Profile Backup

Discussion of features in Mozilla Firefox
tomp01
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Profile Backup

Post by tomp01 »

I would dearly like to see a backup facility incorporated into Firefox. I have noticed over many releases that bookmarks, history etc are lost on a repeated basis. The latest release 1.0.1 is more robust, but is still suffers from this problem from time to time.

I use MozBackup 1.3.2, which is excellent but I believe that the developer has now chosen to abandon further development. I hate IE with a vengeance, but this problem never seems to happen with it. Opera is also very resilient, in this respect. Surely this facility is well overdue? Please do not bombard me with smug remarks about how bad Windows XP is compared to Linux.

If IE and Opera can preserve profiles, under XP, why can't Firefox do the same? If there is a problem doing this, then a backup facility is the next best thing surely?
tomp01
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Profile Backup

Post by tomp01 »

If you are gettng a feeling of déjà vu, I have also posted in the Firefox bugs forum.
Motzill@
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Post by Motzill@ »

Well, this feature isn't intended for dumb "simple home users" like you. Look at https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=270705 and see the last statement to a connected problem.
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greenknight
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Post by greenknight »

Unfortunately, profiles can be corrupted in so many ways that anyone who uses Fx for very long has a good chance of needing to use the Profile Manager to create a new profile. It should be easier to locate and use (though I had no trouble using it, I found the information about accessing it was not easily available). And backing up profiles should either be made automatic, or information about why and how to do it should be where even the "simple home user" is sure to see it. I myself downloaded the Bookmark Backup extension as soon as I found out about it. Many only find out about backup extensions after posting a "Where are my bookmarks" in these forums.I've seen so many of those...
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tomp01
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Reply to Motzill@

Post by tomp01 »

Frankly these forums are full of supercilious posters such as the above. I am not a simple home user, I am in fact a Networking Engineer specialising in Cisco and Nortel routers/switches. I merely point out that if Firefox is going to overturn IE, then it needs to provide a mechanism to preserve profiles. Both IE and Opera seem able to do so, which begs the question why is it such a big deal?

I suspect that there are a few out there who wish to keep Firefox to themselves and look disdainfully on other 'lesser' beings. I want FF to succeed and this is one of the major bugbears, in my experience, for new users. I used to use Netscape and Mozilla and they both suffered from the same problem.
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jqp
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Post by jqp »

If you make a post and expect a haughtily bitter reply, you're probably going to read the reply as haughtily bitter, no matter how the person posting meant for their post to sound.

You are correct that profiles can be difficult to manage if there are problems. The developers are trying to make the entire system of profiles less and less visible to end users. The goal is that the end users don't know what a profile is and shouldn't have to.

I love the fact that anyone who wants to take the time to learn can write an extension for firefox and post it in a public forum. However, since there are so many extensions and so many people writing them, it's easy for people to write extensions that don't play nice with each other. It's just a fact of life. And when extensions aren't playing nice, the best way to find the solution is to (1) create a new profile or (2) delete all your extensions and start over.

I disagree with the trend to keep the profile manager hidden. I think it should be easier to manage profiles and backup profiles when necessary, but, of course, backing up a corrupt profile and then just restoring that same profile probably won't solve most problems.

The only time most people seem to need to get to the profile manager is when there is a problem with a common bug. The most common of these bugs has been fixed and shouldn't be a problem in Fx 1.1. So, if the major bugs get fixed, I still agree that the profile manager should be easy to find, but it would be a much lower priority than it is right now.

It is, however, still necessary to have profiles in general on all platforms. Windows XP (pro and home) allow multiple people to have "accounts" on the computer. Each person should have their own set of bookmarks, extensions, and themes, and that's what a profile is. The same goes for Linux. I don't know anything about Mac, so I can't speak for it.

So, overall, if the major bugs present now get fixed (and one already is) then this shouldn't be a big problem.
tomp01
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Reply to Greenknight

Post by tomp01 »

I accept what you are saying, I think, however my last post was directed to Motzill@. He is very typical of a certain kind of poster who considers others to be of a lesser order in the food chain. I was responding to his haughty and arrogant manner. Surely you must agree that if FF is going to take over from IE, then it needs to more resilient than it is now? So when will FF 1.1 be released?
tomp01
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Recommending FF to Friends

Post by tomp01 »

Just one more observation, I have recommended FF to others and they have come back with the same whinge. Bear in mind that they are sophisticated users and if you piss them off, they will 'spread the word' and not return. It takes a lot to 'turn' dedicated IE lovers, so remember that mud sticks
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jqp
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Post by jqp »

I have no idea what you mean by that last post. We're just trying to help here, you know...

Yes, you're right, these issues need to be resolved. However, these things probably don't happen to the majority of Firefox users. Yes, it's a big deal that needs to be dealt with before Firefox gets too popular, and like I said, Firefox 1.1 should make it a minimal issue, if not eliminate the issue entirely.
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couldabeen
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Post by couldabeen »

Hi, another 'supercilious poster' poster here.
WinXP has a very good backup program built in.
So does W2K, and Win98 if I remember correctly.
All capable of being scheduled to make backups at the time of a usres choosing.
If I am seeing things right on my XP system, IE uses the system backup program to make it's backups.
As far as Opera, I don't know about it, but I can look at the 'calls' to see if is actually built in or uses a system app if I ever become curious.

From my *nix days, there were several backup programs installed in the unix or linux OS's that were installed by our Network Engineers, and most of them had scheduling capabilities, and worked very well.

With system programs availabe, why should it be built in? The system porgrams have better archiving and restoring capabilities than something that would have to be included, and keep FX small.

Newbie, experienced, IT, Networking Engineer, or whatever. If a users wants to find a way to do something, they will start by looking into what they have available before looking to have it added to the program they are using.

tomp01 wrote:Just one more observation, I have recommended FF to others and they have come back with the same whinge. Bear in mind that they are sophisticated users and if you piss them off, they will 'spread the word' and not return. It takes a lot to 'turn' dedicated IE lovers, so remember that mud sticks


So, what you are saying is all of the folks you recommnd things to are whiners?
Try teaching them to be independent instead of dependent. I bet they learn something new and useful real soon!
Free Your Mind, And Your A$$ Will Follow - Funkadelic, 1970
tomp01
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reply to johnnyq

Post by tomp01 »

I thought that my last post was transparent enough, I was just trying to point out that many users are less patient than us. Give them the slightest reason to confirm their worst suspicions and they will go running back to the familiarity of IE. I suspect that there is a narrow window of opportunity for FF, so surely simple problems such as profile preservation should be fixed post haste. Hardly controversial to my mind.
tomp01
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MozBackup 1.3.2

Post by tomp01 »

If FF is so wonderful, why then do you need to use programs such as MozBackup? Obviously others must have the same problem, otherwise it wouldn't exist. It surprises me that this is so contentious an issue. If you wish to wean IE off their addiction, then you need to provide a user friendly alternative.
tomp01
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Simple Question

Post by tomp01 »

Do you want FF to take over from IE? If so, surely it should behave at least as well, if not better, in this respect? Hardly quantum physics to my mind?
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couldabeen
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Re: MozBackup 1.3.2

Post by couldabeen »

tomp01 wrote:If FF is so wonderful, why then do you need to use programs such as MozBackup? Obviously others must have the same problem, otherwise it wouldn't exist. It surprises me that this is so contentious an issue. If you wish to wean IE off their addiction, then you need to provide a user friendly alternative.


I don't use MozBackup. I use the system backup utility. That is why it is built in.
MozBackup was made for those that are not a super users such as your fine self sir!

People that use or try Firefox do so looking for a way out from under that high risk security browser, or are *nix users looking for a better browser. Some have stayed with it. Some have not. You can be a stayer or a leaver. Your choice.

It appeares you have so many words to use today, and you very much like to see your name on the screen.
You are not going to convince anyone here you are anymore than you are, argumentative and obnoxious.
Give it a rest.
Free Your Mind, And Your A$$ Will Follow - Funkadelic, 1970
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craigevil
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Post by craigevil »

Half of the fun of Firefox is the tweaking.

I use it exlcusively on both windows and Linux.

Lots of extensions. I do use Bookmark Backup and Session Saver, but have only had one instance of it screwing up and that was user error.

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