Firefox 3.5 Beta available for download

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The Firefox team has posted the first Firefox beta to carry the 3.5 version number, and it's a pretty hefty update. What's included? For starters, there's improved private browsing, and the lightning-fast TraceMonkey javascript engine.

If you feel like 3.5 has kind of appeared out of the blue, you're not crazy. the Firefox team deemed this set of changes as too significant for a 3.1beta4 designation, and gave it a more impressive name.

But boring Mozilla politics aside, this release of "the final beta for this cycle" is more than another 3.1 build, and actually deserves its half-step name boost: The private mode is accompanied by much broader options than either Chrome's or Safari 4's, the geocaching and HTML 5 video and audio features are pretty cool, at least on concept, and an undo close feature can recover lost tabs.Most importantly, with TraceMonkey and a few other rendering engine tweaks, the browser at least feels faster than 3.0, so it's definitely worth a download. Full feature list below.

Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 is based on the Gecko 1.9.1 rendering platform, which has been under development for the past 10 months. Firefox 3.5 offers many changes over the previous version, supporting new web technologies, improving performance and ease of use, and adding new features for users:

This beta is now available in 70 languages - get your local version.
Improved tools for controlling your private data, including a Private Browsing Mode.
Better performance and stability with the new TraceMonkey javascript engine.
The ability to provide Location Aware Browsing using web standards for geolocation.
Support for native JSON, and web worker threads.
Improvements to the Gecko layout engine, including speculative parsing for faster content rendering.
Support for new web technologies such as: HTML5 and elements,
Downloadable fonts and other new CSS properties, javascript query selectors, HTML5 offline data storage for applications, and SVG transforms.

Download: Beta Download

#1 TOOLaudiofan on 29 Apr 2009 - 03:09

I downloaded this on the 24th from the FTP site. This is an extremely stable and fast build of Firefox. I was considering IE8 after having some issues with FF 3.0 It all started with not being able to load a page beyond the homepage on first start.... now with 3.5b4 i have no issues. Loads pages faster than 3.0 and IE8. Good job Mozilla.

(2 replies) #2 Avi on 29 Apr 2009 - 03:12

Sounds pretty nice. How much does it score on ACID3?
I'm writing this from a hourly build of Chrome(ium).

#2.1 Jugalator on 29 Apr 2009 - 07:15

Sounds pretty nice. How much does it score on ACID3?

lol, does it really matter to you? ;-)

So many ask for ACID3 these days as their first question, without even knowing what standards it's about or why the test exists. But anyway, it's 93.

I checked what it failed at, and among other things it was perfect SVG support, although Firefox 3.5 supports SVG for typical usage scenarios.

Don't expect ACID3 test 100/100 browsers to be perfectly standards compliant though, but hopefully everyone asking about that test already know that.

#2.2 +dead.cell on 29 Apr 2009 - 14:23

I think someone said one of the nightly builds bumped it to 96/100, at least, if I remember correctly.

(3 replies) #3 AndyD on 29 Apr 2009 - 03:13

What about add-ons? Expect most to not work?

#3.1 Trong on 29 Apr 2009 - 03:18

If you download the "Nightly Testers Tools" then you can force compatibility but I know that TabMix Plus still has problems even if you do that.

#3.2 +Ned on 29 Apr 2009 - 03:42

Tab Mix Plus has a nightly build that seems to be working okay with the nightly builds. So I'm guessing that it should work with 3.5.

I haven't had many problems with extensions...of course I don't have that many installed.

#3.3 Magallanes on 29 Apr 2009 - 13:39

Compatibles :
ABP
Web Developer toolbar
ShowmyPassword
gmail notifier.

Incompatibles:
Firebug (you can try the alpha).
Fastdial
forecastfox
Gmail Manager
Greasemonkey
Almost any inspector
Stylish

(1 reply) #4 Ji@nBing on 29 Apr 2009 - 03:24

I'm liking it a lot. It even has the new tab button on the right like IE. There used to be an extension that did that, but it disappeared months ago.

#4.1 Chris-Gonzales on 29 Apr 2009 - 03:26

that and now the "X" over the tabs is now blue, and not the ugly red

(2 replies) #5 devHead on 29 Apr 2009 - 03:41

It would be nice if it supported Jump Lists for Windows 7 like IE8.

#5.1 Chris-Gonzales on 29 Apr 2009 - 03:47

Its still a beta, and if it doesnt show up in 3.5, dont worry. It may in 4.0

#5.2 sharp65 on 29 Apr 2009 - 04:16

devHead said,

This won't be in 3.5, it will be in the next version.

#6 iaTa on 29 Apr 2009 - 03:47

BBC iPlayer is broken in this version for me. Back to beta 3.

EDIT: Scrap that it's working now, odd.

#7 Sam Symons on 29 Apr 2009 - 03:55

Enjoying three-finger gestures on MacBooks.

(1 reply) #8 way2quik on 29 Apr 2009 - 04:15

Can anyone tell me if this overwrites my existing v3.0.10 ?
I remember before 3.0 rolled out, the beta installed a folder of its own.

#8.1 Magallanes on 29 Apr 2009 - 13:40

By default it install in a different folder.

#9 +Chrono951 on 29 Apr 2009 - 04:26

Wow, lots of software releases today!

(1 reply) #10 xTdub on 29 Apr 2009 - 04:30

Scores 93/100 on acid3 for me. =D. It's faster.

#10.1 Jugalator on 29 Apr 2009 - 07:21

All these features should matter way more to you than ACID3 performance:
https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Firefox_3.5_for_developers

And if you aren't a web developer, it doesn't even matter at all. AFAIK, there isn't a single major site online that even plans on requiring top ACID3 performance in the near or far future.

I'm actually starting to side with Microsoft on this one. Especially as long as IE9 isn't out. ACID3 is in the periphery of useful features until then, because web devs will have to develop by the weakest link until then anyway. They won't stop supporting IE6+IE7+IE8 just to support certain features tested in ACID3.

(2 replies) #11 Meconio on 29 Apr 2009 - 05:57

I've got use to the minimalistic design of both safari beta and chrome...yeah i know that i dont have all the addons, i specially miss the gestures and ad-blocking features, my point is: shouldnt the browsers be going that way i mean easier yet complete integration of basic tasks?

#11.1 Solid Knight on 29 Apr 2009 - 06:20

Definitely. Though I'm not too fond of features being persistent when those features only cater to people who have a bazillion tabs open or have a bazillion bookmarks and other such things.

#11.2 Meconio on 01 May 2009 - 02:46

like what?

(1 reply) #12 opensuse on 29 Apr 2009 - 08:57

How do I reattach a tab once I've detached it?

#12.1 Cryton on 29 Apr 2009 - 11:30

opensuse said,

Just drag the tab back into the firefox window tabstrip you want it to be in.

(2 replies) #13 E.Fahd on 29 Apr 2009 - 09:51

I'd like to use it but a few things are killing the deal for me :

1) No Jumplist
2) No previsualisation of the different tabs when hovering over the icon on Superbar
3) That feeling that I'm using a huge and heavy application while IE8/Chrome feel more like a lightweight tool

- I think that the 3rd problem could be easily resolved by applying a skin but I'm unable to find a single simple, coherent and working skin for Firefox.

#13.1 sreteP on 29 Apr 2009 - 10:18

E.Fahd said,

Aye, I second that. I just use it for dev work now.

#13.2 +xiphi on 29 Apr 2009 - 10:50

I agree that having 1 and 2 would be great. However, I disagree that IE8 feels lighter. While it's really fast upon first start up, it seems to degrade in performance in no time. Firefox NEVER lags for me, while IE8 lags everywhere.

#14 Pharos on 29 Apr 2009 - 20:02

I love this new beta! Firefox and Chrome are the fastest browsers for me.

I ABSOLUTELY HATE the new IE 8.
When I scroll most pages I feel like I'm browsing the net using a Pentium II (thats on a 3.6Ghz C2D, mind you). RIDICULOUS.

(2 replies) #15 TC17 on 29 Apr 2009 - 20:53

And like ALWAYS, all of your addons break and become unusable all due to a minor update. Firefox will never become popular as it could be as long as that happens. Even the simple themes break. There is no excuse for that.

#15.1 Fish on 29 Apr 2009 - 22:28

TC17 said,

There is no excuse for that.

Other than the fact that its a beta? The Nightly Tester Tools exist for a reason...

#15.2 Cryton on 29 Apr 2009 - 23:20

3.0-->3.5 is a major update. Minor updates are 3.0.x-->3.0.y

And of course themes break.. the default theme changes, things are removed or added or renamed, things are tweaked and tidied, nipped and tucked, and all of that naturally means a theme for a previous version won't run on the latest version. That's pretty obvious.

The same for extensions.. APIs change, extension code needs to change.. new features are added in firefox which may then clash with existing extensions. Extension author's have no way of knowing code written for 3.0.x is going to work on 3.5.x so that's why extensions are disabled if you update. Firefox gets blamed for so many crashes and weird behaviour when in fact it's down to some extension that some idiot has forced to work on a version of firefox that the author hasn't tested it on.

(1 reply) #16 TigerFX on 30 Apr 2009 - 01:43

at least on concept, and an undo close feature can recover lost tabs

Uhh....?

Ctrl+Shift+T

It works in Firefox 3.0 and loads of other browsers. Try it.

#16.1 Jdawg683 on 30 Apr 2009 - 12:33

TigerFX said,

i thought the same thing...

is this the same as mentioned in the article?

#17 MulletRobZ on 02 May 2009 - 03:04

Holy s***! Firefox was always sluggish on Mac OS X, but with this build, I'm impressed! Program loads up faster, and web site loading times literally put Safari to shame. Maybe I should set Firefox as the default browser?

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