Firefox 3 Download DayRemember system crashes? Those "why did my computer just reboot and what happened to everything I was working on?" moments? Thankfully those days are pretty much over, though I do still see regularly see application lock-ups on my Mac, where one program will retreat into itself and refuse to acknowledge my concerned mouse-clicking. A "Force Quit" will be required to get it running again, or even a "Kill" command from the Terminal. Since I've stopped using Lotus Notes, just about the only program that still locks up on me is Mozilla Firefox. So I'm looking forward to today's release of Firefox 3, promising improved stability and better handling of whatever the World Wide Web throws at it. While Internet Explorer 7 is certainly a big improvement over IE 6, as a web developer, I still find Firefox a far more accurate renderer of my HTML and CSS code, and I use a number of Firefox plug-ins to extend it's functionality. (See our slide show comparison of Firefox vs. IE.) On bMighty, Fred Paul says the new Firefox is fast: "The first and most important thing you'll notice is that Firefox 3 is fast. Not just a few ticks faster than Firefox 2 and IE6 or IE7, but significantly and noticably faster. I was stunned the first time I loaded a page in FF3. It finished loading while I was still getting ready to see how long it would take. There's lots more to Firefox, but it would be the browser of choice for that alone." Our own Test Center liked the improved malware defenses: "Reviewers purposefully infected the test PC with some particularly annoying adware programs. IE infection was immediate, but Mozilla was able to stave off the malware. The pornographic pop-ups and site redirections that occurred after installing the malware became a nuisance in IE 8 but did not happen with using Mozilla." Firefox 3 won't be available via automatic update for version 2 users, yet, but the Mozilla folks are still eager to get it into your hands. With with "Download Day," they're going for a record. Gayle Kesten reports: "Finally, with Firefox 3 -- and some clever marketing -- Mozilla is pushing to set a world record for the most software downloads in a 24-hour period. Its pitch: 'All you have to do is get Firefox 3 during Download Day to help set the record for most software downloads in 24 hours.'" Download Day got off to a bit of a rough start, but is on track now. See live stats here. Download Day continues until 11:16am Pacific Daylight Time today. Posted by Joe Caponi at 08:00 AM, June 18, 2008 This is a public forum. United Business Media and its affiliates are not responsible for and do not control what is posted herein. United Business Media makes no warranties or guarantees concerning any advice dispensed by its staff members or readers. Community standards in this comment area do not permit hate language, excessive profanity, or other patently offensive language. Please be aware that all information posted to this comment area becomes the property of United Business Media LLC and may be edited and republished in print or electronic format as outlined in United Business Media's Terms of Service. Important Note: This comment area is NOT intended for commercial messages or solicitations of business. |
Go To The New Hot Topics HomeBy Joe CaponiManaging Editor, Operations, ChannelWeb Email Joe Recent Entries• Hot Topics' New Home Archives By Categories
Archives By DateMarch 2009 Powered by: |
