Firefox 3.0 Beta 1
by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes | November 20, 2007 12:55pm PST | Image 1 of 29
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Firefox 3.0 Beta 1
The installation process.
Just In
Not understanding why that is so!
Dave
So, no prompt to import the firefox settings.
I have the previous version on mine, and figure if the beta install grabs the old bookmarks, etc, then I'll give the beta a try now. Else, I'll simply wait until the wide release version.
Btw, is there an anticipated launch schedule of v.3?
This is why this is a "developer support release" and they emphasize that it is "FOR TESTING PURPOSES ONLY" -- so that the people who do addons can update their code. And I suspect that it's being so widely distributed because there are a LOT of people who do addons for FF, this is the easiest way to give them time to upgrade before it goes to gold code.
Are there standard levels that must be met before Mozilla links to an add-on?
As he notes, uninstallers are very important. And bad ones are common. When loading Beta software of a critical component like a browser, knowing I can uninstall properly is a Big Deal.
How did posting your message contribute to the world? How did my reading it help me?
Personally, I'm adding to the store of irony in the world by wasting all our time by responding to YOUR message... ;=)
It used to be that a full version number change meant a complete overhaul and visual appearance change.
Now it's, "We have to slap on a new version number or we'll look antiquated." Thankfully they don't charge for firefox or I might start to think they went the way of Valusoft when they bought Mastercook from Sierra: Every year they'd slap a new version number on the same software and sell it to unsuspecting customers as "New and Improved!"
What I see presented here on your pics are neat additional improvements, but none that I would consider giving it a full version number change. Total functionality hasn't changed. The overall appearance of the browser hasn't changed. Looks like a 2.x revision to me.
I guess I myself am too antiquated and ask too much...
W00t
There can be many changes "under the hood" which justify an increment in major version number even if visually (and functionally) the UI is more or less the same.
The naive and gullible are regularly taken in by a simple cosmetic change, handing over hard earned (or inherited) dollars for the "latest" model/version. If it is really important to know what you are getting, read the releae notes. Don't rely on the marketing departments claims and names.
As for appearance, the default skin is one of many - though it's likely that the'll have to be modified before working with the new version.
I've personally never had any serious memory leaks with Firefox and find it works much faster than IE - so I'm glad to hear that any potential memory leaks were plugged and it should work even faster.
As it is now, I'll likely hold off for the final release, or at least try to, as I'm running other Beta software on my XP machine and Vista feels and acts like a Beta release with all it's instabilities and frustrating connectivity issues.
A major version change occurs when you have a major change to the code tree - this can happen if you make serious mods to the core of an app (which is evidently the case with this version), or to the UI, or both.
I don't think your confusion is a result either of your being antiquated or of you asking to much - I think it's down to the fact that you didn't get round to reading the release notes
When? Sure, often a version change means a visual overhaul - but it's never really been considered necessary. All a major version change really means is that large, significant part of the code has been overhauled. Yes, a visual overhaul is often part of it - but it's never been required.
In fact, a large visual change can be jarring and confusing! A lot of people complained about the changes to Office's and Internet Explorer's interfaces. They changed dramatically, and people didn't like it.
Truth be known, there's really no way to win: If you change too much, people get confused and dislike it. If you don't change enough, people like you complain that it's not enough change. Is there any way to win??
IMHO, it is a big enough change. I've read about what's different, and they've definitely changed a lot under the hood even if the visual appearance is not that different. I've tried Gran Paradismo, and it was great! It's much faster and more responsive with more tabs, plus it uses less memory. I think it's well worth downloading.
Now if IE suddenly was skinnable... THAT would be something to report!
is it compiled with ????
Thanks,
Sincerely,
Marc Bellario
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