Firefox 3 Release Candidate 1 (FF3RC1)
Good to see everyone again. This is a slightly aged review of FF3RC1, just to help me get back into the swing of things again. Note: Firefox 3 is now available.
Firefox 3 Release Candidate 1 has rock solid performance. The memory leak has been plugged and the odd JavaScript bug in Gmail that kept crashing Firefox 2 had disappeared. You can ask, but I have no answer. It was some combination of Mac OSX, Gmail, Firefox 2 and my handpicked add-ons did not mix well. My PC/Win XP, with Gmail, Firefox 2 and the same handpicked add-ons did not have this problem. Since it only occurred when I would try to check my Spam messages, I just stopped checking and deleting my spam.
The new security filters have already saved my behind. When checking an innocuous looking referral link, called bertiesmacrame.com, I was quickly redirected to an adult site. Firefox popped up with a handy little alert page and asked for an action.
Even though Barracuda would have filtered out the site, it’s nice to know that disgusting site is not going on my permanent record, even if it was an accident.
Another plus? The developers of my favorite add-ons have been keeping pace with all the betas and release candidates. One of the reasons I was so slow to switch from Firefox 1.5 to Firefox 2 was the themes. I favor the modern themes- the Web is my livelyhood, and it’s difficult to stare at a boisterous, noisy or cluttered theme. I prefer calm, clean and professional. I don’t need minimalist per se, which some mistake as ‘professional.’ There are minimalist themes available that are hard to use. Small icons do not guarantee usability- they just encourage it because of the smaller real estate allotted to buttons.
A few well-executed themes I recommend are Phoenity Modern, Past Modern, HiVis and Utopia White. For you minimalists, a promising theme to watch is Full Flat 3.0.
Aside from themes, mission-critical add-ons like Web Developer and del.icio.us, are keeping pace with the Firefox 3 development. I have completely switched over to Firefox 3 since beta 5, without using Firefox 2 as a crutch. Release Candidate 2 is now available. Take the leap, the list of incompatible add-ons is shrinking.
Firefox 3 beta 5 Test Drive
Now that the updates have slowed down, I finally have time to update a few things. That nagging list of to-do items has shrunk considerably. I just upgraded 3 of 5 widgets on this blog, along with the WordPress upgrade from 2.3 to 2.5…and I’ve been ready to test the new Firefox beta (Firefox 3 beta 5 as of this post) for some time now.
After the Lifehacker post reminding me that Firefox 3 will be ready for launch soon, I thought I would dig in today.
I took a screenshot of my home base: Firefox 2.0.0.11, with its few icons indicating what add-ons I run regularly: del.icio.us tagging, stumbleupon, web developer tools, TOR, and the Modern Aluminum [2.0.19] theme. (Hit any image for a closer look).
Using my every day bookmarks and add-ons as my guide, I installed Firefox 3 beta 5. While I understand that it’s a ‘feature’ of Firefox 3 to look like a native application on the Operating System I am using, I really prefer the distinctive look Firefox had before. Now it’s just…plain. Also, the favicons I used as bookmarkers are not appearing. That’s because Firefox on a Mac does not initially display the favicons. They are ‘turned on’ in effect, when you use certain themes. Or you can dig into the code yourself and turn it on. I prefer the easy route.
Some of the Firefox themers have been kind enough to develop themes for Firefox 3 beta. Here it looks much closer to home, with Phoenity Modern [0.7.08.03.28] for the theme:
I’m focusing mostly on the interface for now, because it is one of the main roadblocks to upgrading. I stare at Firefox all day long, five to six days a week. If the default theme is distracting and I can’t find a clean, well-designed theme, I wait to upgrade. I have to be able to use it, and I can’t stand a cluttered or busy look. My chrome is actually larger than other developers I have observed-I don’t mind extra space at the top-but I have to have something well organized.
You can read the new features to Firefox 3 that Mozilla is touting, but on first glance I am not going to comment on any of them yet. Once I’ve had a chance to use it heavily I’ll post some deeper thoughts on their new and improved features. Until then, why don’t you take it for a test drive?
