Firefox 3 is a Must Have on a Mac
Firefox 3 has been released! Will this mean the end of Firefox crashes and slow page loads on a Mac? Well, I can vouch that Firefox 3 is way faster than it’s predecessor, Firefox 2, at loading Web 2.0 intensive pages. Possibly even 2X faster, with speeds rivaling Safari. But I am not a benchmarker, so don’t take my word for it.
There are loads of useful new features in Firefox 3. The most impressive so far is the replacement for the address bar, the new “awesome bar”. Now you can type in keywords right in the bar to get to your favorite sites. You can even assign custom keywords for a particular url, or just remember a portion of the address as it stands. What’s extremely useful about this is that even as you type in a particular keyword for a site where you’ve visited lots of pages, let’s use eBay as an example. All the latest eBay listings you’ve previously visited will pop up right in the pop down menu.
Other new features in Firefox 3 include one click bookmarking, web page zooming (as opposed to just text zooming), a slicker bookmarks manager, stylish interface, better extension and add-on management, a new password manager, and the ability to view web page certificates and verify the identity of websites, while ensuring your connection is encrypted.
The new default theme Firelight is nice, although the back and forward button annoys me a bit, but the interface is more attractive than any other OS. Also, I have noticed complications with some add-ons and websites, so I imagine web developers will have to play a little catch up for the new release, despite the open beta program that has been going on for months. But nothing to completely bring down my web experience has shown up over the past 24 hours. I highly recommend Firefox 3 as the web browser of choice for the Mac. Pickup your new copy of Firefox 3 for free from getfirefox.com.
