Firefox v 3.0 has been released

[Larwee]

The long wait for Firefox v3.0 is over. It is available for download and it is loaded with plenty of new features.

First of all, it is faster. It has one-click bookmarking, smart location bar, full zoom, instant website ID and more.

There are so many fantastic features. It looks as if Firefox has made a lot of advances in this version. You can read about them here Firefox web browser | Features: Faster, more secure, & customizable

You can download Firefox version 3.0 for Windows, Mac or Linux in a few dozen languages here from Mozilla Firefox web browser | International versions: Get Firefox in your language

[Oregon Coast Guy]

I am like a kid in a candy shop when an already-fantastic piece of software life Firefox gets a new face lift! Woot!!

Regards,

Tony

[fitnfree]

Thanks, Larwee -- will definitely make the update. Firefox was lagging a bit on me so I've been back to IE but will see how this goes. I do like Firefox but waffle at times...

[Larwee]

The first thing most people will notice about Firefox 3 is that it is fast compared to Firefox 2 and previous versions.

The security features may not be what was expected and aren't totally reliable. It isn't much of a problem for people who are experienced because they are fairly good at knowing what to avoid. Those who aren't all that experienced will think they are completely protected with Firefox when they aren't.

There are big improvements in the memory problems that would cause system crashes.

The zoom is much better. In the past you could only zoom the text, but with Firefox 3 you can zoom the complete page.

The location bar is now called the Awesome Bar. You need to use it to really see how it works using your browsing history and bookmarks while you type.

Bookmarks and history are combined into what is now known as the Library. Tags can be added to bookmarks so you can search bookmarks by tags, but you can still use folders if you want.

The new security is suppose to let user know when they are at a site that tries to download malware to their computers or a phishing site. However it often flunks, so it isn't all that reliable.

[Larwee]

Firefox 3.0 is much more efficient when it comes to memory when compared to other major browsers. This is according to testing done by independent tester Sam Allen.

Sam Allen wrote a memory-monitoring utility, by the name of Memory Watcher, to track usage by Firefox 3.0, Opera 9.5, Flock 1.2.2, Safari 3.1.2 and Internet Explorer 8.0.

The testing wasn't done in a scientific manner, but still should be able to give a reasonable idea. Testing was only done with Windows versions for each browser.

According to Sam Allen, Firefox 3.0 was the winner because it used the least amount of memory, its memory use didn't noticeably grow over time and it releases memory to the system.

Safari 3.1.2 for Windows. Allen said it consistently consumed more memory the longer it was used and showed extremely poor memory management.

You can see the complete report and test results here Firefox 3 Memory Benchmarks and Comparison

[Tidwell]

Thanks once again LARWEE