Great job... i was waiting for this :D

Thanks so much for doing this! I think I speak for many others when I say this is very much appreciated.

There's little point in downloading this release. A slew of new exploits has been found already (hours after the release).

Frankly, you're better off with Safari or gasp IE at this point. Mozilla really needs to sort security out because at the moment it's pretty godawful. If someone launches a determined attack against mozilla, blood will flow :(.

GREAT :D

bye!

The G4 dmg file isn't working properly on my G4 powerbook. I double click on it but the window with the BonEcho icon is not coming up. I cleared my browser cache and downloaded again, same result.

$ md5 firefox-ppc7450-2.0.0.2.dmg
MD5 (firefox-ppc7450-2.0.0.2.dmg) = c157615de2b944e500f18cebf37fb1c1

Thanks for doing this.

The biggest issue with not having "official branding" is that it can make it difficult to install or update extensions; however, there is fortunately a work-around. I highly recommend that everyone using these custom builds install the following:

Nightly Tester Tools

It will allow you to bypass the compatibility checking which blocks extensions from loading. However, be warned, that in disabling this you run the risk of degrading performance and possibly worse, so use at your own risk. (I've not personally run into any problems...)

Just downloaded the G5-optimized Firefox 2.0.0.2 and noticed an unwelcome change. Previously, with a window containing multiple tabs, Command W would close each tabbed window in reverse order, INCLUDING the last tabbed window. Now, the last window will go blank but not close (disappear) after continuing to press Cmnd W. It was a convenient feature for me, can I have it back?

Thanks for releasing these. I love the aqua form widgets and the optimization for my different machines. Again, thank you again for releasing this and doing it so timely too. Cheers!

Thanks, Neal. You rock.

-jf.

Thanks for redoing the G4 dmg which is now functional!

Thanks very much!

As always thanks! Plus you went the extra mile with the whole user agent thing!

And if you are like me check out the digg post as there is a post that tells you how to change it to say FireFox in the top left. Along with the FireFox logo it is perfect. (I know you can't do it for us, but we can always do it ourselves!)

@Michael Prete

This is not a problem with this build. I had the same issue with the official Firefox 2.0.0.2 release.

MERCI
and it would be awesome to have localized versions... like French for example. Do you think about it?
Merci anyway for the great job.

Thanks again for this.
And contrary to a previous commentor's experience, I've never had any problems downloading or updating extensions/add-ons with these "Bon Echo" builds.
So it's probably a YMMV thing.

if these are your idea of optimized FireFox builds for mac then you should just STOP doing them because they are not really optimized who created these builds have they actually tried them out on mac ? one has to ask these kinds of obvious questions,

this is a bug in firefox and isn't because of G5 optimization

Hi,

Thanks for your efforts with these builds.

I have noticed a slight difference between 2.0.0.1 and 2.0.0.2 in the G4-optimized Aqua widgets versions that I've used.

Not all the buttons appear to have changed and the droplists in particular have a much large font.

This is a link to an image to illustrate:

http://img341.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ff20012difmk1.jpg

I use the iFox Metal theme, I don't know if that has an impact.

Many thanks, Neil, for getting this out so quickly after the official release.

Also, thanks for getting rid of that "MACtel" text on top of the icon. The globe alone is nice.

Thanks. Much appreciated for your time to make these builds.

Um, mushu? It runs ONLY on a MacTel machine (if that's the one you download).
They're not UBs. In my book that makes it optimized for the platform.
Stop hatin' and just go download the official Firefox.

Is anyone else still having issues with Flash? They are somewhat random for me (some sites work, some don't), but key sites like ESPN Soccernet are pretty useless in the BonEcho builds, while they work just fine in straight Firefox and Camino.

The bad behavior is evident on Adobe's flash version page (http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/about/), which displays the correct installed version of flash, but doesn't display the Flash content.

Any help would be appreciated.

And, of course, thanks for the optimized builds, keep up the good work.

Thank you!!!

I've spent countless hours trying to discover the problem with FF on my MacBook Pro. Then I tried to switch to Safari, but found it incompatible with our CMS. This is a lifesaver.

Also on my Macbook, CMD+W don't close the last blank tab/window.
And History>Recently Closed Tabs will open the link in current Tab instead of a new Tab.

Is there any way to remove Firefoxy/Aqua form widgets and allow Firefox to display them as web developer intended? I hate having buttons that don't fit the size and style of the rest of the form.

This is actually stopping me from using this optimized build since I'm a web developer and that's part of what I do. I tried downloading Firefoxy to do it, but to no avail.

There is a problem with the behaviour of certain links. In the example below, the cursor changes (and the link can be clicked) only if you are over an opaque pixel of the text. The whole surface of the image is active (it's a 16×16 PNG image), but the text only is active if you are over a pixel actually occupied by a part of the letter. Not inbetween letters or on "transparent" parts of letters... This doesn't happen with Firefox 2.0.0.2, otherwise I wouldn't post it here ;o)

Code example :

Forums

Mushu, one word for you:

Loooooooserrrrrrrrrrrr

thanks for this nice built

Is there any way to customize the toolbar in the G5-optimized version? I can't get it to work…

Any chance we can get a build that doesnt have the special fomr widgets, and uses the standard ones?

Thanks for doing these. One question: is "Check for Updates" supposed to work on these builds? I'm running 2.0 and when I check, it says no new updates are available.

To have Bonecho with Firefox logo:
Do the following with both Firefox and Bonecho
            right click-> show     package contents
    then, follow this path:
            Contents
            Resources
    now locate firefox.icns
now, replace the firefox.icns inside Bonecho with the one inside Firefox

nice isn't it ;-)

Just uncheck "Always show the tab bar" in Preferences > Tabs. Voilá last tab can be closed.

Does anyone else notice that G-Mail buttons/widgets show up uniform when in plain firefox (ugly) or firefoxy (less ugly) -- but when in Aqua mode only some of the widgets show up as Aqua and the others are firefox plain (ugly) looking?

Hi, thanks for this great binaries - they work flawlessy on my MacBook! :-)

I got only one question, how do you did these? I"m quite curious about it.

Best regards,
Daniel

2.0.0.3 is out... do you plan on doing an optimized build of it?

Hey... update this to the latest Firefox 2.0.0.3?

Hey, can you update Deer Park? And how come BonEcho doesn't have Quick Find?

2.0.0.3 is now out! Hint, hint... ;)

Yes, that's much easier than just copying and pasting the icon.

Will you release a build for 2.0.0.3 anytime soon?

any chance we'll see 2.0.0.3 in the near future?

I too came here looking to see if anyone had asked about 2.0.0.3 (and gotten a response).

Been using the optimized build just because it seems right to, but truthfully, I'm not sure I've noticed much of a performance increase or a lowering of CPU usage. In fact, on sporadic occasions, it gets really laggy when entering text (whether it's a bug in the build or in the actual Firefox code, I'm not sure--but I don't recall it happening in the official Firefox build. (Most of the time it works seamlessly, though.)

Anyone else notice real improvements in performance/CPU usage? Any sort of way to test the build against the official one?

looking forward to the release of your 2.0.0.3 optimized for Intel build.

Thanks for all your hard work.

i like this. thanks. it helps a lot to feel home when using "firefox". but isn´t there a way to also change the windowsish buttons to native aqua style?
that would make it perfekt...

WOW!!! GOD!!!! i was watting for something like this... realy realy: thanks!!!

Hey,
Has anyone found an Intel Optimized Firefox 2.0.0.3 build around the web or produced it themselves?
This guy appears too busy...

Also hoping for 2.0.0.3! :)

Dumbass. Of course they're optimized, and if they aren't they still have cool form widgets!

Please 2.0.0.3!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think the question should be whether he's gonna make a optimised 2.0.0.3, but more like when. Just be patient.

Just downloaded 2.0.0.3, thanks - you rule!!!

Thanks I'll keep an eye out! :)

Thanks! Downloading 2.0.0.3 now!

Hi - quick note on the new G4-versions:

• The "Aqua widget" version mounted correctly on my G4 powerbook,

• The "Firefoxy" version mounted but then didn't show any contents

Looks like there's still a problem...

Hmm--just downloaded the G4 Firefoxy widgets build (I tried the Aqua ones last time, and even though they look nice and consistent with Mac OS X, they sometimes are out of place and don't fit right or don't display properly--but I digress), and the disk image opened to an empty window with 19.6 MB free (out of a 20 MB disk image).

Just FYI...

thanks!! the "illusion" is perfect now! with this version even buttons look native. thanks again...

I've been a happy user of BonEcho for quite some time and really appreciate you taking the time to do this for us. Sadly the G4-optimized Firefox 2.0.0.3 with Firefoxy widgets is not working for me. The DMG mounts, but nothing pops up and when selected, it's empty.

Nice work, thx to compile it for the rest of us...
I guess there is something with the g4 optimized, it is looking as an empty shell for me... but the aqua works perfectly...

I just downloaded the G4 Firefoxy version and the disk image opened with the aforementioned empty window.

Did you already update the built or is it (still) the original one?

Thanks.

I just downloaded the G4 Firefoxy version and the disk image opened with the aforementioned empty window.

Did you already update the built or is it (still) the original one?

Thanks.

thanks great to use mac widgets

G4 Aqua disk image does not mount.

Hi!
thanks for the update, I'm just downloading the v2.0.0.3 for Intel processors. I would ask you if you can do some comparative tests between optimized/notopt versions.

Thanks for the outstanding support and the sharing spirit (of great thing!)

fabry

about button widgets. in my last comment i was happy to have native looking buttons now. that was because i downloaded the G4-aqua-build for my girlfriends ibook (vers 2.003). back on my G5 today, i downloaded the G5-aqua-version and: ugly buttons again. aha!
now i´m using the G4-optimized aquabuild on my G5 and finally all looks right. great.
but of course this raises the question about other G5 specific optimizations. are there any? is there any reason not to use the better looking great G4-aqua build on a G5? i´d love to have this answered. thanks ;-)

Why isn't this message linked to http://www.beatnikpad.com/firefox ?

Hey folks - 2.0.0.3 appears to be posted. Just follow the download link at the top for 2.0.0.2; when it fails, edit the URL to be 2.0.0.3.

Worked for me on the Intel download. Great work!

http://www.mobookie.com/firefox/firefox-intel-2.0.0.3-aqua.dmg

Thanks a lot for the new built, works great!

hey dude, how come the intel version doesn't have -O3 optimization switch?

It would appear that the 2.0.0.3 builds are here you just have to look for them . . .

Well I'm downloading summink right now and its called

http://www.mobookie.com/firefox/firefox-intel-2.0.0.3.dmg

:)

Ta

Please update this shortcut to point to the current version: http://www.beatnikpad.com/firefox

Thanks for making these builds available!

--df

I figured out that you can localize these optimized builds yourself. First download your preferred language pack from here and install it (you'll have to permit releases.mozilla.org to "install software"):

http://releases.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/2.0.0.3/win32/xpi/

(Yes, these work on the Mac even though they're very well hidden under a "win32" folder. Go figure. For other Firefox versions, substitute the appropriate version number in the URL.)

Then, in order to use the language pack, install the "Locale Switcher" extension:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/356

Then restart Firefox. You can now switch to your language and back from the Tools -> Languages menu. You can install as many localizations as you want simultaneously.

Have fun!

How do you decide if you need G4 or G5 version?

If you change the 2.0.0.2 in the download link to 2.0.0.3 you'll find that 2.0.0.3 is already posted. Just a hint from a nosy user :-)

Is this any different from running Firefox through a program like TrimTheFat or Xslimmer? The resulting size is exactly the same, and the performance seems the same as well.

>How do you decide if you need G4 or G5 version?

Umm, it depends on whether you have a G4 or a G5 processor...

If you really don't know, go up to the Apple menu and choose "About This Mac". Your processor will be shown where it says "Processor".

@DKP: I think that Neil is actually compiling these optimized builds from source with certain compile flags that optimize the build for the processor, so the performance should theoretically be better than simply trimming the existing Mozilla Firefox build (which, AFAIK, aren't compiled with these tuning options).

Having said that, I've not found any HUGE increase in performance between this build and the official build, probably because Firefox really doesn't use a lot of processing power to begin with (unless you're running a Flash media or have a zillion windows open, in which case I still don't feel a distinct difference, although I'm sure there is...

Hi there, have you considered churning out a Thunderbird optimsed binary?

Thanks for these builds, I appreciate them.

Giacomo

I just noticed this site, and I love it. I've been looking for a way to run FireFox on an Intel Mac without having to do it in Rosetta. Your software rocks!

Neil, 2.0.0.x are maintenance releases, these are scheduled to be released roughly every month. The purpose is to fix critical issues that cannot wait until a real release (and those issues always come up in software that is as complex as a web browser). These updates consist largely of security fixes or changes that improve security (e.g. there were a few changes in 2.0.0.2 that make exploiting XSS holes in web sites harder).

A 2.0.x release would be a minor release, something that really changes the way Firefox work, even if it is a small change. Mozilla Suite had a few minor releases in the past but I cannot remember any for Firefox - and I think there is a good reason for that. It is much easier if there are only two current major releases around that need maintenance.

In general, I find that relying on form elements to look the same in every browser is a bit of a hopeless cause. For buttons, the best thing to do is just use image inputs; for other widgets, the only option is to make sure that they are arranged such that they look good however the browser chooses to render them.

for some reason the Intel optimized version does not seem to be mounting for me. I had the previous version off your site and I just saw that it was updated so I downloaded it and it will not mount. I did it twice, same thing. Any reason why this is happening?

Give PC version, kay? :(

So why is it that Bon Echo chooses to change the forms stuff from the way it is in Firefox? Even the "Firefoxy" version isn't the same, because both versions, unlike Firefox, completely ignore styling on buttons and drop-down menu forms. Is there a version that preserves what Firefox does there?

Not really... just about the only modern browsers I've seen that DON'T display buttons as the web developers intended are ones that use outdated versions of Webkit on OS X.

thanks for that.

Hello Author and All on Beatnikpad:
Thanks for your work and your platform specific compile, it's nice. I've recently download BonEcho 2.0.0.3 for G5 and it seems to be working fine. Its seems to be exactly like firefox, minus the icon branding and the name. It even complained when I had my other 2.0 firefox browser running! One thing that I'm annoyed by are entries in console.log on every window focus. I regularly monitor console.log so this gets in the way of my work. They look like:
firefox-bin332: SetRootMenu(0x1ED1D10)
firefox-bin332: SetRootMenu(0x1ED1D10)
firefox-bin332: SetRootMenu(0xC57F8B0)
firefox-bin332: SetRootMenu(0x1ED1D10)
firefox-bin2077: SetRootMenu(0x6594200)
firefox-bin2077: SetRootMenu(0x697D380)
firefox-bin2077: SetRootMenu(0x9464730)
firefox-bin2077: SetRootMenu(0x991CE20)
firefox-bin2077: SetRootMenu(0x697D380)

Does anyone have a version without these entries? Is it easy to remove this function? Thanks.

-Matt Johnson

Bit of a bug report:

I started getting "403 Forbidden" errors from a forum I occasionally read.

Turns out it happens with the optimized for intel version of the browser. I went back to FireFox and found that the site worked just fine.

Here's a URL for testing...

http://www.bordeglobal.com/foruminv/index.php?showforum=253

you could use the lipo utility distributed with os x to slim down the UB to a x86 binary. if that's all you're looking for, you don't need this build.

Is is possible to compile a G3 update? I have several computers one of which is a G3 iBook. 2.0.0.3 seems to run ok, I'm wondering what the performace difference would be at 300Mhz and OS 10.2.8. -Matt

Hey Neal, thanks a ton for this. The build single handedly solved the crashing I was getting with gmail etc on my macbook. Much appreciated mate.

Thanks a lot for this!

I downloaded the firefox-intel-2.0.0.3-aqua.dmg and it does not mount. I'm on Tiger intel core 2 duo macBookPro.

Again, I'm with the guy above me here when I say this.... it won't mount. I kinda really want to download the most recent version, but it won't work when I try it.

Hey! Really great work! I hate the fact that the original firefox doesn't have standard mac os x buttons...

THis release definitely rocks!

I'm very thankful for your efforts, but I'm sorry to say that for me it's still slow as the official... I can't see any change on my 12" iBook @ 1,33 Ghz with 512 MB memory.

I saw this on a site and wanted to use it but how do I make it work? How do and where do I put it?

is there a difference in speed between firefoxy widgets and aqua. Personally i have noticed that firefoxy runs a bit faster. i was just wondering whether i thought it up.

Thanks, hopefully now I'll be able to use Firefox normally again. In the past it's been always crashing (running on a G5).

What the hell are you talking about? You never needed to run Firefox using Rosetta, we have universal binaries from Firefox since almost day one, starting with version 1.5.x

The Intel build seems to be working great at first glance. However, as a web developer, it's kind of a bummer that there seem to be certain CSS styles that don't work.

Example: setting a background color on a button works, but not if it's a submit button.

Bill, you write:
/quote{There’s little point in downloading this release. A slew of new exploits has been found already (hours after the release).

Frankly, you’re better off with Safari or gasp IE at this point. Mozilla really needs to sort security out because at the moment it’s pretty godawful. If someone launches a determined attack against mozilla, blood will flow :(.}
I beg to differ: Safari (in my version -- mebbe because of Saft extension?) is a f***-up. To wit, it won't display videos at all and many pages are blank. As foe IE it's dead and you know it!

I am using nowadays Shiira and Camino ;-)

Thanks for producing this. Not only does it run really well on my new MacBook, forms now look pretty!

Just downloaded it for my Mac Mini and it used my Firefox profile so I didn't have to re-import everything! Wonderful!

Setting background image on buttons doesn't work either.

Firefox 2.0.0.4 is now officially released. Can we expect to see an updated Optimized Firefox 2.0.0.4 soon?

Update to Firefox 2.0.0.4?

Now, the inevitable... will there be a 2.0.0.4 build? ;)

2.0.0.4 pretty please?

Hi, There, the 2.0.4 is out, would you able to update your version of bonecho?
I love it very much!

Thanks

as many people have said thanks for producing this, runs much perfectly on my new laptop :)

Another Firefox update... 2.0.0.4.

Any Intel Builds? Keep up the great work.

Hi,

Any chance of getting the latest 2.0.0.4 optimised builds?

Thanks!

Why my comment doesn't show up even after 3 days
Are you going to make 2.0.4 anymore

If not, I will try something else than wait for you indefinitely!

The answer for me! I have been trying to get Mac
Widgets for a month now.
P.S. Try harvesting the Icon off Fursbain; it's a
cool one.
Dan

I downloaded this to my new Intel Mac but find it's behaving just as Firefox does--it starts to open, then stops, with no error message or anything. Any ideas of why?

Any chance of an optimized G4 build for Firefox 2.0.0.4?

You mentioned on the front page that you'll devote all your time to your newborn for the time being- understandably. Any idea when you'll be able to release the optimized builds for 2.0.0.4? Thanks!

Could you please not build 2.0.0.4? Thanks. I know you have better things to do with your time then build a dot oh dot oh dot oh dot one incremented release. Get a life, people!

Thanks for the first mature reply to this post, Matt. Neil has already explained why there is no 2.0.0.4 build (if you are blind and missed it, scroll to the very top of this page and start reading).

If you are really in that desperate need of Firefox 2.0.0.4, use the official Mozilla build or go compile your own. And FlooFloo's personal attack on Neil is completely ridiculous--geez, the guy is VOLUNTEERING his time and bandwidth to do a FREE and FREELY-available build of a FREE program. If you really can't stand his generosity that much, then fine, go take your business elsewhere rather than "wait around indefinitely." (And give him a break on not moderating the comments--with a newborn, do you really expect him to put approving dumb comments and weeding out the spam comments high on his priority list?)

I didn't know you had a kid on the way! Congrats! The x.x.x.4 increment can wait, I agree.

FWIW - I've been living quite happily with recent nightlies of Firefox 3/Minefield, which are Aqua native out of the box. Also Gran Paradiso Alpha 5 will be out soon, which should be a "fairly stable nightly".

Not all plug-ins work, but you're helping Mozilla test their upcoming browser. And Neil can enjoy his new life...

No reason to become testy, huh? How about you get a life yourself?

Excellent job! This is great!

Could someone post the instructions on how to make these versions of firefox so we don't have to bug anyone else when new versions pop up and so forth...

thanks

I have built a G5 optimized version of 2.0.0.4.

It has only been tested on 10.4; I'm not sure if the build was for 10.3 or 10.4. So, if it doesn't work on 10.3, let me know and I'll do a 2nd build that hopefully will work on 10.3.

Download from http://www.tuolumne.com/

Congrats on the newborn! I have two kids (1 yr old and 8 yrs old), so I know how hectic it can be. Enjoy them while you can. Someone else can take on the Firefox 2.0.0.4 build if necessary. Also, thanks for doing the work you've done up to this point! Now go relax and stop reading this! :)

Try setting CFLAGS environment variable to the following, before compiling the firefox source code:

G4: "-fast -mcpu=G4"
G5: "-fast"
Intel: "-fast"

If you don't know how to set an environment variable, you probably should just wait for Neil to post the next version.

Awesome stuff... the G5 build works perfectly!

I had downloaded the Mozilla version and it didnt work.. tried all sorts o stuff, but it just died!! }:-l

Your version works perfectly, nice work

2Ghz iMac G5

Thanks so much for this! I know I am late to the party, but I didn't know where to get the updates until now. I've been using these Optimized versions since the first go round, and I think they're great!

hi,

i guess there is a problem with turkish fonts? fonts are missing. is there a way?

thanks,

I'm running a PB G4 (1.67GHz) and os 10.4.10

Unfortunately, 2.0.0.3 is a hopelessly broken piece of software.
For a start, it regularly allows me to move the browser window OVER (/above) the menu bar at the top! That is, cover the topmost bar that contains the apple and finder symbols and the date. When it does this (which is frequently), you can no longer access a menu as they don't respond. Neither does the "quit" key combo. The only way to exit is to do an (unsighted) option-command-escape and force quit this useless build.

It also quite regularly doesn't allow any text input anywhere. Most importantly in the address and search fields. Again, menu's can no longer be accessed at this point so a force-quit is needed.

It also tends to "hang" a lot...much more than before.

In fact, the overall reliability of this build is poor enough to be categorised as a "windows special" in my book. I may use it once a day and WITHOUT FAIL, one of the above issues will occur at least once requiring a force quit.

I have redownloaded the latest 2.0.0.3 build at least twice recently and every time the same issues occur. This kind of prog behaviour was what prompted me to switch from Win in the first place all those years ago :(

To be fair, this all started after the latest system security update from Apple ----- but none of my other 200 or so progs have suffered at all, so it looks like it's your program alone.

Thank you very much for creating a 2.0.0.4 build for just the G5 and intel crowd.......I'll trash this currently useless G4 one and go back to normal (aka faster and reliable) "standard" Firefox thank you. ;-)

you, madam or sir, have made my day.

First, thanks for a great work (although I will miss the G4 optimization). Second, does anyone know how to install Google Gears on BonEcho? I want to use Zoho offline.
Thanks
Yoram