Earlier this week I upgraded my web browser to Firefox 3. I’ve been a Firefox user for a little while now and I think it’s a better browser than Internet Explorer in every way (though I’m sure some will disagree). I had read a couple of reviews about the new version and decided to hold off a couple of weeks before I jumped on board.
Well, now I’m on board and I must say I like it a lot. Right out of the box, Firefox 3 is faster than its predecessor, not only on startup but also when it accesses web pages. It’s easier to upgrade add-ons or to find new ones. There are some new security features that make your browsing a safer enterprise. On the whole, it’s a leaner and more powerful web browser and I’ve been very happy with it thus far.
On the other hand, there’s this whole “awesome bar” thing. Mozilla changed the conventional Firefox address bar to a whole new powerful tool. The first time I used it Firefox flashed me a dazzling dropdown menu of sites from my favorites and history for me to choose. It seems handy but, quite honestly, the first couple times it popped up, it was a bit disorienting and very confusing. After using it a couple times, I actually like it. I saves me from having to search through my favorites or my history which is convenient. It’s also handy for those times when I can only remember a couple things about a site I might have visited a few days before. Just type in a couple key words and, chances are, the site will be right there in the dropdown.
I’m not inclined to change the bar back to the way it was with Firefox 2, but at least I know I can with relative ease thanks to the oldbar add-on. As with nearly everything else about Firefox, the address bar (are they really still calling it the “awesome bar”?) is subject to tweaking to your heart’s content. So if you don’t like it, you’re not stuck with it.
Firefox 3 is awfully pretty, too. The default theme for the Mac version, called “Firelight” (the third picture down in each series here) is a simple but very clean theme. Everything is clearly marked, the icons make sense, and the color scheme is a little bit dark but not so dark that you feel like you’re working in a cave. Oddly enough, that’s not the default theme for the PC version. That version’s default theme is called “Strata” and I think it’s a lot less attractive than Firelight. The default Linux theme is just goofy-looking and makes me very glad that I’m not running Linux. Unfortunately, there’s no Windows port for Firelight yet, so I’m kind of stuck with Strata the laptop I’m using.
I do want to note a couple new features I’m finding very handy.
- Remembering Old Tabs
: In the past, if you accidentally closed a tab, there wasn’t an easy way to get it back. You had to remember what site it was and surf your way back there. Now, there’s an option under the History menu called “Recently Closed Tabs” where you can go to open that old tab right back up. Firefox can also reopen any tabs you had open in case of a crash or if you need to shut down and restart it (if you’ve just updated a theme or add-on, frex). That’s really handy for folks like me who usually keep several tabs open at the same time for blog posts. Those of you still in school will also get a lot of use out of that feature when it’s time to write papers.
- Who’s Zooming Who
: If the print on your favorite web page is a bit too small for your liking, Firefox has some improved help for you. The Zoom function (Under the View menu) will increase or decrease the entire web page and not just the font on the page, which tends to throw the page layout way out of whack. Zooming in and out is very smooth and the fonts keep their legibility even if you zoom in four or five times. Everything scales just like it’s suppose to . That’s handy for sites that are so packed with content that the authors use teeny tiny font type.
I’ll finish up by saying that Firefox 3 is a definite improvement over what I considered a very solid browser. If you’re a Firefox user already, the upgrade is quick and painless and I think you’ll like the new version quite a bit.
Tags: Computer Geekery, Firefox
I used to use FF all the time but switched to AOL browser because it was purty. It piggie-backs on to IE so it has all the same problems; plus it is aol…that said, I’m not to thrilled about some of the privacy practices, etc. But being nice to look at won out over all doubts. Now I am having trouble with it taking longer for pages to loud & occasionally freezing up. Perhaps I should switch back & give the new FF a try….
Making FF pretty isn’t a problem, usually. There are a lot of themes from which to choose, and at least one of them will tickle your fancy, I think.