I have a unique problem with my firefox – and as far as I know I am the only one who has this issue. Firefox is very slow to scroll pages that has a fixed background image. Ajaxian is an example of such a site. This problem exists in all profiles of Firefox(not a extension issue) – but it works without any issue in other browsers – like Konqueror. Does anyone else have this issue?

This problem is only present in my desktop – a Fedora 8/KDE with Firefox 3.0.8 – with nVidia drivers installed. No issues on my laptop(Kubuntu). I still have no idea what’s causing this. But I did solve the issue.

Greasemonkey Script

I created a greasemonkey script that disables fixed background anywhere in the page. Changes all fixed background images to normal background image(scrolls with the page). Here is the script if anyone has the same issue.

Fixed Background Remover Greasemonkey User Script

Remember, this is a beta version – let me know if you find any issues with the script.

I have been a Firefox 3 user from day 1. So I thought it might be a good time to write a review. Some positive and negative points about it…

The Negative Stuff

Stability Issues

I am having some random crashes – this could be a problem with my setup. I have not heard about such a problem on other sites. Anyway, these crashes give no warning. One minute, you are browsing smoothly and the next minute you are looking at the desktop – the browser have gone away. Fortunately, Firefox has a session saver – so if you restart Firefox after a crash, the tabs you had earlier will be waiting for you.

Go Button

Firefox 3 removed the ‘Go’ button to the right of address bar. I want it back – fortunately, you can get it back using a userChrome.css hack…

Go to the profile folder of firefox. In Linux, it should be in some folder like /home/username/.mozilla/firefox/[random id].default/chrome/

Create a new file called userChrome.css and put this line in it…

#urlbar[pageproxystate="valid"] > #urlbar-icons > #go-button {
	visibility: visible !important;
}

Flash Problem

This should be a Linux only problem – and I think the flash plugin is the one that should take the blame. When I visit some pages with embedded flash, a new gnome window open up. It does nothing – just hangs around the screen. Do any of you guys have this problem?

The Positive Stuff

Awesome bar is, well, awesome

The new address bar is just great. It saves a lot of time. Its a very good feature – and I predict that other browsers will follow firefox lead and add this feature too.

FUEL Library

You users will not find this useful – but for us add-on developers, this is great. FUEL a javascript library that makes it much more easier to create XUL plugins for firefox.

Better Bookmarking System

Firefox 3′s bookmarking system is much better than the earlier one. It learned a lot from del.icio.us – now it supports tagging.

Looks Better

In addition to better color and font handling, the looks of some HTML elements have been improved(example, the dropdown/combo box). Also dragging have been improved – just try to drag an image or a link and you will see what I mean. You can see the item you are dragging along with the cursor instead of a generic icon.

So what are your opinions about the new Firefox?