very nice, thanks sysKin, I hadn't seen this one yet. Firefox gets even sweeter :).

[Neo Neko]

Originally posted by communist
There is a big difference between cluttering the taskbar with loads of IE-intances and tabbed browsing. I found out that multiple instances of IE eat up way more memory than the same amount of tabs in firefix / Mozilla.
10 (different) Tabs in firefox ~ 28MB
10 (different) IE windows ~ 38MB

+You can surf forums a hell lot faster using gestures to open multiple threads :)
Also the fact you have a totally different surfing behaviour -> I just keep opening tabs in the background and read them later without leaving the first tab and loosing focus :cool:

Yes I would like to second that. Tabbed browsing saves on memory. Granted there are interfaces to IE that allow rudamentary tab interfaces. Just not like firebird. It takes some getting used to. But once you do it is hard to go back. On the few occasions I find myself forced to use IE I have to force myself to not use mouse guestures. People look funny at me. Also I would like to recomend the optimoz tweaks. You can load your bookmarks in the sidebar like IE. But this extension makes the bar extend or retract if your mouse is close to the left edge. It roxors if you have a large list of links with a deep heirarchy!

Also to whomever said that firefoxe's toolbars are not that configurable. Not only is that false. It is rediculously false. It is not as simple perhaps as the basic drag and drop positioning of IE. But with some XML, Javascript, and CSS knowledge you can code browser chrome to make your own custom and completely unique browser interface. It is a bit more complex but alot more powerfull.

[Doobie]

Are there no Opera users here? It works well.

In reference to the suggested Panicware Pop-Up Stopper, the website says "ads are blocked, or closed quickly." I hate popup blockers that work by closing the windows. They shouldn't allow the windows to open in the first place. And, they should never block a popup that is caused by clicking on a link.

Anyway, I've just downloaded Firefox. I had avoided Mozilla in the past because it was so bloated and otherwise rough. But, I'll give it another try.

[avih]

what'dya think? ;)

http://smoothwheel.mozdev.org/firefox_red_pill_2.png (http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox)

[wmansir]

Well with all the glowing reviews here I'm giving Firefox a try. But So far I'm unimpressed.

1. It's going to take a lot of work to get it up to what Avant does out of the box. I understand it's part of the lean-mean default config and also due to the fact that it is so custumizable, but I shouldn't have to put this much work into a setup.

2. It has some annoying qurks. For instance, it's a tabbed browswer, but by default when you click on a link that opens in a new window, it opens a second instance instead of a new tab.

3. It's buggy. Yes I said buggy. Perhaps it is just the exts. I have had it installed all of 20 minutes and I have run into 1 major bug and a couple of minor ones. Like:

a. I tried installing the Tabbrowser extension, but when I restarted Firefox all I got was the Tabbrowser extension "about box", which did nothing when I clicked OK, the only button. I killed Firefox.exe and tried again with the same results. I restarted my comp, no go. So I tried again and hit Alt-F4, which closed the box and lauched the browser. I had to do this again several times when trying to configure the plugin. Finally I got sick of it and uninstalled the plugin.

b. I installed the all-in-one mouse gestures ext. When I just went to highlight something on a webpage I found I couldn't because it thought I was doing a mouse gesture. Perhaps I have to use my middle button or something. The only problme is Firefox doesn't seem to recognize my middle button.

c. I went into the ext. options to disable the mouse gesture plugin. Which I appeared to do. I didn't get any messages about having to restart, but I guess I must have to because the plugin is still active even though it is disabled in the CP. It gave me 2-3 messages about having to restart for every ext when I installed them, but didn't give me one when I disabled one.

4. I know you guys said you can custumize the toolbar and to some extent you can. But how about letting me put the tab bar at the bottom of the window? I much prefer Avant's custumization setup.

I don't mean to bash this browser, and I'm going to give it more time, both to set it up further and to get use to it. I haven't looked at all the plugins yet and I'm sure some can address these issues I have.

ps. this is really just a nitpick, but I don't liek the way the cursor seems to highlight half of the last letter as I type. I like to be able to see the letters as I type them.

pps. Sorry if there are a lot of misspellings in this post, but IEspell ovbiously doens't work with Firefox.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Is there an 'spell checker' you can intergrate into Firefox?

Me carnt spewl vewy wewl...

[wmansir]

I thought there would have been an extension, but it doesn't look that simple.

Try this (http://www.dennis.ca/weblog/archives/000420.php).

[Neo Neko]

Originally posted by wmansir
Well with all the glowing reviews here I'm giving Firefox a try. But So far I'm unimpressed.

1. It's going to take a lot of work to get it up to what Avant does out of the box. I understand it's part of the lean-mean default config and also due to the fact that it is so custumizable, but I shouldn't have to put this much work into a setup.

Well that is your oppinion. And there is nothing wrong with that. You simply desire the exact thing you have grown acustom to. Thing is that Mozilla/Firefox is trying to target a much larger audience than Avant does. So it has to be a bit more generic in it's defaults. Anything to radical to start of with and you could disenfranchise alot of people.

Originally posted by wmansir
2. It has some annoying qurks. For instance, it's a tabbed browswer, but by default when you click on a link that opens in a new window, it opens a second instance instead of a new tab.

First and foremoset it is a browser. A browser that offeres tabed browsing functionality or the traditional multiwindow experience. Again they go with tradition. They offer the power but don't want to scare people off first thing. They are trying to keep migration woes to a minimum. And then when people are ready they can step up to the next level.

Originally posted by wmansir
3. It's buggy. Yes I said buggy. Perhaps it is just the exts. I have had it installed all of 20 minutes and I have run into 1 major bug and a couple of minor ones. Like:

a. I tried installing the Tabbrowser extension, but when I restarted Firefox all I got was the Tabbrowser extension "about box", which did nothing when I clicked OK, the only button. I killed Firefox.exe and tried again with the same results. I restarted my comp, no go. So I tried again and hit Alt-F4, which closed the box and lauched the browser. I had to do this again several times when trying to configure the plugin. Finally I got sick of it and uninstalled the plugin.

Personally I don't use the tabbed browsing extensions myself. But I have never seen any other extension or the app itself behave that way under Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD, or BeOS. I will try installing that extention later though and see what happens.

Originally posted by wmansir
b. I installed the all-in-one mouse gestures ext. When I just went to highlight something on a webpage I found I couldn't because it thought I was doing a mouse gesture. Perhaps I have to use my middle button or something. The only problme is Firefox doesn't seem to recognize my middle button.

It thinks you are doing a mouse guesture. But it will select at the same time. Do your selection and then keep the mouse still for a second or so while still holding the mouse button. The guesture will cancel and the selection will remain. Also under the extensions section in the options dialog you are able to configure mouse guesture sensitivity and key combos to eliminate this if it annoys you. Also you can turn on the mouse trail which draws the mouse guesture as you make it. Rather spiffy if I say so myself.

Originally posted by wmansir
c. I went into the ext. options to disable the mouse gesture plugin. Which I appeared to do. I didn't get any messages about having to restart, but I guess I must have to because the plugin is still active even though it is disabled in the CP. It gave me 2-3 messages about having to restart for every ext when I installed them, but didn't give me one when I disabled one.

Most people are going to install more than they remove. The multiple warnings come from some plugins installing in the browser heirarchy and the user profiles. You get a warning or more for each. Granted we would be just as well off with one. But they have time to iron that out before 1.0. Unfortunatly to keep things cross platform and similarly functional you have to exit and restart the browser application. Reminds me of the good ole Windows NT days. "You mouse has moved. You must restart for the changes to take effect." But it is a rather minimal annoyance since I know what extensions I want and after they are installed I never have to deal with it again save for the odd theme or two. But phusion is nice and slick.

Originally posted by wmansir
4. I know you guys said you can custumize the toolbar and to some extent you can. But how about letting me put the tab bar at the bottom of the window? I much prefer Avant's custumization setup.

Well there is no drag and drop type solution for this. It would be very hard to do in a cross platform manner. It should however be trivial with a little HTML knowledge to go in and edit the chrome files so that all chrome shows at the bottom below the page or just the tabs, or just the menues, or just the URL bar, or just the bookmarks bar, etc. And once you edit it you can share your custom chrome file with others who desire the same thing. But having all that stuff on the bottom is quite a detour from standard brower fair and could put the learning curve to high for many beginners. Take comfort and know that it is there though. Perhaps I will give it a try when I get the time to do that sort of thing.

Originally posted by wmansir
pps. Sorry if there are a lot of misspellings in this post, but IEspell ovbiously doens't work with Firefox.

Actually you give yourself to little credit. If there were any mispellings they were so minor I did not notice any of them. I believe there are alternatives like IEspell for mozilla. In fact I know it is still floating around somewhere. But there was a menu extension that would translate your text into other languages for you as well. Mind you it was a machine translation.

[snowcrash]

After all the hype here, I decided to give Firefox another try. It's definately a nice browser and the tabbed browsing is a nice convenience.

But now I want to respond to the person who said it was "stupid" for anyone to use IE and not Mozilla. Let me tell you why someone might want to stick with IE. One word. COMPATIBILITY.

After surfing around for a couple hours in Firefox I discovered several pages that did not draw properly. Some of the drawing errors were quite drastic. And there were a couple cases where navigation did not work properly, ie. click on a link and go nowhere (was not due to pop-up blocking either).

This stuff doesn't surprise me, since these days web designers concentrate their efforts on optimizing their content for IE, the most prevalent browser. Many web stes do not test their content properly for Netscape/Mozilla.

So there you go. Some of us choose to use IE because it's the most compatible browser out there and almost always shows web content as it was supposed to be seen. Please don't call us STUPID for making that choice.

[avih]

snowcrash, fair enough. it's your choice. u're correct with most of your points. many designers only test their pages on IE. if you use IE you'll have the highest percentage of "correctly" rendered pages. you may choose to call it compatibility if u wish so.

regarding the 'stupid' issue, Neo Neko was not referring to IE users when saying 'stupid'. u may want to re-read his post.

however, acting according to these issues ties you, and the other users of IE to MS products (front page, word-html-exports, IE, etc). and practically requires u to use the whole range of MS products. u may find that convinient at 1st, but you're already in MS' pocket. and that's a bad place to be at.

what MS does wrong is that its products in general, and specifically IE doesn't conform to standards. they invent their own standards, and prevent interoperability with other platforms/applications. so you're locked down.

mozilla and firefox are way more standard complient than any version of IE. they behave identically on all platforms according to the web standards. so when you buy a PDA, or switch OS, or use a web-on-tv set-top-box, the pages will look the same. but that happens ONLY if the web sites are standard complient and not IE specific. OR if all of these products are from MS as well. would u want that?

the bottom line is that i think that as a consumer, u should be worried that web sites are designed for IE only, instead of for web standards. not all platforms have activeX. not all platforms support VBscript, etc.

and if that's not enough, consider all the security holes of IE/OE, and the fact that regardless of the holes, 99% of virus writers target these products. this alone should be enough for you.

it's your choice. choose what u think is best. i know i'm satisfied with my selection.

cheers
avih

ps. regarding the 'prevailing browser' issue. correct, but changing. according to this (http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp) report, IE counts at about 85%, Gecko based (Netscape/Mozilla/Firefox) counts at about 11%. the balance is changing.

[sysKin]

Originally posted by wmansir
3. It's buggy. Yes I said buggy. Perhaps it is just the exts. I have had it installed all of 20 minutes and I have run into 1 major bug and a couple of minor ones.Unfortunately, extensions are behind in development of firefox. This version is quite new, and most extensions have not been updated.

If you want to make sure all extensions work, you should use old good mozilla rather than firefox (version 0.8 starts with 0 for a reason...).

As for having tabbar on bottom (or left or right), tabbrowser does that (again). I'm sorry to hear it didn't work. I'm pretty sure it doesn't work for some firefox users, I visit their irc channel from time to time...

Radek

[Christos]

I desided a long time ago to change my default browser and went through the whole prosses of searching and evaluating alternatives.
I tried both mozilla and firebird (now firefox) and I liked them, espesially firefox.
But I have to say they can't beat Opera.
It has the best things of both by default (no need for plug-ins) and many more.
In fact opera was the first browser to introduce mouse gestures and one of the first to introduce tabbed browsing.
If you all want to be objective just give it a try before questioning me... Link (http://www.opera.com/products/)
I know its not open source and I really hope the day will come soon that the firefox project will be completed and I am sure it will be the best browser...
But until then Opera is the one.

P.S. : Anyone has one of nokia's newest mobile phones?
Opera is the default browser...

[wmansir]

But phusion is nice and slick. That's the one I installed!

Thanks for the detailed response Neo Neko. I agree some of my criticisms were because I wanted it to do things I was accustom to, preferably in a way I was accustom to.

Just a couple of quick points. I can understand defaulting 'new window' links to a new instance, but at least make it an option to default 'new window' links to new tabs. In general, the amount of settings under the options page, excluding extensions, is very underwhelming. But I did find an extension which would let me set this behavior. Also, regarding the mouse gestures, perhaps it's a buggy install, but when left clicking and dragging the mouse no selection is made. You are right in that if I pause before releasing the button the gesture is aborted.

Just so I'm not seen as totally negative I want to say there are aspects I like. The extensions system for one. This system looks great, even with the problems I had I can appreciate it's design. I understand it is meant to address many of the issues I have with the default config, but I also find it unreasonable that I should have to install an addon in order to get a "search" button next to the search bar, which I just did. or having an extension to disable auto-complete. I think that is in options, or it should be. Damn, there I go negative again. think positive, think positive Adblock is a great extension. Others are good too. I'm still checking them out.

There are other things I like, most due to extensions. But it's getting late so I may finish this post up tomorrow.

Edit: I wanted to add that there are a few nice little features I like also. Like the "view Selection Source" options, or the "Copy image location". These are very useful. In fact I just used the latter option to make a great contribution to this thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=71361). :)

[gldblade]

a. I tried installing the Tabbrowser extension, but when I restarted Firefox all I got was the Tabbrowser extension "about box", which did nothing when I clicked OK, the only button. I killed Firefox.exe and tried again with the same results. I restarted my comp, no go. So I tried again and hit Alt-F4, which closed the box and lauched the browser. I had to do this again several times when trying to configure the plugin. Finally I got sick of it and uninstalled the plugin. The reason is that you're supposed to go to Edit->Preferences->Tabbed Browsing to configure Tabbrowser Extension.

[Neo Neko]

Originally posted by snowcrash
After all the hype here, I decided to give Firefox another try. It's definately a nice browser and the tabbed browsing is a nice convenience.

But now I want to respond to the person who said it was "stupid" for anyone to use IE and not Mozilla. Let me tell you why someone might want to stick with IE. One word. COMPATIBILITY.

Well that is nice and all. But unfortunatly no one said that. What "I" said with admitted fervor and zeal was that it was in my oppinion stupid to favor IE when someone was aware of alternatives. Especially in the sense of security. I did not say that everyone "must" use mozilla. Make no mistake I "LIKE" mozilla. But opera is also quite nice. Also Khtml based layout systems like Konqueror and Safari are very respectable. And I still often find uses for lynx.

Originally posted by snowcrash
After surfing around for a couple hours in Firefox I discovered several pages that did not draw properly. Some of the drawing errors were quite drastic. And there were a couple cases where navigation did not work properly, ie. click on a link and go nowhere (was not due to pop-up blocking either).

This stuff doesn't surprise me, since these days web designers concentrate their efforts on optimizing their content for IE, the most prevalent browser. Many web stes do not test their content properly for Netscape/Mozilla.

The funny thing about IE being the most compatablie is that it is actually the least compatable. But in reality for every one of your "so called" mozilla incompatable pages I could bring out one or more perfectly valid HTML pages that IE renders wholly incorrectly. All you have to do is follow open standards to design incompatable pages. Google for "complex spiral demo". Just don't view it in IE.

Originally posted by snowcrash
So there you go. Some of us choose to use IE because it's the most compatible browser out there and almost always shows web content as it was supposed to be seen.

Well there are "HUNDREDS" of pages on doom9's site alone where IE renders incorrectly. :devil: You percieve what you percieve. That does not mean that you are correct. In my day to day use of the web it is truly a noteworthy occasion when I find pages that Mozilla can't display correctly. And I do check from time to time. Even though doom9's frontpage does not render the same in IE as it does in Mozilla, mozilla does not render it wrong. Just different. Speaking of which I still have to package the files and get them over to doom9 so IE will render the page the same as Mozilla. I nearly lost them when Windows destroyed a HD or two. Thank goodness for backups and *NIX boxes.

Originally posted by snowcrash
Please don't call us STUPID for making that choice.

You can make whatever choices you like. But you can't expect everyone to think that they are inteligent. It's a two way street I admit. People are alone because they think they are. Followers are a dime a dozen. Actually more like a penny a 10^99. So be a leader. By saying that I will just settle and use option X because developers are to lazy to do their job and develop for X and Y is saying that you don't want a choice. And while this only speaks to those who are web enthusiasts it is analogus to something that all of us digital video enthusiasts hold most dear. Our rights to "our" digital media and how they are being trampled. Not speaking out means they will only get trampled more. Just as not using better browsers means that pages will be less likely to be designed better.

Having a knowledge of retail I can say with some certainty that the addage that "the customer is always right" is almost always wrong anymore. But that does not mean that there are not legitimate complaints and reasons to complain. Even if IE is your favorite browser and you never want to switch you should at this point be getting everyone you can to use something other than IE. Because it is the only way that Microsoft will bother to develop IE anymore. And that is if you are lucky enough to find someone at Microsoft who still knows how IE works or how to develop it. If IE is anything like SMB then the developer group has been disbanded for about 7 years and they have had two interns actively assigned the duty of patching the old code as vulnerabilities get raised. Because IE has not been actively developed since 1998. By being complacent you are doing a disservice to yourself and everyone else. Whether or not you think you are. Don't just say we "should" do this and that. Lets get out and do it. Whether it is telling Microsoft to get off their thumbs and develop their products or telling IP whores where they can stick their DRM and to let their congressmen have a paid day off from lobbying on their behalf. By not exercising our rights it is as if we are saying we don't want them. And that is something I don't want. So don't claim compatability as a defense for IE. ;) Happy browsing. And no hard feelings.

[wmansir]

I just thought I would update this by saying I got Tabbrowser extensions to work, for a little while at least. The problem is I uninstalled 'all-in-one' mouse gestures, because it wasn't allowing me to select text, and it nuked most of my extensions. Of the dozen I have installed only Google bar and Download Status bar are still working. I've decided to give up on .8 and am going to try .7, so I haven't given up all hope.

Edit: After setting up Firebird 0.7 for a little while I'm beginning to come around. MUCH smoother than the unstable Firefox 0.8. I had to reinstall from scratch since my profile was hosed from 0.8, but Tabbrowser Ext. is working fine and I got spellcheck installed (though that is a little flaky, but I like the interface better than IEspell). I still don't know if I will switch, but I'm closer than I was yesterday.

[lapin]

I'd like to cast one more vote for Opera here, as Christos said it was one of the first (if the not the first browser) to include mouse gesture and tabs.

I don't like tabs, but multiple instance of opera and mouse gesture does it for me... it does it really well.

Opening a new window in the background with one click, closing with a mouse gesture... i'm hooked to this way of surfing the net, i'll simply never go back.

[Uli]

I don't want to participate in this 'holy war' of opinions for/against any paticular browser. But the question was:
"Are there any decent free Popup Killers"
The answer: YES!

Try proxomitron http://www.proxomitron.info (albeight discontinued)
or privoxy http://www.privoxy.org
or webwasher http://www.webwasher.com

those three utils are highly configurable and even have their on message boards. They can not only fight popups but also malicious html code, Active Xshit, javascript and other nasty stuff. Although i'm not really an IE6 enthusiast, i can recommend the combination of IE6 with any of the above products in combination with e. g. kerio personal firewall. With this combination i never got a virus or a dialer or other netdirt.

just my 2 Euro/100

greetz, Uli

[stax76]

agreed with tab browsing is the most important feature. Imho pressing Ctrl and clicking on a link which will open the link in a new tab in the background is essential for a serious browser. Shift is opening a new window btw. It's a lot easier than the context menu when you have to open a large amount of links like a links collection, image galleries etc. Another plus is the browser supports extensions, I din't search for neat extensions yet, the only one I'm using atm. is for sorting the bookmarks alphabetically

[Sirber]

If you use IE, you can use Google's toolbar. It's free and works well :)

[communist]

Originally posted by Dolemite
Imho pressing Ctrl and clicking on a link which will open the link in a new tab in the background is essential for a serious browser. Shift is opening a new window btw. It's a lot easier than the context menu when you have to open a large amount of links like a links collection, image galleries etc. Another plus is the browser supports extensions, I din't search for neat extensions yet, the only one I'm using atm. is for sorting the bookmarks alphabetically
Having a 3 button mouse (scroll wheel) makes it even better :D

[stax76]

I have a 5 buttons wheel mouse :D , but how am I gonna use the third button/wheel in Firefox? What I found now is wheel and Shift is equal to Alt + Left/Right

[avih]

use middle button click on links to open in a new tab. u can also make it open in the BG (configurable from tools->options->advanced->browsing).

another place with tons of config options is to type 'about:config' in the address bar. have a look at the faq and tips (start here (http://texturizer.net/firefox/)).

[sysKin]

Hey,
Since it's on topic, new development version of original mozilla (http://www.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla1.7a/)was just released.

Changelog (http://www.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla1.7a/README.html#new) mentions extended popup killer, which allows you to browse popups killed and, if you decide to, show them anyway.
Pretty cool - if only I wasn't using Firefox ;)

Radek

[diogo6]

this is gonna sound stupid, but what's the shortcut for the "open address" on firefox, I mean like the Ctrl+O in IE.

thanks,

by the way, I love firefox so far

[Neo Neko]

Oddly enough it is CTRL+O. ;)

[port66]

Proxomitron - made the ultimate filter file for it :)

[diogo6]

@Neo Neko

that's what I was hoping for, but when I press Ctrl+O, it tries to open a "file", not an "address"... can somebody help me out with this one?

[communist]

In Mozilla 1.5 its :
CTRL + Shift + L

[avih]

ALT-d will also work. F6 might do that as well. pls refer to my previous post regarding the faq/tips site. it also has keyboard shortcuts.

[diogo6]

@communist: thanks, but I was looking for a firefox shortcut, thanks anyways...

@avih: cool, they both work the way I wanted, thanks a lot

[duartix]

After 30 minutes of use, I'm another convert :o!
How was it possible to keep IE :devil: :devil: :devil: for so long?
There is just one thing I can't do yet. Use Flashget's (right click) context menus like Download by Flashget or Download All by Flashget (most useful this one).

[Eyes`Only]

In regards to the original question:

I've used popupcop for quite a while (not free though, just a mention because I believe it to be better than anything, including Firefox's popup blocker). I used to believe Google's toolbar was 'all that you needed'. Then, one day while feeling secure, I stumbled across a website which in a matter of a few seconds installed several adware/spyware apps into my computer before I could shut it down. They went right thru the Google popup blocker. Took me 3 reboots and a LOT of registry edits to remove it all (yes, both adaware and spybot didn't do a good job).

That being said, I now use Avant because of many of the pro-IE reasons stated previously by other users (mostly compatibility, and liking to stick with the industry standard since I support endless end-users) as well as it's integrated ad-blocker and popup-blocker. I've talked with users that use Firefox and compared our findings on popuptest.com. The findings were surprising... Avant failed to stop one popup that Firefox was able to remove, yet Avant stopped one popup that Firefox let thru. Tie score.

The author of Avant has also taken note of popuptest.com and has mentioned to the masses that he intends to make his app catch and block every single test (how's that for support!?) so I can't wait to see what's next!

As for features, it basically has it all.. ad-blocking, popup-blocking, tabbed windows, built-in google toolbar, language translation, ability to save opened windows when closing so next time you open it all your current webpages are revisited, minimize to systray, middle-click opens in new window, powerful new additions to current features such as the favorites menu and shortcut mouse behaviors, etc.

If you've been burned in the past with Netscape like me (anyone remember 1996-1997? I can't count the number of Netscape BSODs I experienced, and I think I remember reinstalling my OS several times due to their app also), then I'd suggest at look at this absolutely-no-relation-to-Mozilla app. You basically won't feel like you are using a new browser so it's very easy to adapt to, and once you get used to the new features, you'll wonder why it took you so long to find this app!

Sorry it's not just a free popup blocker addon like you requested, but it is free, and it blocks popups better than anything except popupcop (People have asked the author of popupcop to make his app work with Avant but he insists it's the Avant's author's issue).

port66: sure wouldn't mind using Avant with proximitron but I haven't figured out how to do it yet... tried it once but must have done something wrong. Do you know if it can be done?

uli: been trying to find good proxy filters too, thanks for the suggestions, I'll be trying all of them tommorrow!

[Neo Neko]

Originally posted by Eyes`Only
In regards to the original question:

I've used popupcop for quite a while (not free though, just a mention because I believe it to be better than anything, including Firefox's popup blocker). I used to believe Google's toolbar was 'all that you needed'. Then, one day while feeling secure, I stumbled across a website which in a matter of a few seconds installed several adware/spyware apps into my computer before I could shut it down. They went right thru the Google popup blocker. Took me 3 reboots and a LOT of registry edits to remove it all (yes, both adaware and spybot didn't do a good job).

That alone is a ringing endoresment for gecko or Khtml based browsers. You don't have to have a popup for a site to install spyware though IE. That can happen just by opening the page. You do on the other hand have to have a miracle to do the same via gecko or Khtml.

Originally posted by Eyes`Only


That being said, I now use Avant because of many of the pro-IE reasons stated previously by other users (mostly compatibility, and liking to stick with the industry standard since I support endless end-users) as well as it's integrated ad-blocker and popup-blocker.

Well I think it has been shown time and time again that pretty much every "pro-IE reason" has been shown to be basically baseless here and in most other threads. IE a myth or misconception. And to be fully correct you are not sticking with the industry standard you are sticking with the "defacto" monopoly standard. By embracing IE most people have abandoned the industry standards. The industry standard being that set by the W3C. And not the one by the userper.

In terms of compatability I am always keen to see a so-called mozilla-killa page. They are quite rare. And 9 times out of 10 are due to poor design skills or frontpage. So if you have any examples handy please post them. And in exchange I will show you a page that IE renders wrong. See this page here? IE has rendered it wrong! :D And oddly enough it is basically standards compliant in every way. Even the part IE renders wrong. ;)

Originally posted by Eyes`Only


I've talked with users that use Firefox and compared our findings on popuptest.com. The findings were surprising... Avant failed to stop one popup that Firefox was able to remove, yet Avant stopped one popup that Firefox let thru. Tie score.

Superficially it may be a tie. But to be quite honest the only place I have seen the mouseover popup in action was at popuptest.com. So I would have to say that it is quite likely very rare. Out of curiosity which one did avant fail? Chances are it is more common.

Originally posted by Eyes`Only


The author of Avant has also taken note of popuptest.com and has mentioned to the masses that he intends to make his app catch and block every single test (how's that for support!?) so I can't wait to see what's next!

As far as support goes it's quite good. Far better than Microsoft. But not quite as good as the Mozilla or perhaps KDE groups. Unfortunatly with avant using such a poor base it is highly unlikely that it will ever be on par.

Originally posted by Eyes`Only


As for features, it basically has it all.. ad-blocking, popup-blocking, tabbed windows, built-in google toolbar, language translation, ability to save opened windows when closing so next time you open it all your current webpages are revisited, minimize to systray, middle-click opens in new window, powerful new additions to current features such as the favorites menu and shortcut mouse behaviors, etc.

How is it for cookie blocking? If it is anything like it's base then it is nothing to write home about. Which after popup blocking and the ability to block silent adware/spyware installs(IE is the only browser suceptable to this anyway) is the most important feature of a browser to me.

Originally posted by Eyes`Only


If you've been burned in the past with Netscape like me (anyone remember 1996-1997? I can't count the number of Netscape BSODs I experienced, and I think I remember reinstalling my OS several times due to their app also), then I'd suggest at look at this absolutely-no-relation-to-Mozilla app.

Well first of all you are perpetuating the myth that Mozilla==Netscape which is false. Netscape is based on Mozilla to be sure. But they are still very distinct products. Where netscape was/is driven and dictated by a corporate entity. The Mozilla group is by and large dictated to and driven by it's users/developers which happen to often be the same people.

I used Netscape since the early 2.0 versions. Say 1993-1994 or so. And I have to say that 4.0 was pretty piss poor and practically killed Netscape off. But I am not so jaded to believe that Mozilla is the same thing as Netscape. Mozilla represents a major revision over Netscape 4. In fact the only thing that is similar in Netscape 4 and Mozilla is the default interface. Everything under the hood is basically 100% different. Especially the core components.

Originally posted by Eyes`Only


You basically won't feel like you are using a new browser so it's very easy to adapt to, and once you get used to the new features, you'll wonder why it took you so long to find this app!

Last I checked IE's interface has always been based on Netscape. Back forward, refresh, stop, url bar, throbber. Where do they deviate in any major way?

Originally posted by Eyes`Only


Sorry it's not just a free popup blocker addon like you requested, but it is free, and it blocks popups better than anything except popupcop (People have asked the author of popupcop to make his app work with Avant but he insists it's the Avant's author's issue).

I will agree with you it is worlds better than stock IE. And that if someone does not switch to Mozilla, firefox, opera, konqueror, safari, etc that they should at least use it. But it still has major issues and vulnerabilities.

[Eyes`Only]

see, what I did was try to answer the original poster's real request (rule 3), which although was never said, was in fact, "..decent free 'Popup killers' (that work with IE)". Actually wmansir did mention it in one of the earliest replies but it was pretty much ignored IMO

And no, sorry to ruin your flame, but I'm not going to reply to your IE-hatred remarks... find another lacky. I didn't post to argue the better browser, I posted because the poster's question was never answered. And I'm not about to join the flamers, though if someone wants to discuss the topic, I'm up for that. Hint: this would mean arguing a different popup-blocker that works with IE that's better than popupcop, or a better IE-based add-on (MyIE2 for instance, which although it has a lot of good features such as plug-ins still doesn't "feel" as nice as Avant). I still think PopupCop is #1, but alas, it doesn't work with Avant :(

[wmansir]

I'm glad to see someone else who likes Avant browser. I wouldn't even consider switching if it weren't for the fact that I'm one of the unfortunate people who are hit by the CPU exit bug (Closing the browser makes the process go to 100% CPU usage and has to be killed in TaskMan.) It happens 1 out of 5-10 times on my system, but the author is unable to reproduce it so it has not been fixed. It has been over 6 months and I'm just getting sick of waiting.

As far as IE compatibility, I understand that Mozilla follows the specs and IE does not, but I find many more pages that don't display "correctly" (according to the wishes of the author) with Mozilla than with IE. For instance I can't use Firebird to setup my Belkin router because some of the buttons don't work. I have to switch to IE. I know this is due to improper coding, but that doesn't help me setup my router.

[Eyes`Only]

Damn, sorry to hear that... hope the author can find a fix for you.

uli: proxomitron is the winner! I tried all the apps you suggested and proxomitron was the best by far! It was even able to remove the annoying drop down ad like you see on dvd2svcd.org and the sticky ad on geocities-type sites! Thank you thank you thank you!

[Neo Neko]

Originally posted by Eyes`Only
see, what I did was try to answer the original poster's real request (rule 3), which although was never said, was in fact, "..decent free 'Popup killers' (that work with IE)". Actually wmansir did mention it in one of the earliest replies but it was pretty much ignored IMO

That's all good and fine. Though even those who speak of opera and Mozilla are technically on topic.

Originally posted by Eyes`Only

And no, sorry to ruin your flame, but I'm not going to reply to your IE-hatred remarks... find another lacky.

:eek: :confused: That was not a flame. I am actually interested in a constructive debate if possible. Perhaps I responded in a to familliar manner. If that is the case I sincerely appologise as it was not my intention. I admit I have no love for IE. It has burned me so much more than any version of netscape ever has. I suppose I should not have responded to your few anti-netscape remarks.

Originally posted by Eyes`Only

I didn't post to argue the better browser, I posted because the poster's question was never answered.

That is up to the poster to decide. And I got the impression that he was basically satsified as of some time ago. Oh and to arguing the better browser to me it already looked as if you were. Sorry if I missunderstood you.

Originally posted by Eyes`Only

And I'm not about to join the flamers,

Inadvertantly you already had. Though not on purpose. We both have strong feelings and oppinions.

Originally posted by Eyes`Only

though if someone wants to discuss the topic, I'm up for that. Hint: this would mean arguing a different popup-blocker that works with IE that's better than popupcop, or a better IE-based add-on (MyIE2 for instance, which although it has a lot of good features such as plug-ins still doesn't "feel" as nice as Avant). I still think PopupCop is #1, but alas, it doesn't work with Avant :(

I am somewhat sorry you feel that way. I was actually quite interested to find out what popup Avant failed on. I have so few windows PC's and it would be quite inconvinient to track one down and install Avant just to find out on my own. In regards to my comments to your off topic comments just disregard them I suppose. Thankyou for the popuptest site link though. I had not seen that before.

[Neo Neko]

Originally posted by wmansir

As far as IE compatibility, I understand that Mozilla follows the specs and IE does not, but I find many more pages that don't display "correctly" (according to the wishes of the author) with Mozilla than with IE.

Mozilla follows the specs yes. It has however implemented much of the bits purposefully broken by programs such as frontpage to make pages IE specific. Such as incorrect folder delimeters(ie http://somesite.com/dir\page.html) and special character substitutions where IE specific authoring software make substitutions for some common special characters(like " or ') to a non standard windows code page map so that pages only look right when rendered with Microsoft software. The character map issue has been known to cause general layout and script failures in all non Microsoft software. There is no real reason for Microsoft to have done that. They just did. :(

Originally posted by wmansir

For instance I can't use Firebird to setup my Belkin router because some of the buttons don't work. I have to switch to IE. I know this is due to improper coding, but that doesn't help me setup my router.

Sorry to hear that. Have you checked for a firmware update? I am lucky I suppose that my linksys products are well designed and tested. But belkin is not some crap product either. If they have not addressed this simple issue in a firmware update that would be inexcusable for a company as well known as belkin. Chances are someone already told them. But a reminder may not be a bad idea. It should be something quite simple for them to fix. A stupid mistake as it were. I hope you find some satisfactory resolution.

[snowcrash]

Originally posted by wmansir
As far as IE compatibility, I understand that Mozilla follows the specs and IE does not, but I find many more pages that don't display "correctly" (according to the wishes of the author) with Mozilla than with IE.

Exactly. Mozilla may be more standards-compliiant but in the end, you will have a better chance of seeing pages display as the designer intended by using IE because the vast majority of web designers concentrate their efforts on IE. It's just a fact of life, like it or not.

[snowcrash]

I have a question about the pop-up blocker in Firefox. In Google's pop-up blocker, it gives you a visual and audio cue whenever a pop-up is blocked and then if necessary, you can go back and allow the pop-up by holding Ctrl and clicking the link.

Does Firefox have either of these capabilities? I haven't been able to find any options for this in Firefox, maybe I'm missing something or maybe there's some extension (or whatever it's called) that will provide this?

[sysKin]

Originally posted by snowcrash
Does Firefox have either of these capabilities? I haven't been able to find any options for this in Firefox, maybe I'm missing something or maybe there's some extension (or whatever it's called) that will provide this? An exclamation mark on left-down edge of the window (firefox) or right-down edge (mozilla). If a popup is blocked, the excalamation will be red. Click on it to see the list of blocked popups and enable them for the future, if you want to. Mozilla 1.7a also gives you an option to show the blocked popup (haven't seen that myself, just read about it).

Radek

[Neo Neko]

Originally posted by snowcrash
Exactly. Mozilla may be more standards-compliiant but in the end, you will have a better chance of seeing pages display as the designer intended by using IE because the vast majority of web designers concentrate their efforts on IE. It's just a fact of life, like it or not.

I'll say it again. The burden of proof is on you. Prove it. Because it is not a fact of life. It is a forced perception that slows the adoption of competing products. Show me some sites and I will show you as many or more that disprove you.(hint: you are looking at one) I know lots of web designers. And not one of them designs for IE only. Let alone a single version of IE! Most of them have IE 4, 5, and 6 all installed for testing purposes. Not to mention Netscape 4+, Mozilla, and Opera 5+. Now if we are talking the average geocities or tripod page I might concur. Their skills are very nonexistant. But your average professionaly designed page is well tested. And will render good in any browser. And the new catch phrase "degrade gracefully" in IE. The sign of a superior product. ;)

On the pop-up blocker issue syskin is correct. In fact the first time or two it blocks a popup it pops up a dialog telling you exactly what is going on and how to pop up the pop up if you wish it. Also you can add sites as exemptions to the popup blocking.

[snowcrash]

@neo neko

Take a look at this screenshot:

http://s92093572.onlinehome.us/images/vbulletin.jpg

That is replying to a PM in vBulletin. I'd give you the link but you'd have to register to test it, so take my word for it. I'll find more and post links for you.

[jernst]

@snowcash
and ? You think this cannot be done in browsers that follow the standards ?

just take a look here for example: http://kriko.neosurge.net/webwriter/demo/

Interactivetools'com htmlarea (http://www.interactivetools.com/products/htmlarea/) is working with explorer and mozilla based browser, i.e. the same way under linux, windows, mac osx, etc. I wish more authors of tools like vbulletin, *nuke, etc. use this kind of tool instead of activeX controls or vb scripts. But this is starting to change, I already see tools like osCommerce using it and more and more designers will be concerned about using things that work not only in ie when they will see the trends being inversed in their stats.

[communist]

Originally posted by snowcrash
@neo neko

Take a look at this screenshot:

-snip-

That is replying to a PM in vBulletin. I'd give you the link but you'd have to register to test it, so take my word for it. I'll find more and post links for you.
Works fine in IE6, Mozilla 1.6 and Firefox 0.8... where is the problem :confused:

[snowcrash]

Originally posted by communist
Works fine in IE6, Mozilla 1.6 and Firefox 0.8... where is the problem :confused:

I tested it in Firefox 0.8. Show me the link where it renders properly in Firefox 0.8.

[gotaserena]

My major quibble with IE is that it is not HTML 1.1 compliant (how's that for compatibility? :P) I once had to write a small PHP script that would return a jpeg image instead of html code.

Well, while mozilla, opera and firebird accepted my html 'Content-type: image/jpeg' headers without any problems, IE insisted on using its "FindMimeFromData" method (the technobabble on msdn website is laughable) which always resulted on IE thinking that the image was a bmp. After some users complained that the images were taking a lot of space I modified the script to generate a page loading a temporary image.

But I'm am positive that it would work perfectly if I used asp. Bummer.

[communist]

Originally posted by snowcrash
I tested it in Firefox 0.8. Show me the link where it renders properly in Firefox 0.8.
http://forums.beyondunreal.com/private.php?do=newpm
Of course you must be registered too :p

[SeeMoreDigital]

Blimey,

When I started this thread I didn't think it would receive 7No responses let alone 77No... so I'm really pleased it's managed to help more people than just me....... It has helped people hasn't it?

Anyway. Does anybody out there know how to insert a 'hit counter' to their welcome page?

I've tried. But like with most things I do these days.... It didn't work!

I also tried 'masking' my web address yesterday (after paying the required £5.88) and this was a big fat failure too!

I'm not feeling very useful at the moment.... :(


Cheers

EDIT: It seems the web masking works with Firefox but not IE. Arrrh!

[snowcrash]

Originally posted by communist
http://forums.beyondunreal.com/private.php?do=newpm
Of course you must be registered too :p

Yeah it looks fine in that one, that's strange. They are running the exact same version of vBulletin too.

[Neo Neko]

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital

Anyway. Does anybody out there know how to insert a 'hit counter' to their welcome page?

I've tried. But like with most things I do these days.... It didn't work!

Where are you being hosted and what kind of technologies are avalible to you? The basic method is a CGI script. Which most ISP provide. You can also find them for free at other sites. If PHP is usable you can craft one in PHP as well.

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital

I also tried 'masking' my web address yesterday (after paying the required £5.88) and this was a big fat failure too!

I'm not feeling very useful at the moment.... :(


Cheers

EDIT: It seems the web masking works with Firefox but not IE. Arrrh!

Odd? It should work in IE! AFAIK the patch was just released for IE so it should still be possible for any of your pages to masquarade as any website you want. This is in IE only. But you should be able to pick up a few credit card numbers this way. :p

[Neo Neko]

Originally posted by snowcrash
@neo neko

Take a look at this screenshot:

PLEASE BE SPARRING WITH THE INLINE IMAGES

That is replying to a PM in vBulletin. I'd give you the link but you'd have to register to test it, so take my word for it. I'll find more and post links for you.

vBB works just fine here. So it is not something widespread. Infact it appears rather isolated. But as promised here are a few links to counter.

http://www.mozilla.org/start/1.0/demos.html
Check out specifically link 1
http://www.meyerweb.com/eric/css/edge/complexspiral/demo.html
link 3
http://www.mozilla.org/start/1.0/demos/eagle-sun.html
and link 6
http://www.brainjar.com/dhtml/menubar/demo.html

Always old oldies but goldies. All of which use basic HTML, CSS, and Javascript that IE claims to support but clearly fails on. Now without actually seeing the source of the page you posted I can't say that the error was from a poorly designed page or a poorly designed browser. But if I was a betting man I would say it was a poorly designed page and that within a few minutes I could spot and fix the broken HTML so that the page renders the same in all browsers. Thanks for trying though. ;)

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by Neo Neko
Where are you being hosted and what kind of technologies are avalible to you? The basic method is a CGI script. Which most ISP provide. You can also find them for free at other sites. If PHP is usable you can craft one in PHP as well. I host the website on my home PC (an 800MHz P3 which I also use as an HTPC). I'm using Apache Server (v2.0.47) and M$ FrontPage to create the pages

Originally posted by Neo Neko
Odd? It should work in IE! AFAIK the patch was just released for IE so it should still be possible for any of your pages to masquarade as any website you want. This is in IE only. But you should be able to pick up a few credit card numbers this way. :p Yes, it is a bit wierd.

I fiddled with some settings yesterday but often I can't see if they've worked properly because of the way it's hosted. In fact I'm not 100% sure if the outside world can see it at all now!

Cheers

[avih]

for anyone still looking for a firefox spell checker, check out this (http://www.4serendipity.com/journal/archives/000109.html) link.

involves few steps, but should be a good starting point.

[Neo Neko]

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
I host the website on my home PC (an 800MHz P3 which I also use as an HTPC). I'm using Apache Server (v2.0.47)

Hosting at home? GOOD. Then anything within reason is an option. I also host at home some. But via Linux or currently FreeBSD instead of Windows. Apache and PHP work well together. But I have only tried to get the two installed under windows with limited sucess. Installing under *NIX is much much easier. http://www.php.net should have the binaries and instructions to install and run under Windows/Apache. Then you need only browse hotscripts.com for what you need.

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
and M$ FrontPage to create the pages

Oh GOD kill me now! :D

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
Yes, it is a bit wierd.

To put it mildly. Yes. ;)

I can't in good concience not say this. Use anything but frontpage to author HTML. And I do mean ANYTHING! For instance typing "copy con index.html" at the DOS prompt kicks frontpage arse. Then there is the tools of the pros. Namely notepad/vi/emacs. Teh roxor. If you are slightly less technically inclined head over to http://www.chami.com and download HTMLkit for free. It is what I code with in Windows on the rare occasion that I am over there. Under BSD or Linux Quanta+ is excelent. If you really must use frontpage at least run it through the tidy module in HTMLkit before you publish. Otherwise your pages will look like ass when not viewed in IE since frontpage outputs mostly broken and horribly bloated HTML.

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
I fiddled with some settings yesterday but often I can't see if they've worked properly because of the way it's hosted. In fact I'm not 100% sure if the outside world can see it at all now!

Cheers

IP/URL? If you have a firewall poke the necessary holes. And you can get free DNS from DynDNS.org. Like neoneko.ath.cx

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by Neo Neko
...IP/URL? If you have a firewall poke the necessary holes. And you can get free DNS from DynDNS.org. Like neoneko.ath.cx Thanks for all the tips. Looks like loads more reading up is in order!

It's true what they say then... Life really does begin after forty!

If you want to view my web shyte, I've created a direct link to it using Doom9's 'www' button (if it still works) below my sig.

I've just tried accessing your site but all I get with IE is... 'Cannot find server' and nothing happens with Firefox either!

Cheers

[Uli]

Originally posted by Eyes`Only
..
uli: proxomitron is the winner! I tried all the apps you suggested and proxomitron was the best by far! It was even able to remove the annoying drop down ad like you see on dvd2svcd.org and the sticky ad on geocities-type sites! Thank you thank you thank you!

You're welcome :)
Nice to hear you're pleased with proxomitron, because for me it's also 'the winner' :D
Although the popup blocking ability is only a 'byproduct' of it's main feature of filtering general html traffic. It's a bit hard to setup and understand, but it's worth the effort. Cause sometimes the popup industry changes code for popups, simply change your popup blocking rule... ;)

greetz, Uli

[SeeMoreDigital]

Ah ha!

It would appear that my IP address masking with IE would not work because of some dodgy java script code.

After looking at my index.html page's source code and editing out the offending .js code line, the masking kicked in.

However, I now get an 'Errors on page' warning... but only in IE. Mozilla is much better behaved!

Will this never end?

Cheers

[Neo Neko]

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital

I've just tried accessing your site but all I get with IE is... 'Cannot find server' and nothing happens with Firefox either!

Cheers

Odd. It works from outside my lan. Perhaps the DNS of my server is not well handled by your local DNS servers. Not that you are missing much. I just finished compiling and configuring the system. Apache2.x, PHP5 beta, MySQL, and all on FreeBSD 5.x. The only thing that is up at the moment is a PHP index page with epoch counter and 3 images. :P

[SeeMoreDigital]

Just tried again!

Still cannie see anything Captain!

It is still http://interface.darktech.org isn't it?

Cheers

[Neo Neko]

Nope. My profile was about a year outa date. ODS went pay only almost last January. I updated my profile and it is http://neoneko.ath.cx

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by Neo Neko
Nope. My profile was about a year outa date. ODS went pay only almost last January. I updated my profile and it is http://neoneko.ath.cx

"I can see it fine now Captain"

Cheers

[Neo Neko]

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital


"I can see it fine now Captain"

Cheers

I got a bit more up today. A framework for a totally CSS/PHP controled layout. I need to specify a specific font it seems though. I was editing it on my server as both my other non windows PCs were in the process of compiling Kde 3.2.1 and Windows XP for some reason does not like talking to samba on my FreeBSD rig. So no Mozilla to test it in at the time. It looks good in konqueror. And it is only slightly off in Mozilla. But in IE it looks like a totally different site. This is shaping up to be one of the most HTML compliant and IE incompatable pages I know of. IE does not even disply half the images not to mention the colors are off a bit and the layout is skewed in IE. :D Good stuff!

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by Neo Neko
This is shaping up to be one of the most HTML compliant and IE incompatable pages I know of. IE does not even disply half the images not to mention the colors are off a bit and the layout is skewed in IE. :D Good stuff! I don't know how you do it!

The page looks totally botched in IE but great in Mozilla!

Nice one.

Cheers


EDIT: I managed to sort out my 'errors' page problem. More javascript left overs.