What is new in Firefox 3.0

The closest rival to Microsoft's Internet Explorer is ready to get an upgrade. Browser developer Mozilla has announced June release for its popular browser, Firefox.

Firefox 3 promises to add several new features that will enhance the users browsing experience as well as make it for secure. In fact, Mozilla claims that Firefox 3.0 will run twice as fast as the previous version while using less memory.

So, here's a peak into all the added features users will find in Firefox 3.0.

Enhanced security

Firefox 3 adds several new features that will make it more secure against online frauds, forgeries, viruses and Trojan.

An important addition is One-click site info where the users can click the site favicon in the location bar to see who owns the site and to check if their connection is protected from eavesdropping.

Also, the Identity verification is prominently displayed in the new version. When a site uses Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificates, the site favicon button will turn green and show the name of the company users are connected to.

The new version has enhanced malware protection which warns users when they enter a site which can install viruses, spyware, trojans or other malware.

Version 3 also lets users to access Web Forgery Protection page that displays the content suspected of web forgeries.

Also, the new version of Firefox automatically checks new add-ons and plugins and will disable older, insecure versions.

Easing browsing

The new version promises to make users browsing experience more organised and clutter-free.

An information bar replaces the old password dialogue so that users can now save passwords after a successful login. The add-ons whitelist has been removed making it possible to install extensions from third-party sites in fewer clicks.

The revised Download Manager will make it easier to locate downloaded files, and users can search the name of the website where the file came from. Also, the users will be able to resume downloads after restarting the browser or resetting their network connection.

Simplifying add-on installation, the new version will make it possible to install extensions from third-party sites in fewer clicks.

Another feature that adds volume to the new version is Full page zoom. This functionality will let users zoom in and out of entire pages, scaling the layout, text and images, or optionally only the text size. Users settings will be remembered whenever they return to the site.

Multiple text selections can be made with Ctrl/Cmd; double-click drag selects in "word-by-word" mode; triple-clicking selects a paragraph.

Another new feature, called activities, allows users to highlight text on a page, click on it, then instantly send it to another site, like a mapping, e-mail or blogging service.

Smart Bookmarking

Next time a user wants to add a bookmark the new Firefox will make the task easier for him. He will be able to add bookmarks from the location bar with a single click. A dropdown box will let him name it, choose a folder to put it in as well as add a tag to categorise it.

There will also be a Smart Bookmarks Folder from where he can access his recently-bookmarked and tagged pages, as well as his most-frequently visited pages.

Another feature called Places Organiser will help the user view, organise and search through all his bookmarks, tags, and browsing history with multiple views and smart folders to store his frequent searches.

Also, in case a user wants to install Firefox add-ons, the new Add-ons Manager will also display a list of recommended add-ons and downloads from the Firefox website.

Web apps go faster!

According to Firefox team, improvements to the JavaScript engine as well as profile guided optimization has enhanced the performance of Firefox 3.0.

The new Firefox 3.0 will enable web applications like Google Mail and Zoho Office to run twice as fast compared to Firefox 2. Also, SunSpider test from Apple shows improvements over previous releases.

Also, the new version promises secured data protection. User's bookmarks, history, cookies, and preferences will now be stored in a transactionally secure database format which will prevent data loss even if their system crashes.

Memory usage

Firefox 3 endeavours to reduce the amount of memory used over a Web browsing session.

Memory cycles are broken and collected by an automated cycle collector, a new memory allocator has been added to reduce fragmentation, a large number of leaks have been fixed, and caching strategies have been tuned.

Developer tools

Firefox 3.0 has several developer tools too. Like there are new tools for graphics and font handling.

New graphics and text rendering architectures in Gecko 1.9 provides rendering improvements in CSS, SVG as well as improved display of fonts with ligatures and complex scripts.

Regarding colour management, Firefox 3.0 will be able to adjust images with embedded color profiles. There's also offline support option that aims to enable web applications to provide offline functionality.