Mozilla Firefox 3.0 Is the Best Browser for Web — For Now
June 5, 2008
by Walter S. Mossberg
If you buy a new Windows Vista PC, it comes with a decent built-in Web browser, Internet Explorer 7. If you buy a new Macintosh computer, it comes with a decent built-in Web browser, Safari 3.0. So why would you want or need a different Web browser?
That is the question that Mozilla, the nonprofit organization that makes the leading alternative browser, hopes to answer this month when it releases version 3.0 of its Firefox Web browser. In some tech-industry circles, Firefox already is preferred over Microsoft’s (MSFT) Internet Explorer and Apple’s (AAPL) Safari, but it still isn’t used by most people, and Mozilla is hoping to broaden its appeal.
The new version will be released simultaneously for Windows and the Mac’s OS X operating system, as well as for Linux. While each of the three editions will have the visual style of the operating system on which it runs, all three will have the same features.
I’ve been using prerelease versions of Firefox 3.0 for months, and have recently been testing a near-final version and comparing it closely to IE and to Safari. I have tested it on multiple Windows PCs and Macs, on desktops and laptops, over slow connections and fast ones. I have tried it with well over 100 Web sites.
My verdict is that Firefox 3.0 is the best Web browser out there right now, and that it tops the current versions of both IE and Safari in features, speed and security. It is easy to install and easy to use, even for a mainstream, non-technical user. It can be downloaded, free, at mozilla.com by clicking on “Firefox 3 Sneak Peek.”
This situation may change. Microsoft is working on a new version of IE, scheduled to be unveiled later this year, with some impressive new features. And Apple is always working on new iterations of Safari, though it is secretive and hasn’t disclosed its plans. But for now, in my view, Firefox 3.0 rules on both Windows and Mac.
I couldn’t find any significant downsides to Firefox 3.0. Every page I tried rendered properly and rapidly on both platforms. I ran into only one glitch, in a preference setting. That problem appeared on only one of my four test machines and was fixable with the help of Mozilla, albeit via a geeky method.
In the one or two cases where Firefox lacked a feature I thought important, such as the “auto fill” feature in Safari that can quickly fill out an online form, I was able to find an add-on that did the trick from Mozilla’s vast library of add-ons, which are written by people all over the world. (One caution: Some existing add-ons won’t work with the new version until their authors update them.)
When Firefox first came out, it was the fastest browser, but it lost that title over the years. However, in my tests, this new third version of Firefox regained the speed crown. It beat IE 7 handily on my test Windows computers and edged Safari slightly on my test Macs.
For example, using a new Dell (DELL) XPS One desktop, I opened identical folders containing the same 16 bookmarks on both IE 7 and Firefox 3.0. IE took 37 seconds to completely display the 16 pages, but the new Firefox did it in just 23 seconds. On a new Apple iMac, I did a similar, but more daunting, test — opening identical folders containing 24 bookmarks. Safari rendered all of the pages in 36 seconds, but the new Firefox finished the job in 32 seconds.
The latest Firefox has a number of new and improved features. If you type any word or phrase into its address bar, the browser instantly searches your history and bookmarks for a possible match, to save you from typing or combing through your bookmark list.
The whole process of managing bookmarks has been vastly simplified. Every Web address is accompanied by a star icon at the right. To bookmark the site, you just click the star once. No other action is required. To specify where to file the bookmark, you click the star twice. You also can remove bookmarks by clicking the star. And you can tag bookmarks with key words, to make it easier to find them.
There are also smart bookmark folders, which gather your most visited sites, or most recently bookmarked sites, automatically into folders. You also now can more easily back up and restore your bookmarks, complete with tags.
Security is also improved. The old version of Firefox would warn you when a site you were visiting appeared to be a fake, designed to steal your identity. (IE has a similar feature, though Safari doesn’t.) But Firefox 3.0 now warns you about sites that are known for trying to plant viruses, spyware and other malicious software on your computer, a warning the other big browsers don’t yet provide.
With one click, Firefox 3.0 also provides details about who owns the site you’re visiting, and whether it’s encrypted, if the site owner has adopted a special type of security certificate.
My bottom line: Even though you already have a built-in browser, Firefox 3.0 can improve your Web experience.
- Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.
Comments
Wow, over 100 websites? That’s pretty comprehensive.
Posted by Andy Mesa at June 5th, 2008 at 2:54 amFollowing Walt’s advice to use a Firefox add-on from an unknown author to automatically fill out forms may not be wise: What is to prevent the add-on from capturing your confidential information for evil purposes?
Posted by Charlie Brenner at June 5th, 2008 at 9:00 amThe Firefox 3 betas so far have been much more resource sensitive (less CPU and memory utilization) and much more stable on the Mac than Firefox 2 ever was. Firefox 2 would crash several times a day for me while Firefox 3 rarely crashes (it’s probably crashed 3 times in the last 2 months). I’m much happier with Firefox 3 and can’t wait for the official release!
Posted by Jonathan Barsook at June 5th, 2008 at 9:42 amI find Opera much more efficient and powerful than Firefox. You seem to have neglected it in your comparisons.
Posted by Jesse Lehman at June 5th, 2008 at 11:56 amI agree with Jesse’s comment. I have been using Opera for nearly 8 years now, and have yet to find a browser that can dethrone it.
Opera is lightning fast, very stable, highly customizable right out of the box, secure, and uses a fraction of the resources that IE or FF use. It runs smoothly even on 5 year old machines with 512 MB of RAM and a 1.X GHz Athlon single-core CPU.
UI features such as Speed Dial and Mouse Gestures are so innovative and addictive that you’ll wonder how you managed without them before.
Opera’s only major drawback is it’s rather mediocre mail client.
Posted by Albert Koh at June 6th, 2008 at 7:44 amI found one thing where the new FF doesn’t do well – “Zooming”
Zoom a Web page in or out – looks great for people with bad eyesight! Problem is try scrolling while zoomed…On my dual core Opteron system it is very choppy and slow. Using IE7 scrolling is crisp and fast even while zoomed in or out..
I am FF fanboy btw…
Posted by John Munsey at June 6th, 2008 at 11:08 amJust testing out Firefox 3 and it is definitely an improvement. I’ve used Firefox since Netscape went good-bye although I occasionally use Flock because it helps me keep up with my social networks.
Posted by Liz Pullen at June 6th, 2008 at 5:24 pmI just installed Firefox 2.0 and I absolutely love it! I was using IE7 and it was forever “not responding” with every website and link I would enter. Microsoft is going to have to come up with something short of spectacular for me to ever go back. I will definitely install the 3.0V and any and all future versions. You mentioned it lacked a feature? IE7 lacks stabilization, speed, performance, etc. I spent more time messing with the crashes and then it took hours to do the things I needed to do . I haven’t had a single crash with Firefox 2.0. Firefox 3.0–bring it on, I’m ready!
Posted by Julie Dwight at June 7th, 2008 at 10:20 amWas Walt using the same FF 3.0 RC2 that I was?
FF3.0 is a bitter disappointment. FF3.0 continues the snail-paced loading and freezing on scrolling that made FF 2 unuseable. FF3.0 continues to use tremendous amounts of RAM. (Windows XP SP2 system).
I used to use FF exclusively (anything that is not a Microsoft product promotes competition) but when FF went to the unstable bloatware that was FF2 I switched to Opera.
Opera is by far the fastest browser and offers the most customization. Unfortunately, it does not handle Javascript and images well, and every web page these days is stuffed with unnecessary Javascript. There are many financial institution pages that simply cannot be used with Opera (the login page for this WSJ comment page is another no-go with Opera).
Safari is slick but does not offer adequate control of security and does not render PDF documents in the browser.
Why can’t Mozilla make a LESS feature-rich browser that works better?
Posted by Alice Simmons at June 7th, 2008 at 11:15 amI downloaded Firefox and get the following message “The operation cannot be completed because you do not have sufficient privileges for some of the items.” when I try to update my 2.0 version.
Posted by Helen Naleid at July 6th, 2008 at 12:16 pmI have been using Firefox for a long time now, and switched to 3.0 in its beta mode itself. Though it is much improved, it keeps crashing frequently, and I have had no respite. I have tried everything – uninstall and reinstall – the browser AND the OS, and even formatted hard disk. Nothing has worked so far.
Posted by Ashutosh Gogate at July 8th, 2008 at 10:53 pmWhen comparing browsers …for me its Opera …its the slickest, fastest and most good looking browser…and every single release…it stays that way… I have been hooked on it for nearly 4 years now…and its just gets better…the latest Opera has an email client inbuilt as also a really neat notes taker…from where one can directly email the note… opera is now more than just a browser…it can double up as a productivity application in itself…
Further, the social browser Flock is definitely worth a mention. I have been using Flock for nearly 3 months and love the social features…Its got just that many features which social animals love…and one point which you must mention…The “My World” page presents a neat summary of your news feeds, social feeds ad media feeds…Simplifies my mornings…
Posted by Nrip Nihalani at July 15th, 2008 at 4:28 am