The web browser is becoming the new desktop. You hear of things like Web 2.0, Google Apps, and Salesforce.com as the next step in business management and marketing. All of these things depend on an interface between your computer and the Internet. This connection is made by the web browser. It is something that has become such a natural part of our everyday work experience that we almost forget about it. I did and then I realized something new came out, Firefox 3. Here is what I have found and what might help you make your day more productive.

When Internet Explorer 7 came out through a semi-forced update from Microsoft people ran into some problems. Mostly because it was a new experience with many of standard menus hidden from view making saving, changing preferences, and printing more challenging. That meant that computer consultants, web designers, and developers had to assist customers with unexpected changes. On the positive side we got a browser with better security, tab browsing, site validation, improved search capabilities, and better standards compliance.

Didn’t Firefox already have those things? Yes, but at a price. It was loaded with features, but also bogged down your computer with memory leaks, slow loading times, etc. It also looked and felt old in comparison to the sleek Internet Explorer 7. These shortcomings are much better with Firefox 3. It now has a sleek interface like Internet Explorer, but with standard menu interfaces. Firefox can now verify website authenticity like Internet Explorer putting it on par with Internet Explorer’s security features.

 Firefox 3 Browser

Here are the features that I think makes Firefox 3 a winner:

• Stop the frustration of having Outlook Express pop up every time you click on an email link.  You can now have email links go directly to your Yahoo! Email or Gmail.  Allowing better integration with your web based applications.
• Less memory usage.  I recently upgraded my computer’s memory to deal with the vast amount of memory that Firefox used up.  Firefox 3 uses in my case about 5 times less memory than Firefox 2.
• You can now enter not only addresses in the browser address bar, but can find that site you were on yesterday, but can’t remember what it was, by entering keywords.
• Better control over what application gets launched for each type of file.  You can now choose to download PDFs instead of loading them in a browser window. 
• Faster page load times.
• Zoom feature that matches IE 7.  Click Control and use the scroll wheel on your mouse to get a closer look at small text and images on a page.
• And many more simple changes that can save time.

Here are some things that still need work:

• Compatibility with older sites created in Frontpage and Microsoft Publisher.
• Even better memory management.  It still requires almost twice the amount of memory as Internet Explorer.

What do other people think? see these reviews:

• The First Month with Firefox 3.0
• How to use Firefox effectively
• The New Look and Feel of Firefox
• Review: Mozilla Firefox 3
• Firefox 3 Quick Review

While it doesn’t completely revolutionize the web browsing experience, overall I am impressed by this new version of Firefox. It can make your web browsing experience less frustrating while giving you access to the latest technologies and applications on the Internet. Give Firefox 3 a try and then leave a comment and let us know what you think.