FireFox 3.5 - KDE or GNOME

[MikeH30]

I understand from the numerous articles on the web that since FireFox3.0 came out, it has been much slower on Linux than windows. Life has been great since switching from windows to Linux. However my only complaint is FireFox. Our main office applications are web based and run on a SLES10-SP2 64 bit server. The web application we use on a daily basis is our fax application ( Avantfax). All incoming and outgoing faxes are PDF files. This fax application has resulted in immediate improved efficiencies at our office.

However, the one headache that still persists - even with the latest FireFox 3.5 ( supposedly the fasted FireFox ever), is that sometimes the PDF does not load in the FireFox browser window and there is just a blank screen where the PDF should be viewable. This occurs only after several viewings of faxes. The problem goes away when I reboot my system but will return again after several fax viewings. I have been dealing with this issue since FireFox 3.0. FireFox 2.0 seemed to not have this issue. I have posted my issue on the Avantfax forums but have not really received a response - I am guessing the majority of Avantfax users access the application from a windows client since FireFox runs best on windows (but I refuse to go back to windows. "Give me Linux or give me death" - LOL).

Also FireFox 3.5 still starts up slow after I turn on my PC . The Fire Fox icon just bounces for a few seconds before FireFox starts. I am running OpenSuse 11.1 - KDE 4.1.3

I saw this quote from the Ubuntu forums:

That's because Firefox is a GNOME-native app. So, in KDE, it first has to load all those GNOME backend libraries before Firefox can start up, whereas in GNOME they are already loaded, so it starts up faster.

And this is from Mozilla website:

For optimal functionality, we recommend the following libraries or packages:

* NetworkManager 0.7 or higher
* DBus 1.0 or higher
* HAL 0.5.8 or higher
* GNOME 2.16 or higher


All of our windows applications have been replaced by PHP web applications so we use FireFox quite extensively throughout the business day.

In summary, my question is:

Is it really best to run FireFox on Gnome than KDE?

-Mike

[reed9]

Firefox is a GTK app, not a GNOME app. As far as I know it doesn't require or load any GNOME libraries to run.

I personally had no end of troubles with KDE 4.1.3, in the realm of frequent plasma and phonon crashes primarily. And I found it overall quite sluggish on my reasonably powered machine. (3 gigs RAM, core 2 duo processor) KDE 4.2 is the first version I thought was somewhat usable, though I still had frequent plasma crashes. GNOME feels more responsive to me in general, but I don't know if any of that has any bearing on your troubles with firefox loading pdfs.

[gogalthorp]

What plugin are you using to view the PDF?
Have you turned off ipv6 that should help speed if your ISP does not support ipv6

type
about:config
search for
ipv6
set the disable to true

[MikeH30]

I use Adobe Reader 8 plugin. Do you recommend another plugin for FF on Linux to view PDF's?

I just checked ipV6 and set to "true". Thanks.

I did however perform these tweaks on FF 3.0.11

Re: Firefox Running Slow in Linux

I thought they would have stayed in place with the upgrade to FF 3.5

[gogalthorp]

Well I don't use a plugin I simply download and view via KPDF

I'd suspect a problem with Adobe Reader rather then FireFox

You might look at processes ( ps -A) and see if the Adobe app is hung.

[reed9]

I've never used adobe reader for linux, but I have heard it generally renders faster than evince (the GNOME pdf reader). No idea how it stacks up against KDE's Okular. You could try embedding it in Firefox via mozplugger.

[MikeH30]

I will try embedding Okular. The nice thing about having a PDF plugin in FireFox is so that we can view the PDF faxes within our php fax web application ( Avantfax).

Thanks!!

[oz]

In summary, my question is:

Is it really best to run FireFox on Gnome than KDE?

While I prefer the Gnome environment over that of KDE, I have to say that Firefox actually runs faster on KDE for me. The only complaint I have about running it in KDE is that of needing some GTK stuff, and the fact that it doesn't ever look quite the same as my native QT applications, no matter what steps I've taken to make it fit in better.

As for whether it's best to run it under Gnome, I don't think it matters which DE you run it under as long as it works well enough to suit your own tastes and needs.

[MikeH30]

Thanks guys ( reed9, gogalthorp, ozar) for all of your responses on this topic!

I have another question in reference to Gogalthorp's comment:"
I'd suspect a problem with Adobe Reader rather then FireFox"

In the past I have tested Firefox 3.0 side by side with OpenSuse11.1 against XP Pro ( in a Virtual Box machine on the same OpenSuse 11.1 as host). I have dual monitors ( I learned how to set dual monitors up from your guy's advice here on these forums) so I had Linux Firefox on the left and Virtual Box on the right monitor. Logged into the same php web application under differenent user names, I witnessed the Linux Firefox having trouble with viewing PDF's after some time while the windows Firefox was glitch free.

So is this then the result of the Linux version of Adobe Reader (or plug in) having compatibility issues?

[HROAdmin26]

A) There is a newer Reader available - 9.1.1. You may want to try it out. Adobe's support for Linux has never been a priority for them (example - Flash.)

B) I am not sure of your setup, but PDF's are downloaded "outside" of FF and auto-opened with Reader for me. I've never had an issue rendering with this method.