Firefox 3, Beta 3 has just been released. Over 350 memory leaks have been fixed and reductions have been made in the memory footprint. The shortlist of new features and changes in this milestone include:
Beta software is not intended to be used by the general public but if you want to live dangerously then it is available for download.
Download: Firefox 3, Beta 3
- Improved security
- Improved ease of use
- Richer personalization
- Improved platform features
- Performance improvements
Beta software is not intended to be used by the general public but if you want to live dangerously then it is available for download.
The more complete list of new features and changes in this milestone include:
- Improved security features such as: better presentation of website identity and security including support for Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificates, malware protection, stricter SSL error pages, anti-virus integration in the download manager.
- Improved ease of use through: easier add-on discovery and installation, improved download manager search and progress indication in the status bar, resumable downloading, full page zoom, and better integration with Windows Vista, Mac OS X and Linux.
- Richer personalization through: one-click bookmarking, smart bookmark folders, location bar that uses an algorithm based on site visit recency and frequency (called “frecency”) to provide better matches against your history and bookmarks for URLs and page titles, ability to register web applications as protocol handlers, and better customization of download actions for file types.
- Improved platform features such as: new graphics and font rendering architecture, JavaScript 1.8, major changes to the HTML rendering engine to provide better CSS, float-, and table layout support, native web page form controls, colour profile management, and offline application support.
- Performance improvements such as: better data reliability for user profiles, architectural improvements to speed up page rendering, over 350 memory leak fixes, a new XPCOM cycle collector to reduce entire classes of leaks, and reductions in the memory footprint.

Same here, its the only skin I'll use for Firefox. Ive tried a lot of them but thats the one that always stays. IMO Opera's skins are miles better than any 3rd party Firefox skins, but then Firefox has always been a clunky looking thing. I like Firefox, but I think its hideous.
Same here, its the only skin I'll use for Firefox. Ive tried a lot of them but thats the one that always stays. IMO Opera's skins are miles better than any 3rd party Firefox skins, but then Firefox has always been a clunky looking thing. I like Firefox, but I think its hideous.
Hah, I'm quite the opposite. Took me forever to find 1 decent skin for Opera. Overall though, I can't go without my extensions. -shrug-
cause i think SPEED/Security should be pretty much #1 on there list.
(I know that beta versions will have problems but i'm suprised at some of the known issues)
WLM is pure crap, I have it on my laptop but it works fine with Firefox 2 and Netscape 9... But only an idiot uses WLM, I've got a hacked version of 7.0 on this (my main PC) so it still connects and works fine
haha, god I need to read things before replying, thanks
I am sure that MS is doing its best to make life for Firefox users as difficult as possible.
Shows how much you know....
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=625097
Also if you don't like the new rich location bar, use this extension:
https://addons.mozilla.org/da/firefox/addon/6227
You need to download the .XPI and edit the install.rdf file. Rename .XPI to .zip and extract install.rdf, change MaxVersion to 3.0.* and put the install.rdf back in ZIP-file and rename back to .XPI. Then drag the .XPI into the FF window to install the extension. If you don't bother editing yourself, use this link:
http://download.yousendit.com/F9059CB652C143F4
also i'm too scared it'll mess up my current FF config
also i'm too scared it'll mess up my current FF config
You can easily back up your profile. What I did was installed the betas at work (where I don't need all of the usual extensions I have at home) to get used to it, find it's limitations, incompattible extensions, etc. so I'm a bit more prepare for the final version.
A lot of my old favourite extensions don't work just yet, I hope the developers update them soonish.
One is for Firefox 2, one is a older FX2 profile (bugged), One for Firefox 3 and one for testing nightlies.
That's why i added "but if you want to live dangerously..." to the article immediately before the download link.
And firefox 3 bring amazing improvements and I love the browser much more than v2, I can't imagine going back to v2 after using the new address bar (built in search for your history in the bar is brilliant). There is no need to type in the beginning of the site, just a key work or two, even "hard to remember sites" you can get to by just typing in their title rather than address (such as in you are looking for a movie you've seen online, know its name but forgot address, just type a word of the title and you are bound to find it!
amazing product, I suggest everyone to upgrade to it. and the new interface? what 2 buttons gonna do to you? make you sick? Its just couple of buttons that might even change in the end.
Great product, great improvement. Keep up the good work!
Bellow <- Icon
That's crap.
That's crap.
Put it back in.
That's crap.
Put it back in.
That's what she said.
Last edited by rpgfan on 13 Feb 2008 - 22:22
Yeah, that didn't occur to me until I loaded up my other profile, where it was found next to my Location Bar. How odd (my lack of now obvious thought and the difference in icon placement).
I've been using the program since it first came out. Dropping Qute at 0.8 made me sad, but it was just a default skin change that was easily fixed.
Firefox 3 has the weird/ugly buttons, questionable default layout, and it has removed the feature of middle clicking on the Bookmarks Toolbar folder to open all in tabs.
I *think* it can still do all the stuff 1.x/2.x does, but they are pulling a Microsoft here. Changing stuff for the sake of change. What was so wrong with how it worked before?
well at least be thankful that the basic layout has stayed the same unlike IE6 to IE7 which i think was for the worse as it's basic interface changed WAY to much from what it used to be setup like, which i think sucks.
The point has been to revise the Firefox 3 UI to comply better with the platform it runs on. So it's not purely out of "change it because we can", but to meld in better with the OS. For example, it's not just Firefox getting more of an IE look. That's only as for Windows, and Vista will be getting its own theme (other than XP), and so will Linux, and Mac OS.
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