The New Firefox Is Fantastic. So Is Every Other Web Browser
Mozilla has just released the latest upgrade to
Firefox, its popular open-source browser. We’re at version 29 now, which as
software goes is pretty long in the tooth.
Over the last few years, Firefox began to show its
age. When it was first unveiled, back in 2002, Mozilla’s browser was
unquestionably better than Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, which at the time
enjoyed a near monopoly share of the browser market. But as Firefox became more
popular, its designers stuffed it with too many features.
I was a Firefox devotee until about the end of the
last decade, when it finally became too ungainly to bear. Google’s Chrome,
lithe and quick as a frightened gazelle, offered a more hassle-free path to the
web.
But when I first opened Firefox 29, which became
available earlier this week, I felt a surge of nostalgia. It instantly reminded
me of what I liked best about the open-source browser in its heyday.
For one thing, it’s beautiful. Like Chrome, Mozilla’s
redesigned web browser is aesthetically spare, but it isn’t anodyne. With
curved tabs and a set of thoughtfully designed, slightly amusing icons,
Firefox’s new design suggests an air of friendly accessibility. Opening it up is
like running into an old friend who had gone astray; he’s cleaned up, gotten
his act together, and now he’s ready to escort you on a journey across the web.
Should you join him? That’s where things get dicier.
While there’s a lot to like about how the new Firefox looks, I can’t see much
about how it works that should compel you to switch from Chrome, Internet
Explorer, Safari or whatever else you happen to be using now.
In the few days I’ve been using Firefox 29, I’ve found
it to be quite speedy and free of bugs. I appreciated a new feature that allows
you to customize the browser’s menu bar, and I’m fond of Mozilla’s new
synchronization system, which works similar to that of Chrome and IE: After you
create a user account, your bookmarks and settings show up on every computer
where you’ve logged in to Firefox.
No comments:
Post a Comment