Mozilla says Firefox 3.0 for Mac two to three times faster
Mozilla on Tuesday released Firefox 3, a major update to its popular open source Web browser that's being billed as 'two to three times faster' than its predecessor.
Available immediately as a free download, the browser comes in approximately 50 languages and culminates a three-year effort on the part of thousands of developers, security experts, and testers from around the world.
"We're really proud of Firefox 3 and it just shows what a committed, energized global community can do when they work together," said Mozilla chief executive John Lilly.
Among the browsers 15,000 improvements are a new full-page zoom function that displays a portion of a Web page up close in seconds, and a smart location bar that learns as people use it, adapting to user preferences and offering better fitting matches over time.
Mozilla is also looking to raise the bar for security with new malware and phishing protection tools that offer protection from viruses, worms, trojans and spyware. One of these tools, called Instant Web Site ID, allows users to easily verify that a web property is what it claims to be, rather than a rogue website aimed at copping their personal information.
Firefox 3 was built on top of the redesigned Gecko 1.9 layout engine, which enables the browser to render Web pages two to three times faster than Firefox 2 all while using less memory, according to Mozilla. It also sports a new Add-ons Manager with support for more than 5,000 add-ons, allowing users to manage tasks like participating in online auctions, uploading digital photos, seeing the weather forecasts, and listening to music, all from within the browser.
With the release Firefox 3, Mozilla has also kicked off "Download Day," a community-wide grassroots campaign to set a brand new Guinness World Record for the greatest number of software downloads in 24 hours.
Available immediately as a free download, the browser comes in approximately 50 languages and culminates a three-year effort on the part of thousands of developers, security experts, and testers from around the world.
"We're really proud of Firefox 3 and it just shows what a committed, energized global community can do when they work together," said Mozilla chief executive John Lilly.
Among the browsers 15,000 improvements are a new full-page zoom function that displays a portion of a Web page up close in seconds, and a smart location bar that learns as people use it, adapting to user preferences and offering better fitting matches over time.
Mozilla is also looking to raise the bar for security with new malware and phishing protection tools that offer protection from viruses, worms, trojans and spyware. One of these tools, called Instant Web Site ID, allows users to easily verify that a web property is what it claims to be, rather than a rogue website aimed at copping their personal information.
Firefox 3 was built on top of the redesigned Gecko 1.9 layout engine, which enables the browser to render Web pages two to three times faster than Firefox 2 all while using less memory, according to Mozilla. It also sports a new Add-ons Manager with support for more than 5,000 add-ons, allowing users to manage tasks like participating in online auctions, uploading digital photos, seeing the weather forecasts, and listening to music, all from within the browser.
With the release Firefox 3, Mozilla has also kicked off "Download Day," a community-wide grassroots campaign to set a brand new Guinness World Record for the greatest number of software downloads in 24 hours.
Comments
Its much more reliable than Safari and if it does crash it automatically re-opens all the pages you'd had open - a feature Safari could do with if they cant make it more solid.
No offense, but something must be wrong with your installation... I did not have a single Safari crash for at least three years and it is running at least 14 hours a day. Still, a re-open last session option would be great - it can be added using the Stand plug-in though and works pretty well.
Same here, seems as fast as Safari on my machine....
Do a test with SunSpider to compare the JavaScripting speed. It's definitely an improvement over FF2.
Its much more reliable than Safari and if it does crash it automatically re-opens all the pages you'd had open - a feature Safari could do with if they cant make it more solid.
Stable or not, that is a feature Safari should have already had. It's not like it would be hard to code.
so, what does everyone think? is it running faster than safari? i think i might switch, safari gives me problems a lot recently.
I would say with Internet access there is almost no difference at all. With files on the local machine or on the local network (gig ethernet) you can clearly see that Safari is handling complex JavaScript a bit faster.
Its much more reliable than Safari and if it does crash it automatically re-opens all the pages you'd had open - a feature Safari could do with if they cant make it more solid.
Safari 3 does have a "Reopen All Windows From Last Session" command in the History menu. I use it all the time. (Mine has a tendency to crash as well, though it's gotten much better recently.)
Stable or not, that is a feature Safari should have already had. It's not like it would be hard to code.
Safari already has a 'restore session' option and it's been there since 3.0
Menu Bar > history > Reopen All Windows From Last Session
Form rendition and speed are greatly improved, the interface is more Mac-like, at least somewhat. It is less cluttered than before, but it still draws more attention to itself and away from the Web pages than Safari.
Would be nice if you could drag tabs to a new window, I use this a lot in Safari. The location bar is ugly and clunky - the drop-down list is not easy to read, the differing dimensions of the back/forward buttons is odd and not intuitive at all (why does the forward button have a drop-down button, but both buttons display a pop-up menu when holding the mouse over them - such a design would have never left Apple). I strongly dislike the "Most Visited" and "Smart Bookmarks" menus that are created automatically - I do not want others to mess up my interface with things I do not want. The bookmark button within the location bar is counter-intuitive. Showing the favicons on the tabs is a good idea though. The Preferences pane is a lot better than before. Well, a mixed bag, really.
I would say with Internet access there is almost no difference at all. With files on the local machine or on the local network (gig ethernet) you can clearly see that Safari is handling complex JavaScript a bit faster.
really? i dunno, this firefox has been running a little better or at least it seems to be. lately, my safari has been crashing, hiccuping and all other kinds of none sense.
so, what does everyone think? is it running faster than safari? i think i might switch, safari gives me problems a lot recently.
I have used Firefox as my primary browser for the last 3 years and really like.
I don't really care about speed so it was not a factor in my decision.
I use Firefox because:
1. I want my bookmarks in a left-hand menu. I can do that with Safari, but I need an add-on such as Concierge.
2. I want to block all 3rd-party adverts. AdBlock Plus for Firefox is great. SafariBlock is OK, but not as easy to use.
3. I love the Developers Toolbar add-on. Perfect for someone who creates websites.
4. It works with 1Password as does Safari. Opera does not.
This is a welcome improvement.
I downloaded on both G4 ibook and G5 iMac
Safari 3.1 - 3136 ms
Firefox 3 - 3005 ms
-BUT-
nightly WebKit - 1864 ms
This version of WebKit, featuring the SquirrelFish interpreter, will soon get rolled into Safari. Note that the WebKit team says this is a very early implementation, and there's still a lot of performance gain to be arrived at through optimization. The Gecko crew will have their work cut out for them.
On the subjective front, I find the Firefox 3 UI really unpleasant. The Prefs UI is from a parallel (and crummier) universe. The new address bar is feature-rich, but also cluttered and hard to read. Font rendering is still lousy. Safari's error console is much better. Extensions and skins aren't worth it.
Do a test with SunSpider to compare the JavaScripting speed. It's definitely an improvement over FF2. .
can you tell me what the hell i'm looking at.
Its much more reliable than Safari and if it does crash it automatically re-opens all the pages you'd had open - a feature Safari could do with if they cant make it more solid.
On the face of it this is a ridiculous statement, almost an oxymoron.
Safari rarely crashes. I maintain hundreds of Macs and I know for a fact over a wide spectrum of users and needs that it crashes perhaps once a month on average for each user. If fireFox is "much more reliable" than Safari, then it shouldn't be crashing at all. If on the other hand it's crashed enough times for you to appreciate, nay relish, the "restore pages" feature, then it simply cannot be as reliable as you claim.
Need I also point out, that this is especially true if you are talking about FireFox 3 since it's only been out for hours and therefore a *single* crash would destroy your argument completely? And that if, on the other hand, you are talking about FireFox 2.0, then your entire post is basically a troll, since that's not what the article or the comments are supposed to be about.
Why not go download FireFox 3.0, try it out and then come back and make an *intelligent* (non-trolling), post that's actually on topic?
so, what does everyone think? is it running faster than safari? i think i might switch, safari gives me problems a lot recently.
There are always claims as to the speed of a browser. I can never tell the difference. What I really need is a fiber optic cable that plugs straight into the back of my iMac. That I would probably notice.
But importantly, FF3 launches quickly and all menus are very snappy. It has a nice feel. I stopped using FF because it was slow to launch. Now there is no significant difference between FF and Safari in terms of performance. FF has add ons such as ForcastFox, MeasureIt and WebDeveloper, so yeah, I'm back baby!
There are always claims as to the speed of a browser. I can never tell the difference. What I really need is a fiber optic cable that plugs straight into the back of my iMac. That I would probably notice.
But importantly, FF3 launches quickly and all menus are very snappy. It has a nice feel. I stopped using FF because it was slow to launch. Now there is no significant difference between FF and Safari in terms of performance. FF has add ons such as ForcastFox, MeasureIt and WebDeveloper, so yeah, I'm back baby!
How does it stack up against Camino. I havent found anything faster.