Rob Cheng
Dave Methvin
Steve Hogan
Lyle Schuknecht
Steve Bass
Harry McCracken
Chris Pirillo
Bill Pytlovany
John DodgeTechnologizer: Firefox 3.5 Review
Was it really fewer than five years ago that Firefox 1.0 debuted? Its arrival ended the dismal period in which only one browser–Microsoft’s mediocre Internet Explorer–seemed to be viable. With Firefox, Mozilla proved that millions of people were itching to adopt a better browser. And today, we find ourselves with multiple better browsers: Not just Firefox, but also Google’s minimalist Chrome, Apple’s flashy Safari, the ever-inventive Opera, the highly social Flock, and even the no-longer-calcifying Internet Explorer 8.
All of which means that Firefox 3.5–which Mozilla plans to formally release today–is no longer a shoo-in for the distinction of being the favorite browser of browser fans. (As I write, Firefox 3.5 hasn’t replaced 3.0 yet on the Firefox home page, but the Windows and Mac versions are live on Mozilla’s FTP site.)
After having spent months with various pre-release versions of 3.5, though, I’m convinced that The Little Browser That Could remains the best choice for the widest array of folks. That’s as much for the virtues that Firefox has possessed for years as for new stuff: Version 3.5′ s improvements are about better speed, useful tweaks to existing features, catchup with other browsers, and early support for emerging Web standards. In other words, the browser sports no knockout new features. But the moves Mozilla has made are smart, and they’re more than enough for Firefox to keep pace with its fast-evolving rivals.
After the jump, a look at what’s new in rough order of importance.
[This post is excerpted with Harry's permission from his Technologizer blog.]
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5 Responses to “Technologizer: Firefox 3.5 Review”
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July 10th, 2009 at 12:50 am
I had a problem connecting to the internet with my dial up using explorer on two of my 5 computers. I downloaded Fire Fox 3.1.1 from a friends thumb drive and "wa-la" the internet was at hand. I later switched to High speed internet and Fire Fox worked even better. upgraded a couple of days ago to 3.5 version and like it very well. Great plugins and addon's such as Last.FM radio station on the tool bar plays in the background while FF is on. I'm sold. Nice to shake somewhat free of Microsoft.
July 10th, 2009 at 3:44 am
Hi
I have downloaded Firefox3.5 and installed it because the previous version kept hogging the CPU up to 100%.
There is plenty of evidence that this happens to a lot of people.
The new version does the same!
July 10th, 2009 at 10:10 am
I've been a Firefox fan ever since AOL acquired Netscape and allowed it to die. The ONLY negative is hackers now target the browser due to it's popularity, but Mozilla is usually quick to post updates.
July 11th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
I use Firefox religiously, but I'm getting kind of upset with Mozilla for not tackling the memory issue that all versions of the program have, including 3.5. Why does a browser have to hog up 350K of memory? The more you use it, the more it hogs up. This happens on 3 different computers. I most likely will switch to Google Chrome or Opera unless Mozilla comes up with a plan to fix the memory usage issue once and for all.
July 17th, 2009 at 1:52 am
Same issue, a resource pig….good is pork.