Setting Default Browser

[Nephiliam]

IE has been messing up on me too often, and now it's giving errors every time I close a window. T_T I want to set it so that it isn't my default browser anymore! Does anyone know how to do this?

And what browser would you suggest I get? I was going to use MSN Explorer, but.. I can't get used to it. T_T;

[Peegee]

Prepare for a flood of firebird links. Failing that, you should try the netscape browser. Netscape rules, and is superior to Firebird in every conceivable manner imaginable(excessive redundancy yes), including sex appeal.

[crono_logical]

Netscape 6 is great at hogging resources, crashing, and being generally slow to render pages, yes :p As far as I know, MSN Explorer uses the same core as IE, so really is just as crap.

http://www.mozilla.org/products/mozilla1.x/
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firebird/

There's also Opera (www.opera.com) if you like eye candy and don't mind it's own built in ads in the corner. Unless you buy it or do something else to it :p

[Dr Unne]

If you have Windows XP, get the Service Pack 1, then you can use the Set Program Access and Defaults to change your browser. Firebird will also associate HTML files to open with itself, I think.

Get Firebird, yes. Not Netscape. Netscape is garbage.

[Nephiliam]

I got the Service Pack 1, but I couldn't find out how to do the second part. I searched for it, but I couldn't find it. :/

*goes to download Firebird*

[crono_logical]

Set Program Access is in Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs, for some reason :p I think, anyway, since I can't check, since I don't have SP1 on this PC :p

[Garland]

I would only have one browser installed, if I were you. While I haven't had two browsers installed for quite a while, I remember a lot of nagging pop-up windows asking if I wanted to make X browser the default. The same for media players and art programs. Annoying to no end. If I wanted IE to be the default browser, I'd make it so. Maybe this sort of interprogram competition doesn't happen anymore, but I'm not taking any chances.

[crono_logical]

It doesn't, you tell IE to stop checking if it's the default browser on start-up :p

[RSL]

Other than pureghetto, I haven't ever heard of someone switching to firebird and regretting it. I suggest that you download it right now.

[Yamaneko]

PG just wants some attention.

[Peegee]

No, I honestly think IE is better than Firebird. The Netscape reference was just for fun.

If you install firebird and run it for the first time, chances are it will ask you to set it as the default browser. Problem solved....until you realise that firebird can't do cool things like custom scrollbars, embedded midi playing, or porn.

[crono_logical]

I decided to actually try Firebird too, and before I even got as far as browsing, I had already decided it sucked, partially from what was available in it's options, and the interface :D

I guess it's good for the average non-computer savvy user, but I'll be sticking with Mozilla after all :p

[Nephiliam]

Originally posted by Guu
I decided to actually try Firebird too, and before I even got as far as browsing, I had already decided it sucked, partially from what was available in it's options, and the interface :D

I guess it's good for the average non-computer savvy user, but I'll be sticking with Mozilla after all :p

^_~ I tried it too, and I agree with you, it sucks. :/ It doesn't support css or tables. T_T;

You say mozilla? :/ Hmm..

[Dr Unne]

<i>I guess it's good for the average non-computer savvy user, but I'll be sticking with Mozilla after all </i> --c_l

Every option available in Mozilla also exists in Firebird. Use about:config for example, or hand-edit the chrome files yourself. Real "computer-savvy" users don't mind such things, I think. :) Firebird = Mozilla - crap. I don't want to load a composer I never use and a mail client I don't need every time I load my browser. Other than removing the bloat and changing the interface to make it less sucky and crowded, Firebird and Mozilla are the same program.

<i>^_~ I tried it too, and I agree with you, it sucks. :/ It doesn't support css or tables. T_T;</i> --Star

What? Yes it does. Firebird is more standards-compliant than IE anyways. The way IE displays CSS is wrong. The people who wrote CSS (the specification) wrote it to work a certain way, and IE doesn't do it right. It's just that so many people in the world blindly use IE that everyone writes sucky, buggy, stupidly-coded websites, and then good browsers choke on it. I have no idea what you're talking about with tables. I've never seen a site where tables display wrong in Firebird.

Mozilla and Firebird use the same rendering engine, so if you don't like how Firebird displays sites, don't bother trying Mozilla.

[Peegee]

If it does, then it should be a good boy a have support for scrollbar changes. Does it even do that hlink="#FF0000" colour change? I would be surprised if it did. Does it play midis? No.

It doesn't support tables? I need my tables. Frames suck.

[Dr Unne]

Firebird themes change the scrollbar to match the THEME, so it doesn't have to change to match the website. I know I've said this before.

What does hlink do? Highlight links when you mouseover them? Yes Firebird supports that tag so far as I know, but you shouldn't use that tag, you should use CSS, and Firebird supports that too.

Firebird plays midis. Get a plugin.

Firebird supports tables. The only browsers I've used that don't support tables are lynx and old verisons of Opera.

[Nephiliam]

:/ I used Firedbird to try and view the eoff photo album and it shows up all weird. And the borders on the tables at Citadel Realm are gone too.

[Dr Unne]

The photo album was written with HTML that only works in IE. We had a rather large thread complaining about it. Someone even volunteered and wrote a version that was coded correctly and worked in all browsers, if I remember correctly. I don't know why it was never uploaded. It's not the fault of Firebird.

[Peegee]

Good html code works on all browsers. I joke about the inefficiencies of Firebird all the time, but I'm just joking. Firebird does its job, albeit a lot differently than I'm used to, but it's in no way a 'bad' browser.

Crap, now I'll never be taken "as seriously" as I can be when I next insult firebird.

[crono_logical]

Originally posted by Dr Unne
<i>I guess it's good for the average non-computer savvy user, but I'll be sticking with Mozilla after all </i> --c_l

Every option available in Mozilla also exists in Firebird. Use about:config for example, or hand-edit the chrome files yourself. Real "computer-savvy" users don't mind such things, I think. :) I wasn't aware there was that stuff there, but I'm not gonna go install it again right now, can't really be bothered after having upgraded Mozilla :p And I just tell Mozilla to not install all the mail/composer junk anyway and just the browser, so that's fine for me anyway.

In any case, if it's not IE, that's likely good enough :p

[Nephiliam]

I think that is why I don't like all the other browsers. I am so used to IE that everything else just "isn't right". o.o IE spoiled me. I will try to like Firebird though. =)

[Yamaneko]

http://texturizer.net/firebird/extensions/#preferential allows me to edit the chrome files easily. Everything is at my disposal.

[RSL]

I wasn't used to Firebird either, but after using it for a couple months, IE just seems wrong to me.

And once again, I ask why you would want embedded midis. I can't think of anything more annoying than opening up a webpage and getted bombarded by crappy music.

[Nephiliam]

:/ It is best that they put something on there so you <i>can</i> stop the midi if you want. Hmm.. I shall give Firebird a chance... *tries to make it her default browser*

EDIT: Ok.. so.. I found the service pack in my add/remove hardware list.. but how do I change the settings? I have XP Home so... :/

[Peegee]

A good browser should be able to view any html page uniformly regardless of how 'annoying' or 'stupid' it is. Firebird does not. Hence it is sux.

Oh and if you think you can backfire my logic by saying that 'IE doesn't view things like firebird does' I'm going to use the 'first is the standard' argument, or 'earlier is better'.

[crono_logical]

Originally posted by Pureghetto
A good browser should be able to view any html page uniformly regardless of how 'annoying' or 'stupid' it is. Firebird does not. Hence it is sux.

Oh and if you think you can backfire my logic by saying that 'IE doesn't view things like firebird does' I'm going to use the 'first is the standard' argument, or 'earlier is better'. Correction:

A good browser should be able to view any <b>well-formed</b> html <b>compliant</b> page uniformly regardless of how 'annoying' or 'stupid' it is. Firebird does not <b>for pages designed for IE</b>. Hence <s>it</s> <b>pages designed for IE</b> is sux. :D


I'm pretty sure Betamax came before VHS, but look at which one came out on top. And what about 5 1/4'' floppy disks? You're also not allowed to look at animated gifs, since GIF87 is earlier than GIF89a :p This is what all the standards organisations are for :p


Anyway, my Mozilla doesn't play any embedded sound at all, it gives me a pop-up asking me if I want to download and save the music instead, if I want to. :p

[Peegee]

blast! I was so close to destroying the glorious reign of Firebird. Curse you techies!

[crono_logical]

Originally posted by Star
:/ It is best that they put something on there so you <i>can</i> stop the midi if you want. Hmm.. I shall give Firebird a chance... *tries to make it her default browser*

EDIT: Ok.. so.. I found the service pack in my add/remove hardware list.. but how do I change the settings? I have XP Home so... :/ Once you've downloaded and unzipped Firebird somewhere, running it once should be enough, since it'll ask you to make it the default then. You might want to make a shortcut to it on the desktop too to make it easier to run.

[Nephiliam]

=) Done, and thanks for the help all!

xD And the arguements were fun.

:/ Still dun like Firebird though.

[Peegee]

Me neither, and you can stop midis by clicking the 'stop' button on the toolbar. Nifty, eh?

[Nephiliam]

^_~ Well, I did get Firebird set as my default browser, there was a nifty button in the options for firebird to do that. :rolleyes2

I love Firebird now. :D