User talk:Autodmc

Some ideas for Firefox 2 for this page: Firefox/Feature Brainstorming

Lean and Mean vs. Super Install

It would be neat if the Firefox Installer installed ONLY the barebones browser with NO EXTENSIONS. Then, after install, it would take you to a "finish this install" page.

That page would ask the question "What kind of browser are you?"

There would be four or five options, like:

• Speed Demon - Likes to browse the web at warp 9, and doesn't want any distractions!

• Sunday Driver - Enjoys browsing the web but takes their time on pages. Likes to see the web, not just dash through it.

• Developer - You don't just surf the web, you MAKE the web! You want all the tools necessary to write cutting edge cross-browser applications.

• Casual Surfer - You don't surf the web much, but when you do, you want a pleasant and secure browsing experience.

• IE 7 - IE fan to the core, you want to take a peek at what makes Firefox a real alternative to The Browser from The Company.

• Power User - You want a lean and mean browser with no "extra functionality..." just render the HTML! If I want something extra, I'll put it there myself!

Each of these options would download a "recommended extension pack" designed for "that type of user." That way the browser "comes installed with everything they want!" However, if you have your own personal list, you don't have to take any extension you don't want.

Another cool idea would be to have a system where people can make their own "extension packs" that they feel cater to a specific user, like a control freak or unix programmer...

• • I love the extension packs, but I don't like the descriptions you made up for the different types of web users because I really don't know where I fit in on it. I DO think it would be cool though to keep everything but the bare basics of the web-browser as extensions though and then in the install, give optional extension packs right off the bat that provide all sorts of niceties at the cost of performance. These extension packs, in order to be a viable way to work this would have to be maintained and updated by the Mozilla staff so that I wouldn't be without all my extensions each time I download a new version. I really think that a lot of the extensions should be integrated into the browser this way. I can make a list but I don't think anyone would really like it if I made a list of my favorite extensions.

Ayavaron 20:43, 14 October 2006 (PDT)

I did some brainstorming on your suggestions here, and think these are good ideas. It should indeed be more easier for eg. Universities to make their own Install files to Package and re-destribute, as when these packages have unique functions, students will prefer using FF over IE. http://wiki.mozilla.org/User_talk:Marcke

I suggested an idea like that, but you HAVE to get it simple. In other words, Firefox should support extensions pack at first, and that's ok. Also, the installer should ship with just two alternatives (max three): if you bloat ALSO the installer choices, you haven't solved anything. Another critical point is that some extensions should be "Mozilla Official" and supported in a better way. See more details here (Firefox Core/More).

Text Only Mode

It would be spectacularly neat if you could make a tab a "Text Only" tab; it would display the site similarly to tools like "lynx" and "links," text only browsers. For example, the Lighttpd "You've Correctly Installed the Site" looks like this:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Placeholder page

   The owner of this web site has not put up any web pages yet. Please
   come back later.

You should replace this page with your own web pages as soon as possible.

   Unless you changed its configuration, your new server is configured as
   follows:
     * Configuration files can be found in /etc/lighttpd. Please read
       /etc/lighttpd/conf-available/README file.
     * The DocumentRoot, which is the directory under which all your HTML
       files should exist, is set to /var/www.
     * CGI scripts are looked for in /usr/lib/cgi-bin, which is where
       Debian packages will place their scripts. You can enable cgi
       module by using command "lighty-enable-mod cgi".
     * Log files are placed in /var/log/lighttpd, and will be rotated
       weekly. The frequency of rotation can be easily changed by editing
       /etc/logrotate.d/lighttpd.
     * The default directory index is index.html, meaning that requests
.
.
.

[[1]]: This site renders pages with Lynx by proxy, so you can see the layout text-only.

I'm thinking more of a links2-command-line type rendering, that renders tables and fields, etc, using only the typewriter font, no graphics. This should load really fast, and is nice when you want a distraction free no graphics view of the page. Allowing you to switch between Text Only/Full Graphics modes would let you also view those bad, bad pages that don't work without graphics.

Another advantage should be a much smaller hit on Firefox's cache and much better download/render times, as no graphics are downloaded or rendered except when explicitly told to do so.

It would also give developers a new view of their site; their site without all the extra graphical niceties or fluff.

Here's a screencap from Links2 that demonstrates what I mean:

Here's a crude hack-and-slay-microsoft-paint mockup of the proposed mode: