FireFox can also have bugs? Could it be that FireFox developers make mistakes too?

Ever since FireFox started to gain momentum you constantly hear "FireFox is much more secure than IE".  These opinions are usually shared by folks that have not grasped the concept of  software development and popularity.   Anything written by any human is apt to have bugs.  Do you really think that FireFox engineers are brighter than any other engineer out there?  Do you think that with the cash Microsoft has on hand that they can't afford quality engineers?  The fact is that bugs are a fact of life, humans make mistakes and a FireFox engineer is no different than any one else.  In fact, according to an article in Internet Week, there are a pair of critical issues in FireFox that required you to shut off Javascript to be safe, pretty nasty stuff.  Just goes to show you that with popularity, awareness is increased and bugs are found.

9 Comments

  • Wash your mouth out with soap, young man.

  • I don't think any reasonable person can say that FF developers are somehow smarter, or better coders than Ms developers by default..



    I think the argument is that FF was coded from the beginning with security as a very high priority, while IE at the beginning emphasized features and simplicity over security, and only in the 6.0 SP2 did security take the priority it needed.



    That makes all the difference in the world. If security was top priority for IE from the start, ActiveX would never have happened.

  • Actually you don't need to turn off JavaScript.

    Tools>Options>Web Features, Uncheck "Allow web sites to install software"

    I turn off that kind of junk in IE too, I'll install the software I want, thank you very much.

  • I realize that very clearly. The Firefox developers then need to apply pressure - a lot of pressure - to the Gecko developers to get those damned bugs fixed. Once that's done, they need to integrate that new version of Gecko with FireFox, which I'm sure will take another 6 months of so.



    The problem with something like the Firefox project is that it isn't really about delivering a better browser. It's about slagging IE. Therefore, all they've needed to do (and have done) is create a browser that is slightly better than IE. It now has the perception of being better than IE (even though there are tons of sites out there that will list, prove and display the copious amount of rendering/CSS bugs that Firefox has), and really, I truly believe that was their goal.

  • "How about witholding their paychecks..."



    If they want to spout their propaganda about just how crappy IE is, and how awesome Firefox is, then they'd better stand by their word...



    Go into Bugzilla and the Mozilla forums sometime and read some of their outrageous, totally slanted, I-hate-IE-with-a-passion-because-it's-Microsoft junk that they respond with. Yeah, sounds like they actually do need some money, just to shut them up...

  • I really detest this type of debate - and developers 'enjoying' a bug in someone else's product is shadenfreude of the worst type. Does it suck that Firefox has a security bug? Yes! Does it suck that IE has a security bug? Yes again! Firefox is a great product (and some people like myself currently prefer it to IE), but debates about software should really not descend to the level of quasi-religious rhetoric, it doesn't help anyone!

  • Scott, I agree partially that it is never good to pick on anyone for a bug, afterall its just a mistake. However, the amount of IE sucks posts that are out there and FF is godlike, it was time to say something. Everybody makes mistakes even these guys.

  • I think the original Netscape developers were the most brilliant in terms of quality and security. Firefox is basically netscape with a redesign.

  • I agree with iRyan, I'm a web developer myself too and I just hate the way IE works. Usually I have too make a whole new css file just cuz IE does things different.

    Altough FF isn't perfect either, doesn't mean it's worse than IE.

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