Comment 1 for bug 221586

Hi David. The gray color just means that Firefox is taking awhile to respond, perhaps due to flash issues. If you can provide more details on what exactly triggers this issue, that could be helpful. Does the issue happen without Compiz running? Was Compiz enabled by default or did you manually enable it? Does functionality return after a short period of time? Have you tried installing Firefox 2 in Hardy and seeing if it performs better? I am not aware of any widespread issue and I have been following Firefox in Hardy since Alpha 5.

In regards to your Beta complaint, a more valid question may be to consider why a release that is going to be supported for 3-5 years would ship with a browser which is about to be deprecated (Firefox 2). Beta is an arbitrary term and in Firefox 3's case, it doesn't mean much, especially when you consider it has had thorough testing in Hardy Alpha's and the Beta for months, with patches being applied to address any issues and bring to stablity. Firefox 3 is a HUGE improvement over 2 in regards to memory usage, security, usability, functionality, and the list goes on. It isn't really valid to compare the "Beta" status of one version of software to the non-beta status of another. In fact, Beta 5's tagline from Mozilla was "ready for prime time!"

Straight from the Ubuntu release notes: "Ubuntu 8.04 includes Firefox 3.0 beta 5. This was felt to be the best option despite its pre-release status, in light of the extended support lifetime of Ubuntu 8.04 and the importance and complexity of Firefox security updates. Further release candidates and the final release may be considered for post-release updates. " Personally, not taking the time, strenuous testing, (and flak) to bring the latest developments in software to the user is on my list of why not to use other distributions. To each his own.