Browser
After continual announcements that the different versions are under development, some people were starting to become desperate about when the final version would see the light of day… This time it is finally here, with the new version 3.5 of the Mozilla Firefox web browser being available for download on all platforms! In our review we have taken the opportunity to detail the main new features and improvements. The new features bought with this new browser may not necessarily jump out at you, as the aspects reinforced here are mainly aimed towards the requests of technical fans. Better performance, a faster experience, better stability and a browser that uses less memory. Therefore, only good aspect!
What we were looking for… More stable and faster?
After many long months of waiting, the final version of the Mozilla Firefox 3.5 browser is finally available in more then 70 languages! Internet users, no matter who they are, will see faster page loads, more stability and less memory used, especially when they have multiple browsing tabs open. Has the challenge been met? We would have to say yes, as the Mozilla Foundation programmers have provided us with better performance and browser stability has been greatly improved. This is thanks to the integration of the TraceMonkey JavaScript engine and the Web Gecko 1.91 engine.
Private browsing
A lot of you have probably already tested the private browsing function in the beta versions of Firefox which were the successors to this latest full release, or in other browsers (Apple Safari 4.01, Windows Internet Explorer 8 and Google Chrome 3.0). This is now a must have feature if you want to browser without leaving any traces!
Geolocation, HTML5 support, Improved CSS
The other notable points are the API Geolocation. It is with this feature that Firefox allows you to indicate on web sites where you are located, if you agree to it. This will allow you to find relevant information and propose services that are targeted at certain sites (find a hotel or restaurant close by). This will certainly open the door to a range of services which make the web more intelligent and interactive. The other main new features are the native Java support JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) which allows you to get structured information, Dynamic Content Injection, improved proprietary CSS, JavaScript selector requests, better SVG formatting and the possibility of storing web applications on your hard drive so that you can use them even without an Internet connection.
Other functions
Other functions aim at improving the browsing experience (Recently closed windows, search the customised toolbar...) or additional privacy measures that have been added (deletion of recent history, Forget this site…), which we will detail in this article.
Supported systems and required configuration
Firefox 3.5 is a multiplatform browser which can be run on Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista and even the Windows Seven Release Candidate. Under Mac OS X 10.4 and previous versions as well as the traditional Linux distributions, Firefox also works without any problems. The minimum system requirements and prerequisites are detailed here.
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| Safari 4: The fastest browser in the world! | The best extensions for Internet Explorer 6, 7 and IE8 |
May 19th, 2013 - 12:51 PM ET
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