Browser
Firefox is a web browser created by the free software community and is slowly gaining more users thanks to its usability, security, intrinsic possibilities, plug-ins and exemplary examples set by its dynamic community. Let's discover what is included in the latest engine, 1.5.
The release of Firefox 1.5
So what is new to this version' The answers are below.
New additions to version 1.5 :
- New Gecko 1.8 engine which manages CSS 3
- More fluid navigation (15% faster)
- Partial support of SVG 1.1
- Better support of XForms, XML, DHTML, JavaScript and DOM
- JavaScript XUL files can contain ASCII characters
- A new beacon canvas to draw graphics in Firefox
- An ApI to make 2D scriptable graphics in SVG and Canvas
- Developers extensions (web developers toolbar, live http headers, html validater; an extension for the extension developers )
- An assistant for sites that don’t function under Firefox
- Navigation between the current and previous page (bfcache)
- A dialogue box to access FTP pages
- New options presentation
- Better backup of bookmarks
- Reorganisation of tabs via the mouse’s drag and drop
- Integration of “deleting private files” function (“sanitize”)
- Reinforcement of the pop-up killer
- Better support for Mac OS X versions after 10.2
- Better access to handicapped people thanks to the integration of code from IBM
- The addition of Answers.com in the list of search engines
- Improvement and automation of updates
- Better overall security
- Etc
As you can see, a lot of new functions have been added which will only increase the gap between Firefox and Internet Explorer. But lets not be to hasty to pass judgement, Internet Explorer 7 has not yet been released, and Microsoft has indicated that a lot of functions and safety measures have been added to their next engine. It is a strong bet that the real fight is yet to begin. Microsoft has proved many times in the past that it is not just capable of making up ground, but then also raising the bar to a new level for its competitors. Let’s not forget that once upon a time Netscape was the king of the web! Finally, we will have to wait and see what happens in the war between Firefox and IE7.
The next versions of Firefox
The next version of Firefox, after Deer Park, is blurry. We still do not know much about it.
By looking at the final version of Mozilla Firefox 1.5, we can already think that the next big versions, numbers 2.0 and 3.0, promise to add more to the functions, security and design. For version 2.0, two things are known: its name and its year of release. It will be baptised “The Ocho” and we will see it in 2006. As for version 3.0, there is no known information as yet.
Conclusion
The Mozilla foundation knew how to bring real innovation to the internet compared to its competitors, including Internet Explorer which still however holds 80% of the market share. Firefox is good looking and ready to impose itself with nothing technically missing, and most of its small defaults having been fixed along the way. Today, version 1.5 is a real challenger, and although we don’t know what the future holds for Firefox we can say that opensource software can certainly still play with the big boys, which has been proven with Firefox.
For fans of the other browsers, we would like to reassure you that the reason we haven’t mentioned them in this file isn’t because they are bad or uninteresting, but merely that it seemed more judicious to follow the beautiful (not to say exemplary) history of Firefox and its ability to capture the public. In the same line, we could also talk about Opera, especially since it is freely distributed and is without advertising banners.
If you are yet to give Firefox a go, a word of advice, give it a real go and see for yourself its real potential.
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