A Brief Look at Firefox 3

The browser that probably has been one of the strongest rivals for the popular Microsoft Internet Explorer is Mozilla Firefox, who officially released the third edition accompanied by the sense of expectancy of million users around the world.

Unlike other browsers, like the Explorer 7 or Opera 9.5, that have implemented important changes in their operation and image, Firefox 3 appears to be self-confident to maintain the style of its interface very similar those of its predecessors. Nevertheless, there are important changes that turn it into a worthy competitor in the browser race. Some the features that are to be listed first are that Firefox 3 is a browser with enhanced security and a pretty good performance; but if we take a closer look, it will show some of the new characteristics of the program.

Making a fast reconnaissance, some of the improvements that can be found at glance are the changes in the navigation toolbar. The menus that were unfolded as options for the Back and Forward buttons had been replaced by a single button that simplifies the navigation between the last fifteen visited pages sorting them in the order in which they were visited. The URL bar was also taken to the surgery room to add some extra functionality that helps to improve the browsing experience by doing it easier some trivial tasks like adding bookmarks or RSS (Simple Really Syndication) subscriptions.

The Bookmark Toolbar also has some interesting changes. The Most Visited option was added to it. This motivated my curiosity during a few hours, since it obtains information of your navigation and builds an intelligent list of directions based on the pages that had been loaded recurrently.

Another aspect that had improvements was the Bookmarks Management. The new features give to the bookmark and subscriptions handling a new meaning making things a lot easier. The Bookmarks Manager, as well as the History Management, was improved so that it looks and feels like a file manager, this makes that to manage the stored URLs you just have to drag and drop it from one folder to another, without worrying that you have placed the item in the correct tree level, and making the bookmark sorting simpler and easier.

Finally, after enjoying Firefox 3 and its new features for a few hours, I have to admit that I have fallen in love again for the navigator that changed my Internet surfing style. This last version is not only safer and lighter, but it also makes a better use of the options and the tools that it has, making it a useful and more productive browser. Firefox 3 is a great option if you are tired of your old browser.