I’m hardly an anti-javascript zealot, (in fact, there are many times where I’ve been a strong proponent, and am definitely interested in where AJAX could go) but I do have to say I definitely find it highly irritating that when I go to a new website without javascript activated, I either get absolutely nothing, some random jumble of text, and/or can’t navigate at all. Come on, folks, javascript is supposed to _enhance_ the experience, not preclude it! 
And yes, as a user, given the horrible extent to which companies, (even ones with great brands) have abused javascript for use with pop-ups/-unders, it is definitely a wise idea to start with it turned off, and only enable for trusted sources!
If you’re one of the folks who went over to Firefox primarily to get away from the pop-up hell that is IE, (and/or because you believe that no one company should have the level of hegemony that MS has commanded for quite some time, especially not with the business practices that are all too tempting for any monopolist, but especially MS) you will have noticed that in the last few months, as our new friend has started getting some very strong browser penetration numbers, that some folks have started breaking through Firefox’s higher resistance to pop-ups, etc.
To get back the browsing environment that we got Firefox for in the first place, I _strongly_ recommend installing the NoScript extension, which defaults javascript off, but when you go onto a new site with javascript, it will pop a small band on the bottom of the browser to let you know that the site has javascript. You can then either choose to enable for that site either permanently or temporarily, and pretty much be back off to the races. Although a bit of a pain in the beginning, you do get used to it after a bit, and once you start seeing all the entities that are trying to do things to your computer without your knowledge/consent, you’ll never even think about browsing without it, (i.e. did you know that Sourceforge, the core of Open Source, no less, drops Tacoda tracking cookies on you when you go that site - come on, of all the sites that cater to some of the most psychotic online privacy proponents, SourceForge doing this?!).
Now, I actually understand and believe in the value of behavioral analysis, (both for search, where I first tried even before working on Alltheweb,* and now in advertising, though in the latter case, I honestly do find myself somewhat conflicted on the issue of tracking cookies - btw, in case you couldn’t guess, I also have y cookie settings set to prompt me before anything happens! 
) but on a personal level, I do find myself feeling quite irritated when things happen to my PC that I didn’t _specifically_ ask to have happen, and since I’ve installed NoScript, and now seeing how many companies are trying to do all kinds of questionable things, I would _always_ suggest going to Firefox, installing NoScript, setting cookies to ionly be set by the given site, and then to have the site ask you whether it’s ok to cookie you.
I definitely _do_ wish NoScript would modify from being whitelist-only to providing a blacklist option based on popularity of folks submitting sites to be blacklisted to them, but having worked on similar technologies in a failed attempt to pull off a Safe Search version of ATW for Pax I know how this can quickly blossom into a _huge_ pain in the tail for even firms getting paid good money to solve, forget about random folks contributing personal time and effort to help out, (thank you, Giorgio!!! ).
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* Was the basis for the search engine I designed while in B-School @ Babson. Yes, for those who have poked around a bit, that’s the “better version of Direct Hit before Direct Hit existed.” Taught me several very important lessons:
1) If you believe strongly enough in the value of something, don’t let yourself be dissuaded even if authority figures you respect tell you what you’re proposing is irrational / impossible. Heck, if you think about it, there’s nothing rational about Search in the first place: making not just one, but multiple copies of all the knowledge and experience of the entire planet? Most people don’t even think about how utterly insane that is, so when was any web search concept ever rational? 
2) Even for highly-capital intensive ventures, (of which, Search is definitely one) you can’t allow yourself to abandon a good idea because you’re not going to get funded. Now, back in ‘97-’99, when I was going to B-School, that was the proscription:
A. Business Plan
B. Management Team**
C. VC Funding
D. GO!
Now, in ‘05, Search is definitely coming back, so yes, there are at least the glimmers of hope, where 3 yrs ago, we were all trying to figure out how to “re-cast” Search on our resumes, since there were certainly no Search companies hiring, (at least here in the Greater Boston Area) and since there was a truly sick and disgusting semi-triumphant attitude to see those crushed in the post-Bubble fall, (i.e. early 30’s VP’s). And yes, there were many of us who _were_ jack-asses, (much of the Lycos staff coming immediately to mind - hated their partners, hated each other, bragged about so-and-so having been “shit-canned” after 6 months, the median lifetime of a Lycos person back then) but there were many of us who loved the Internet for the chance to do something extraordinary, to actually have an impact on the companies we were working for, rather than just being a random cog, and yes, for sure, to make enough in doing so both to make secure lives for our families, and to ensure that we could do it again a couple of years down the road when the funding sources told us we were out of our minds yet again, (i.e. do you honestly believe that Google could have become what it is today if it had tried to launch in the funding climate post-2000? As I said, though, am definitely pleased to see interest in Search coming back up - you’ll still have to bootstrap hard, and probably be able to make a go of it for a good 12-18 mths or so, which’ll be nigh unto a killer for many of us, but it’s still infinitely better than it was, but the question on Google post-2000 still stands…). Well, at least some folks are still living the Dream, and for the rest of us, Hope dawns again!! - And this time, there _will_ be a liquidity event before the financial markets choose to crush us again, and forget B2B - yes, it’s a very easy way to get good a good bunch of cash / traffic at one shot, but the very protracted last recession should have shown us all that corporations do _not_ behave rationally to their environment, refusing to invest even as the consumer economy remained very strong. B2C - takes longer, may need to be funded from some B2B endeavors while corporations remain “positive,” but so long as you’re providing a product / service that has value, individuals _will_ continue to consume, and you _will_ be able to survive through the down times. Businesses, as now well-established largely-economically-irrational actors will not.
Whew! Enough random catharsis for today, time to get back to productive uses - I have my own company to try to bootstrap for now, and prospecting’s not getting done while I sit here babbling about ancient history!
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** ‘Course, “Management Team” was always probably the hardest of those steps, especially during the up times, as anyone who was willing to shelf his idea, where he’s the CEO, for yours, where you are, probably wasn’t good enough to be on your Team, if you really wanted those “A-players” that everyone’s always spouting about. Still a huge issue for anyone who looks back into their history and sees tens / hundreds of millions, if not billions, in value fail to have been created by the companies that these folks were a part of, (i.e. how much are the folks from Excite, Lycos, AV, as well as me still kicking themselves in the tail on a nigh-unto daily basis? Ah well, get up, dust oneself off and move on, but yes, when the bills come due each month, and you’re still playing with mail float while trying to scrape by, as opposed to working on something that people the world over will truly appreciate, and which is thus truly joyful to work on, it does get hard….)
