For a large percentage of individuals, the name ‘Mozilla’ is always followed by the word ‘Firefox.’ Unlike its sister software, Mozilla Firefox or even Thunderbird, the Mozilla Firebird has relatively smaller recognition.
So, if you are hearing the name for the first time, you would without doubt wonder what Mozilla Firebird is about and supposed to be. And even if not, a review of the software would help you know more about this Mozilla product and better appreciate Mozilla browsers.
To answer whatever questions you might have about the Mozilla Firebird, we will review the application in the course of this article. This review will consider what Mozilla Firebird is about, some of its prominent features, and how to go about installing and uninstalling the program. For starters, what is the Firebird program?
What Is The Mozilla Firebird?
In 2002, the Mozilla application suite developed what would be its first standalone browser. However, merely two years later, this project under the name Mozilla Phoenix, was refurbished due to copyright claims.
Following this, the project was named the Mozilla Firebird. With time, however, this name has become much less known. And in place of the Firebird browser came the renowned Firefox browser. What were some of the features of Mozilla Firebird while it was in use?
Features of the Mozilla Firebird
Being nearly the first web browser in its time, the Firebird had some notable features. The first version of the browser was, however, developed over a decade ago. Owing to this, some of its features were not as advanced as current browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.
With several new versions arising, the latest being 0.7, more features have now been added to the browser, and existing ones upgraded. Firebird’s prominent features include the following:
Lightning-fast browsing
The Firebird browser was designed to execute queries at an incredible pace. With tremendous browsing speed, users do not get to lose interest while waiting for a page to complete loading and display.
Bookmark Manager
For easy page accessibility, users can place bookmarks on their favorite pages. The Mozilla Firebird 0.7 has a default theme that houses this shortcut on the browser's toolbar. The new bookmarking feature available on the browser includes context on these saved pages.
Customizable Interface
The Mozilla Firebird browser now allows users to include extensions to their profile’s folder. This is unlike in earlier versions of the software where extensions had to be added to the browser's program folder.
Image Resizing
On the latest version of the Mozilla Firebird, users do not have to worry about images being too large for their system. The browser is more device-compatible as it now automatically resizes image results so they are displayed in full. This can be reversed by following the instructions displayed by the cursor on the image.
TalkBack Support
This newly added feature is a plus for browser developers. If ever the browser experiences a crash, users can relay reports and get support using the TalkBack feature.
Preference Window
The preference Window is a panel that contains the seven most used tools of users and organizes them into easily-accessible preference panels. Each of these seven panels has its labeled icon selector. This makes frequently used tools easy to access and thus, improves users’ browsing experience.
Cross-platform Compatibility
The Mozilla Firebird was accessible across several devices including Microsoft systems. Other devices that the browser can also operate across are Windows, Linus, and macOS.
Browsing Tabs
As with most all-the-range browsers of our time, the Mozilla Firebird features tabs. Moreso, it boasts of being among the first to contain this feature. Using browsing tabs, you can leave a page open on a current tab and initiate a new search on another tab.
More Preferences
Users now have a somewhat hidden feature that allows them to edit whatever features they are not comfortable with, on their advanced preferences. The options under advanced preferences can be accessed by inputting the command ‘about : config’ on the browser’s location bar and selecting enter.
Ad blocker
To maximize the browsing experience of users, Mozilla Firebird was incorporated with an ad blocker. With this feature, net surfers who use the browser would worry less about unwanted advertisements interrupting their browsing.
Advanced Security
To protect its users from cybercrime, the Firebird browser is enhanced with security measures like anti-malware and anti-phishing.
Pros of the Mozilla Firebird
The features of Mozilla Firebird give the browsing program a number of pros, such as the following:
By allowing users to add extensions to their profile rather than the program, users can pick up right where they left off after updating the browser. They no longer have to worry about losing their customized browsing experience on every update.
The new version of the browser, version 0.7 has been refurbished in ways that enhance the performance of the browser. In addition, this upgrade has fixed a lot of bugs that were previously present.
For an extra measure of privacy, individuals can now easily clear their browsing history, cache, and cookies. And this can be achieved with simple click actions.
Installing Mozilla Firebird
Installing the new version of Mozilla Firebird would require you to take the following steps:
Create a new profile for the browser. Users can create a new profile by selecting Create profile once they launch the MozillaFirebird.exe -p.
Depending on the device in use, you would need to install a binary off Mozilla.org. Available binaries are for Windows, Linux, and macOS X.
With the binary installed, unzip the exe. to an empty unused directory. You can use tools like gzip or WinZip for unzipping the exe.
With this done, you can run the Mozilla Firebird browser on your device.
Uninstalling Mozilla Firebird
To uninstall the browser, you can delete its directory as you would any other app on your system. Doing so, however, would leave your profile untouched.
If you intend to delete both your profile and the browser, then visit your app data directory on your Windows or the home directory on your Linux and delete the directory.
Common Issues Related to the Mozilla Firebird
Amidst its pros, users face several common issues when using Mozilla Firebird. Some of these issues include:
The Mozilla Firebird browser was a stand-alone browser. Due to this, users could not benefit from the mail and news features of the Mozilla app suite. To enjoy the benefits of the Mozilla client, one would need to download a third-party app – The Mozilla Thunderbird.
To install new versions of the browser, users must first delete their existing profile and existing Firebird directory. Retaining the existing Firebird directory and opting to override it instead would give rise to bugs. Users who would rather keep their existing profile can opt to delete only the downloads. rdf. file of their profile. This, however, would most likely give rise to bugs.
Users may experience issues that stem from a core code of the Mozilla suite. These issues may affect connectivity or page content. When you encounter any of this, you would have to name a report in Bugzilla rather than on the Firebird product. This can make using the program tedious.
The dialog box that allows users to turn off certain queries at startup, that is the “Don't ask at startup” box is faulty. In other words, you do not get to stop certain queries from popping up each time you launch the browser.
The theme customization is not entirely impressive. While some themes cannot be applied altogether, others require a restart to fully activate.
Due to the version of Mozilla Firebird available on MacOS X being relatively new, irregularities across platforms may arise.
Attempting to toggle the auto-complete form off or on could lead the browser to crash.
The folders on the browser's bookmark toolbar and the browser menu do not close completely at times.
Bottom Line
Being one of the first of its kind, Mozilla Firebird brought with it impressive features at its time. Although these features translate into the perks of the software, it still faces multiple challenges that call for an upgrade. Little wonder Mozilla developed Firefox, improving the downsides that were apparent in Firebird.
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