Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Firefox 3

Firefox 3 was released today, and they are trying to set a world record for the number of downloads in a single day. Get yours now!
To learn more about how to use it, download/check out this Field Guide to Firefox 3. (HT to Jane's.)
I've used it for a few hours now, and here are some things you should know.
  • The Firefox server has been pretty busy, so it took me a few tries to get the download. It is less than 8Mb, and installation is quick and painless.
  • The upgrade does check all your addons, tells you which ones won't work with the new version, and will search for updated addons that will work.
  • For now, the ones I regularly use that don't work are:
    • My del.icio.us one click link
    • Google Browser Sync which I always had active >> UPDATE: Iyov in the comments points to a website indicating that Google Browser Sync is being abandoned and will not be updated. They recommend Foxmarks. I had used this before and will now return to it to keep my computers in sync. Actually, I can log in to Foxmarks and have my bookmarks available on any computer anywhere. Thanks, Iyov.
    • iBreadCrumbs which I described in an earlier post
    • Personas for Firefox which provides some simple themes
    • Resurrect Pages - This one I regularly use to pull up dead web pages via a variety of archiving engines >> UPDATE: This is now updated and works in version 3.
    • Themes - I'm not big on themes, so this is no big deal
    • Tab Mix Plus - Another one that I used regularly
I trust that those addons will be updated soon to function in Firefox 3.

A couple other observations:
  • The rendering of pages is noticeably faster.
  • The default theme and the new icons are clean and attractive.
  • All of your Firefox 2 preferences and customizations are retained in the upgrade (except for the addons that don't work).
  • Some of the other important addons for me (Zotero, FireFTP, ShareThis) work perfectly well.
  • So far it has been entirely stable. I say, "Go for it!"
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4 comments:

  1. IyovJune 17, 2008 at 10:20 PM

    Google Browser Sync is discontinued.

    ReplyDelete
  2. J. P. van de GiessenJune 18, 2008 at 10:51 AM

    If you like FF-3, I've created a searchplugin for searching in all Biblioblogs, see: http://bijbelaantekeningen.blogspot.com/2008/06/another-firefox-3-plugin.html for downloading and instructions

    ReplyDelete
  3. MGVHoffmanJune 18, 2008 at 11:56 AM

    Thanks, j.p. That works well! Check my post on Firefox search engine plugins where I include yours.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJuly 1, 2008 at 2:30 PM

    I just got back from vacation and hit your blog. I found many helpful ideas and links here. Thank you so much for providing this resource - I am finding it increasingly helpful in my studies.

    ReplyDelete