I’m not really a “technology” guy per se, at least when it comes to computing but I just want to let those of you living in the Microsoft Internet Explorer world about the release of Mozilla’s Firefox 3 browser, coming out tomorrow. After all, I always root for the little guy (this is what this blog is all about, eh?)

(Apple guys, I know you have Safari so ignore the following message)

Just from a practical viewpoint, I’ve been using Firefox for a long time – and the few times I switch over to Internet Explorer just to see how something looks or for a quirk I forget HOW SLOW it is. Further, if your computer locks up or the power goes out or something happens, your entire session in Firefox is locked into memory and on reboot, you just have to restart session and all your windows are re-opened. Now maybe most of you read 1 window at a time, but I have multi windows open with multi tabs so for me this is a life saver. (in fact Firefox was the one who brought tabbed browsing to the masses, which of course Microsoft copied) I am probably missing a lot of other cool features since I don’t use all the bells and whistles and add ons, but I’ve also read countless times the security features on Firefox are superior. But I’d encourage everyone to try it at least once – I doubt you will go back. (I also do believe they are a non profit?)

It should be ready to be downloaded here tomorrow.

• It has been an event 34 months in the making, but tomorrow is the official release date of Mozilla’s open source web browser Firefox 3. The company had been holding out on eager Firefox users until it deemed the software ready and as that time nears, excitement is reaching a fever pitch. Mozilla is making the most out of its release date, including world-wide parties and the now infamous attempt at setting a new Guinness World Record for most software downloads in one day.
• One thing that Mozilla is most proud of is the enhanced speed and efficiency of Firefox 3, claiming to be nine times faster than rival Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7, and two to four times faster than previous version Firefox 2. But while I was taking the software for a test drive, I can’t say that I noticed any considerable differences in how fast my pages loaded, or how fast I could download files. That could be, however, that I, like most children of technology, are so accustomed to speed that it has now become expected.
• There were a few things I did notice, however. One of the best new features is the enhanced security. Firefox 3 keeps track of all reported malware and phishing sites and prevents the pages from loading when the sites are visited. These blocks can be overridden, but this is a big change from Firefox 2 which used to just warn users of potential threats. Another change is renaming the Bookmark Organizer to the Library. Three new features include Bookmark Stars, which allow you to bookmark a page with a single click, Bookmark Tabs, which allow you to include extra information to go along with your bookmarks, and Smart Bookmark Folders, which are saved searches that automatically update themselves.

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