Firefox keeps updating every week. do you have to delete everything and repeat the same process or extract it over and will it keep your shortcuts and plugins? Iceweasel seems to be ok. I just wonder about it not been accepted as incompatible by some sites. So far, I haven't had any warnings from websites. So I just wonder if the additional maintenance of manually upgrading firefox is worth it. I'm not a big fan of Chromium, but I currently use it as the compatible browser, in case I have issues with Iceweasel, but like I said before, so far none.

The firefox vs iceweasel thing goes on and on with no end in sight. When all is said and done, it's really down to personal preference. All I can say is that I've run iceweasel since the v3.0.x in lenny and not had any serious issues. Nowadays I run v8, after going through v3.5.x, 3.6.x, 4, 5, 6 and 7, from the mozilla.debian.net repo and have never had a single problem with any of them. I cannot tell the difference between it and the firefox I use at work apart from the branding...

If you must use firefox though and you want it to keep itself up to date, then install it in your home directory somewhere and create a launcher. you will also need symlinks to plugins, etc. IMO it's just a lot easier to use iceweasel.

Change the user agent in iceweasel if you're worried about compatibility.