I’ve been using Firefox exclusively on my Mac since version 2 was released back in 2006. Finally Firefox is getting an upgrade and version 3 is set to be released very soon. However, a beta version of Firefox 3 Release Candidate 3 is available now.
The new version has lots of great features and I’m going to tell you why it kicks Safari’s butt…
1. Firefox is “open source.” That means you can get Firefox for your Mac free. Plus, all you nerds can hack away at the code to make your own enhancements & improvements.
2. Speed. Firefox 3.0rc3 downloads webpages faster than other browsers. I’ve use both Firefox and Safari and I believe Firefox is slightly faster than Safari.
3. Extensions. Firefox allows all kinds of fantastic extensions to make a great browser better. My two favorites are adding a custom search to the browser and viewing the Google Page Rank and Alexa rank of every website you visit.
4. Bookmarks. Adding and editing bookmarks has never been so easy. Just lick the outlined star in the Address Bar and you’ve added a new bookmark. Now the star is filled in blue and you can double click it to edit or delete the bookmark without opening up any other windows. Plus, you can now “tag” your bookmarks instead of file them into categories – yay!
5. Address Bar. Typing a URL in new Address Bar shows a list of recent sites and bookmarks – now with much more information and smarter searches. By typing “sports” in the address bar, the top recent website was ESPN.com – but Firefox showed me the tagline for ESPN, “The world wide leader in sports” – and that’s where the “sports” match was made. Now the Address Bar searches webpage titles, URLs and your bookmarks.
6. Blocked Pop-ups. Firefox doesn’t just block pop-ups, it gives you the chance to make exceptions for websites you NEED pop-ups. Safari blocks all pop-ups or no pop-ups.
7. Improved security. Firefox 3 checks against Google’s enormous blacklist of potentially harmful websites to keep your personal information – and computer – safe.
If you’re ready to jump on the bandwagon now, you can download Firefox 2 or the version 3 “sneak peak” from Mozilla.org.
Or you can wait until the official release of version 3 on June 19th – and help set a Guinness World Record too!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
you’re a fool firefox sucks
James, why does firefox suck? What’s your point? I don’t know either way and your statement doesn’t help me, but if you could counter Tony’s points in some detail then I might have a better understanding. I believe that’s what you think but just supply some detail James, thanks.
Firefox definitely isn’t for everybody. I think that’s what he meant to say.
I didn’t like Firefox as much. Safari is still my favorite because it “feels” like an Apple browser. i supose that makes me an apple slut too.
Adam, what makes Safari feel like an Apple? Is it just that you’re used to it? Maybe Firefox would feel like an Apple app if you used it for awhile.
Safari is a nice browser but it’s definatley not the best. I like the anti-alias that safari introduces, but sometimes it fuck’s up the design, the outline when selecting inputs also fucks up the design, let’s not mention the resizing of the textarea that screws evrything up. These to last problems can be fixed with css.
Example:
input[type="text"]:focus {
outline: none;
}
textarea {
resize: none;
}
Firefox is the ultimate browser, and it can still be made to look like an apple thing with the help of some skins. I’m not an apple fan, actually i really don’t like apple, at all. And one more thing, plugins like firebug / webdeveloper / screengrab / pagerank / addblockplus and many more make firefox from a great browser into an ultimate browser.
@ stfalx : You’re right – the plugins / extensions are fantastic. Especially the SearchStatus for SEO nerds like me (includes Google Page Rank & Alexa Rank) and the incredibly helpful Web Developer Toolbar which shows you all the CSS information and other useful info for website designers and developers.
@felic: I know i’m right, i allways do research before answering to something, but in this case. i already knew the answer or something.
Off topic, but interesting: The only thing im definetley interested in mac is MACBOOK PRO, i saw it at a friend, i love the led monitors its like 117% NTSC and thats crazy (in a good way). Being a graphics designer and a web developer it really turns me on when i see that kind of screen. Think ill buy a mac book pro these days but with a 17″ screen. Unforunatley i really don’t have time to get used to OS X, (couse’ i have a lot of work: a big project for a client / 1 big project for me / another medium – big project for me and a virtual reality project for collage ) so i’ll just use bootcamp to install win xp. (i pledge an outh never to install VISTA – sucks on an macbook pro couse it sucks, pardon my language but i can’t help my self when i see crappy OSs like WinVista. )