Status bar prerequisite - will not pass v28 until returned

Question

So, updated to 29 on both my Win7 & XP machines before I realized the problem:
Mozilla is heck bent on hiding stuff from me.
Read another (now closed) discussion of the loss of the status bar. I think this is the first time they pronounced the status bar dead. Tried the view-toolbars-addon and it's not there anymore.
So, went back to 28 and will stay there until the status bar is returned or it becomes so obsolete that I'll have to return to IE.
On my Win7Ult machine, it was easy - just the last restore point before I installed 29 and there it was. Doesn't wotk on XP, but luckily there's an FTP site that has copies of every version you can think of. I chose the last eng-us.28 and installed it over 29. I was surprised that the installation didn't notice and balk at it. also surprised it didn't crash and burn, but I'm writing this on that now and all seems OK.
So, you are asking "where's the question?"
It's this: the status bar is the darling of an overwhelming majority of Windows programs. I think this is like the third time they stole my status bar. Stealing the status bar is proof positive that Mozilla hates its users - by moving everything that used to be on the status bar to varied and sundry places, they have effectively chosen to hide things from their users and I find this inexcusably beyond the pale. For instance, they say it moved "add ons" to it's own 'addon' toolbar, which is NOT on by default. You see, they hid it. MY QUESTION IS - HOW TO GET MOZILLA TO STOP DOING THIS REPREHENSIBLE THING and return my browser to the way I like it. As I said in the subject "status bar is a requirement for my continued support". don't write back that I have to accept it or lump it. I'm on 'strike28' until the status bar is returned. If it is not, then I'll be going WHERE EVERY OTHER BROWSER VALUES THE STATUS BAR LIKE I DO". As a side note, several months ago Thunderbird did a really odd security update that destroyed my ability to send Email. I'm now a happy web mail user and nobody is trying to destroy my ability to use their product. If they had a mandate of 'intuitive changes', it would be different, but hiding things you are used to seeing in a place the WHOLE INDUSTRY is in agreement, this is the death knell to my interest, if not the product itself. If a large enough uproar cannot be generated, then it's probably not my kind of product anyway.CIAO.pcGnome

Answer 1

So, for those interested, I'm still using v28 and things are working well still. But in all this time, a couple of simple, yet salient points have arisen (arose?) in my head. 1) Mozilla keeps trying to get rid of the status bar and folks of my ilk get all agitated and it dawns on me - have they ever said WHY they want to get rid of the status bar? Do they not like me having a tall enough area at the bottom to click on to bring the window to the front? Do they object to me knowing the status of what's going on?.............The upshot of this and the failure to get FlashPlayer right is that I'm using a browser less and less these days. I use it for web mail, ebay & nzbclub and the occasional google search. But search engines don't seem to work at all well anymore, so I'm gonna quit that soon. Try a google search for a phrase and then open a result and I give it about a 68% chance the phrase isn't even on the page, not even if you go back and find the well hidden 'cache' option (pronounced "cash"!,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,My second point is probably going to sound laughable, but think a bit and it IS quite serious. Namely, when is firefox going to be finished? I mean, more than a decade ago they finished Media Player Classic and you cannot believe how wonderful it is that something just works! The problem with this "forever development" (aside from doing idiot things like 'let us get rid of the status bar') is that things are seriously backsliding. Used to be a product would be in beta and then a few tweaks and then it was finished. Yes, there were later versions (I have NO interest in MPC home theater - ruins the good stuff and gives me nothing). It's like "since we'll never finish this project, we can slide all the way back to pre-beta (alpha?) and have everyone disturbed by what are they going to change next, just to keep some jobs. Ruin the experience and ruin the reputation and then I see no reason to come to your sandbox anymore. Someday I'll have to relate the arrogance of Forte` Agent that screwed them the pooch (it's not OUR problem, it's an issue in all microsoft operating systems!). Anyway, I see the question asked "when are they going to put back the status bar" and there is only this pseudo answer of "they won't because there's an add-on". How about "when will they stop defeating the add-on that defeats their attempt to get rid of the status bar. I mentioned that with the v29 debacle, sure enough there was a new add-on to take care of that. So, how many add-ons does it take to get them to JUST LET ME HAVE THE DAMM STATUS BAR, OK? pcG