Firefox 2 & 3

[johnriley1uk]

I'm just trying out Firefox 2 at the moment and it looks as though it might solve a few problems with specific websites.

Maybe these days we need more than one web browser to make sure everything can be viewed properly.

I've heard good things about Safari as well, although Opera does not seem to be liked generally.

[mr_e]

I find the default Firefox layout much, much easier to use compared to the newer IE. One thing I will say for Opera is that there's no delay at all if you like to use the back button on your browser a lot.

It's a shame people can't just write proper html, then there'd be no problems with browser compatibility. W3C have got the right idea (they're the ones who set the standard html usage).

[Mike]

I like firefox and safari both are very good. Opera I have never used save on the Wii and that is poor. Beach calling - bye

[BarcelonAl]

I have long been a fan of Firefox, it actually (99% of the time) renders html as the W3C suggest as opposed to the Microsoft way of just making it up as they go along.

The more people that use it as opposed to the hideous monstrosity from Micro$oft, the better!

[Mike]

I am amazed to read that Mozilla is working on Firefox 3 already! They are still quite away from a stable release and there are approximately 700 'blocker' bugs in the software. It is really odd to read about it because firefox 2 was a very strong bit of software and I did not move away from it unitl the release of a stable Safari 3. . . .

Here is the article if you would like to read about it.

Mozilla has a Firefox 3 project page if you are interested.

[BarcelonAl]

It's a reasonably common practise in software development to be working on the next iteration of a product in parallel to on-going support and bug-fixing of the last version.

Features will have been identified as either having limitations in FF2 or are desirable to have in the next version, so these have been worked upon. Lessons will have been learnt as new techniques to make it run quicker or more securely. Also they will be trying to keep one step ahead of other new technologies that are taking off on the web to ensure that everything works the way it should.

Adaptability and speed are some of the big differences between an Open Source operation like Mozilla and a company like Micro$hite.

The fact that they haven't even release a first Beta version of the browser means they have quite a way to go before a general release, probably late next year.

[johnriley1uk]

Despite all the perceived advantages of all these browsers, I have to say that Internet Explorer is actually more universally compatible than any of them that I've seen so far.

I use IE7 by preference unless a site doesn't respond well, and only one site needs me to use Firefox 2.

Outlook Express is also better to use than Mozilla Thunderbird.

[Mike]

IE7 is rubbishly slow and unresponsive. The newer 'next gen' browsers are more in with what is good about the internet - they display the content quickly and nicely too! IE7 works with most websites because it is the market leader. Betamax taught us that the best product does not aways win! :D

[BarcelonAl]

Shows how wrong you can be...Firefox 3 Beta 1 available.

It does advise people not to download it though as it will undoubtedly be as buggy as hell. It is just designed for the developer community to highlight and report bugs.

[Mike]

Here is a recent article on the newly released and improved Firefox 3 Beta. It has some bugs left in it, however, the memory leaking (which I did not know about!) and page refresh times is greatly improved. They will be working hard no doubt to get Firefox 3 stable release out asap!

[Mike]

Firefox has now a 20% share of the European internet browser market! That is shocking.

[Mike]

Firefox 3 only uses 60% of the memory of Firefox 2, it is becoming a lean, mean, mobile sitting machine. I see lots of Firefox 3 installations on mobile devices now to take advantage of the speed of the equipment.

[mr_e]

I was surprised to see that whatever tests they did had IE 7 using 500MB of RAM. Seems like they put them through one heck of a browsing session. Good to see that I may not have to upgrade my computer just yet merely to browse the internet.

[Mike]

The time will come. I will not be upgrading to FF3 until a full public release. I am glad I was able to move away from IE7, by comparison it is very poorly performing and only achieves its number 1 status by virtue of being installed on 90% of new computers as default.

[Mike]

Firefox 3 has been released yesterday. I have now downloaded it and a review is pending!