Firefox 3 Beta 2 - faster and easier to navigate

Stan Beer
Thursday, 20 December 2007 03:00

Opinion and Analysis

The bookmarks toolbar features a smart bookmarks folder which remembers your most visited bookmarks and recently bookmarked pages. There is also a places folder on the toolbar which automatically organizes and lists pages you've recently visited and pages that you visit often.

Having been stung by criticism from some Linux quarters, the Mozilla release notes for Firefox 3 Beta 2 makes sure that it includes the following line:

Integration with Linux: Firefox's default icons, buttons, and menu styles now use the native GTK theme.

That may be the case, but unfortunately I found the latest release to be measurably slower on Kubuntu than Vista - although it is still pretty quick regardless. Mozilla promises further speed increases in future releases but whether that includes optimization for Linux remains to be seen.

One thing I noticed using the CPU usage widget in Vista is that the latest beta does indeed appear to use less of the CPU than the previous version - mind that is my purely subjective take based on how far the gauge moves when I navigate. However, if correct, that would be consistent with Mozilla's claim that Beta 2 includes over 30 more memory leak fixes, and 11 improvements to its memory footprint.

Last time I reported on Firefox 3 about how it still has the familiar look and feel of Firefox 2, Mozilla sent me a gently chiding note. Subsequently, I did an interview with design chief Alex Faaborg who reminded me that this is just a beta release and the final product will have a far more evolved interface with new icons.

Well, whatever the interface evolves into, I have no complaints about Firefox 3 Beta 2. Anyone who is still using Internet Explorer - whatever version - really needs to take a look at this even though it's still only meant for reviewers. However, it would be nice if Mozilla remembered to also cater to its most loyal fan base - Linux users.