Firefox hopes to one-up IE with fast graphics
Summary
Microsoft showed off some browser technology that could help Internet Explorer leapfrog the competition. But Mozilla could be one step ahead.
Topics
Last week, Microsoft showed off some browser technology that could help Internet Explorer leapfrog the competition. But if Mozilla succeeds in its hope, Microsoft could be playing catch-up instead.
The technology in question is hardware-accelerated graphics and text using interfaces called Direct2D and DirectWrite that provide an easy way to use graphics cards' computing power. They're built into Windows 7, and Microsoft is bringing them to Windows Vista but not Windows XP.
See also: Microsoft isn't the only one developing a hardware-accelerated browser
The performance boost from Direct2D and DirectWrite was the centerpiece of Microsoft's demonstration of Internet Explorer 9 goodies shown last week. Online maps flashed on the screen quickly and tracked mouse movements responsively; text was clearer and changed sizes more gracefully.
But the day of Microsoft's demo, Mozilla evangelist Chris Blizzard had this to tweet: "Interesting that we're doing Direct2D support in Firefox as well--I'll bet we'll ship it first."
For more, read "Firefox hopes to one-up IE with fast graphics" at CNET News.
Talkback Most Recent of 31 Talkback(s)
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Firefox has won...
Firefox has won the browser war against IE.
linux_kernel24th Nov 2009 -
Won... the war? no not yet,
but It may have won the battle.
Firefox(or anny browser) will win the war when it becomes the sole browser used. Then you will see stagnation and a new set of browsers will rise from the ashes of the old... like the Phoenix/Firebird/Firefox did from Netscape.
Also I think that the war should be endless because it forces every sides to improve or die.
Ceridan24th Nov 2009 -
Alas...
... it often seems that too few people on these forums are interested in improving browsers. Most are religious fanatics who want their side to win. The staggering arrogance and complacency of some Firefox advocates shows this. Their browser has no need to pander to the petty whims of users because it is morally superior.
LordLiverpool25th Nov 2009 -
Cyber-religions...
and then what? we will see the rise of the Cyber-men... ok then...
"YOU WILL BE UPGRADED TO [insert browser here]"Ceridan25th Nov 2009 -
Agreed
I feel firefox has become something that it was
originally supposed to be against. My hope is that
chrome fixes it's bugs and doesn't follow the
browser feature hoard. I only use firefox when
chrome doesn't work. Chrome still has some silly
bugs though.
shadfurman25th Nov 2009 -
Alas, oh Lord...
A pedantic religious reply from thee...
Wintel BSOD25th Nov 2009 -
Alas and alack, oh noble men and knaves
the donkey may be led to water, but nay be made to drink.
So who cares if their computer stumbles to a halt, overloaded by Gates and Windows, and tied down with IE?
Ole Man1st Dec 2009 -
What might bring it closer to a win
If Firefox releases this for XP and I.E. doesn't, that could be a game changer. There are still more XP users than Vista and Win7 combined. Odd that Microsoft would alienate them unless it is something that can't be implemented in XP.
20kwfence25th Nov 2009 -
anti campaigns trying for "force" upgrade is common
Intel actually did an ad campaign against one
of it's chips... I think it was the 386, cause
people didn't want to upgrade. And complaining
against Microsoft not reveling in it's past is
kinda silly. People do it every release, but
its even more silly considering how long XP has
been around. Win7 and even Vista are HUGE
upgrades to XP. Yes, a machine SHOULD be faster
to run it, that again has ALWAYS been the case.
But to buy a new machine and put XP on it is
really silly, but then it's really not anymore
silly than buying an old car to drive. Sure it
gets worse gas mileage and doesn't have very
many features, but you can patch those in with
third party products. And you KNOW how to tune
it, none of that new fangled technology. Happy
to revel in the past and complain about all the
problems people have with their new software
driven engines.shadfurman25th Nov 2009 -
cliffdunaway25th Nov 2009 -
XP will be around for a long, long time to come
Much as you wish it would go away quickly in order to increase new Windoze sales, there are still many environments where XP is still loaded on to new hardware, if for no other reason than the company (or government's) current proprietary software will only run on an XP platform.
Also, why does Windoze continue to have an XP downgrade option for Win7 machines? Ask yourself this. You may think it's silly for people to put XP on new machines, but even this is proof that M$ is holding back in certain areas.
Wintel BSOD25th Nov 2009 -
How aobut the lockup issues?
How about the lockup issues?
Chrome has really leapfrogged Firefox in terms of
being able to deal with misbehaving plugins. I don't
know which page or plugin is doing it - but something
is definitely causing Firefox to lockup, sometimes to
the point of being quite maddening.
Chrome, on the other hand, tosses them into a separate
process that doesn't affect the page, and even puts
the pages into separate processes, so even if it's
JavaScript locking things up, I can still use other
pages. A much needed improvement.
CobraA124th Nov 2009 -
Use_More_OIL_NOW24th Nov 2009 -
erm, no
erm, no. I use what's best. I'm not a big fan of
turning source code into a religion.CobraA124th Nov 2009 -
It's probably Flash
Almost every time I experience a glitch in Firefox, it's caused by some crappy Flash Ad or clip.
The rest of the time, JavaScript is to blame.
lehnerus2000
lehnerus200024th Nov 2009
Talkback - Tell Us What You Think
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