scottish2, you can use the status-4-evar extension to change where the URL appears.

TonyE

That's not the point. The point is I personally like the status bar and do not like that it is not in this version at least as of this moment.

Besides I run 3.6 just fine and 4 has tons of work to go as I had to stop using it cause the thing lagged so badly. About every other link I clicked hung the browser up for about 10-15 seconds was so irritating so just went back to 3.6 cause don't have the time to wait for links to load.

I have 2 concerns over the loss of the status bar:

1. The loss of the 'padlock' symbol indicating link encryption - this is not supported by the Status-4-Evar add-in, and appears not to be replaced by any other functionality in Ff4. The lack of this feature is indeed a no-go that will drive me to another browser once Ff3.6 ceases to be current.

2. Removing the status bar and expecting users who want it to load an add-in reflects a tech-savvy mindset. Many ordinary users would be baffled by this and that makes it a bad design choice.

This thread is probably not the best place to discuss the pros and cons of Firefox development and features, but

1. I agree the padlock is a loss - I have no idea why this was removed or where its removal was discussed - maybe someone else will provide a suitable link
   • was it becoming insecure and too easy to spoof ?
   • is the information from the site identity button more secure?
     - that does provide security information
2. I think the reasoning mentioned in this thread is that the status bar, need not be replaced by any add-on. The status bar functions are still available, except for the the progress bar, which apparently was inacurate and itself detrimental to performance

I installed Firefox 4 ... and became quickly annoyed by the "status" popup.

Then I installed the latest Status-4-Evar add-on ... which removed the popup but introduced color changes and messed up some websites.

Now I am back to FF 3.6.

JEAER

Count me as another who has uninstalled Firefox 4.0 and gone back to 3.6.16, mostly over the lack of a status bar. It's not just about seeing how far the page has loaded. It's that if I mouse over a HTMLed link (ie one where the URL has been converted to text) I expect to see the actual URL on the status bar - I often need that before I click on a link so that I can see whether it's going to take me to a site I consider genuine as opposed to a spammy one, or even a site I may have visited before. I don't see that information appearing anywhere else in Firefox 4.0.

The status bar also provided a useful break between the end of my browser window and my computer's task bar. Without it, it looks as if the browser window is running into the task bar.

I also hate the look of the various bars and icons at the top of the screen, even after customising them to my preferred order. The icons are too big, too childish-looking and just plain ugly. There were many reasons I switched to Firefox from IE, and the appearance of the browser was one of them.

If Firefox 4.0 is going to stay like this, you can keep it; I'll stick to 3.6.16 as long as it's still available.

Your typical status bar is gone, but if you watch the bottom of the address/URL bar when you click on something, you will see that there is a form of a status bar there. I had added the Add-On bar and Status-4-Eva add-on, which works great with FF 4.0. I didn't know about the URL status bar until I noticed a green line moving out of the corner of my eye. SO...the status bar is there. It's just been put in a more out-of-the-way place. If you want to see where the pages redirect, you'd have to do the Add-On bar thing, but at least now we have the option to get rid of the Add-On bar once we get used to the new status bar placement.

I can't believe I was forced to do this, but as a longtime FF user, I have uninstalled 4.0 and reinstalled 3.6, and I am seriously reconsidering IE. I tried for three days to fix things, or to get used to these UI changes, and I cannot. What a damned waste of time.

In particular, I cannot get used to that stupid little grey-on-grey popup textbox which is supposed to replace the link preview that used to helpfully appear in the status bar. I can't even predict where to look--sometimes it's on the left side, and sometimes on the right. What the hell is the reason for this unpredictability?

I will not be using 4.0 regardless of what features it touts, until this issue is satisfactorily resolved. Please don't tell me to install some addon, especially one apparently named in Ebonics. I am done experimenting. Put the status bar back the way it was. I am disappointed with this release and frankly a little infuriated.