just found an answewr to my own question buried in bugzilla... for anybody else about:config browser.urlbar.trimURLs=false gives back consistent and sane UI.

The protocol (http://) has been removed from the URL in the location bar <u>for http:// pages only</u>. '''https:// pages will still have the protocol'''. This may be confusing to some users. There's also a known bug where if you copy the URL after selecting it from the awesome bar dropdown (but before loading the page) it won't include the http:// part. Users can revert to the old behavior by setting browser.urlbar.trimURLs to false in about:config #type '''''about:config''''' in the Location/URL/Address bar and press the Enter key #if you see a warning, accept it (promise to be careful) #Filter = '''browser.urlbar.trimURLs''' #double-click on the pref in the lower panel to toggle it to "false" '''''OR''''' right-click on the pref in the lower panel and choose "Toggle" to toggle it to "false" #close the about:config tab '''If this reply solves your problem, please click "Solved It" next to this reply when <u>signed-in</u> to the forum.''' ------------------------- Not related to your question, but... You may need to update some plug-ins. Check your plug-ins and update as necessary: *Plug-in check: https://www-trunk.stage.mozilla.com/en-US/plugincheck/ *Adobe Shockwave for Director Netscape plug-in: [https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Using%20the%20Shockwave%20plugin%20with%20Firefox#w_installing-shockwave Installing ('''''or Updating''''') the Shockwave plugin with Firefox] *Adobe PDF Plug-In For Firefox and Netscape: [https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Using%20the%20Adobe%20Reader%20plugin%20with%20Firefox#w_installing-and-updating-adobe-reader Installing/Updating Adobe Reader in Firefox] *Shockwave Flash (Adobe Flash or Flash): [https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Managing%20the%20Flash%20plugin#w_updating-flash Updating Flash in Firefox] *Next Generation Java Plug-in for Mozilla browsers: [https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Using%20the%20Java%20plugin%20with%20Firefox#w_installing-or-updating-java Installing or Updating Java in Firefox]