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Firefox Hacks: Tips & Tools for Next-Generation Web Browsing Review by hedron
completely discombobulated
I don't know where to begin, I get a headache everytime I pick up this book. It is clear that the author knows what he is talking about, but where this book falls short is the layout. This might have been a good book *if* and only if McFarlane didn't have to conform to the "Hacks" series format. It really ruins the book, most of the hacks aren't even useful for an end user and are meant for developers. These might be useful if you understand what RFC 822 means, but if you do, then why on earth do you need to buy a book that explains things you already know? Alot of the "hacks" don't even stand by themselves, this book constantly references other "hacks" making it a chore to read. Like I said, if the author was free to create his own format(not conform to "hacks" series) it might have been laid out well.
Someone must explain to me why, in a chapter entitled "Installation", why does it then go into describing the files and folders that exist only once Firefox is installed???? No where in the chapter does it mention the config.ini or install.ini. Which *ahem* are rumored to be used in the installation process. It might've been helpful *coughcough* if it detailed the options for the firefox-installer or setup.exe." It could explain what preferences might be set by the installation process, then have a seperate chapter devoted to preferences. The chapter should've been called "Preferences."
I don't understand the security chapter at all, why is it giving you ways to make Firefox *less* secure???? I suppose you could do them if you were accessing a local webpage, but how many of us do that on a regular basis, and for what purpose? Why would you turn off a security switch that has no performance hit what-so-ever? I suppose you could give a look through them and then use the exact opposite settings it defines, but most of those are already the default settings.
I could go on, but I have other things to do. If you must read this book there's an online version somewhere.