9 Amazing New Features of Firefox 3.5!
Posted 06/25/09 at 02:30:32 PM by Paul Lilly
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Firefox Becomes Location Aware
You may have heard about location-aware browsing, whereby some websites will customize its contents based on the viewer's geographical location. Previously available as a plug-in, location-aware browsing comes built into Firefox 3.5, which has raised some privacy concerns. However, it's up to you whether or not you want to share your location when a website requests it. If you offer your consent, Firefox analyzes your IP address and nearby wireless access points to estimate your location, and then shares your whereabouts with the website requesting it.
Even though it's an opt-in service, not everyone feels comfortable with leaving location-aware browsing enabled. To disable it permanently, type about:config in the URL bar, type geo.enabled in the Filter bar, and then double-click on the geo.enabled preference. This will change the value to 'false' and completely disable location-aware browsing.
Automatic Font Formating
More of a boon for web developers, Firefox's integration of downloadable fonts means no more deciding between sticking with the same set of fonts found on nearly every PC, or embedding fancy text as a graphics file. Starting in 3.5, Firefox automatically downloads and installs whatever font the website was coded to display, so sites will look just as their developers intended.
On a larger scale, downloadable fonts are just one of many CSS improvements Mozilla has made.
Better Manage your Add-ons
Adding extensions is a lot more streamlined in Firefox 3.5 as well. With the new integrated Add-ons Manager, you can search for, and install, extensions without opening a new tab or window to visit the add-ons website. Extensions continue to be Firefox's bread and butter. As it currently stands, several thousands add-ons are available, and according to Mozilla, of the 771 add-ons that make up 95 percent of add-on usage, 81 percent are compatible with the latest version of Firefox 3.5.
Tear Away Tabs
Tab management, already a strong suit in Firefox, is improved even further in 3.5. Most notably, dragging tabs brings up a thumbnail preview of the window as you move it around, and you can now tear away tabs into a new browser window simply by dragging and dropping the transparent tab anywhere outside of the tab bar.
Colors are Corrected
Color correction isn't completely new to Firefox and was actually first introduced in Firefox 3. However, it took some digging around in the about:config section to enable it.
In version 3.5, images with International Color Consortium (ICC) tags are color corrected by default, a result of tweaking the technology to make the process about 5x faster than it previously was and no longer resulting in a 10-15 percent performance hit, according to Mozilla. Both JPG and PNG images support color profiles, and when utilized, you should be able to see a picture just as the photographer saw it, no matter what device you're using, be it a CRT or LCD monitor.
Performance was improved a
Submitted by Khaled on Tue, 06/30/2009 - 1:19pm
Performance was improved a lot on FireFox 3.5 for Mac OSX
Flash Player
Submitted by Anthony010 on Tue, 06/30/2009 - 12:20pm
i just switched to the new firefox and i cant get my flash player to work. i cant login to facebook, watch youtube videos and the internet is just generally slower. i need some help. ive already tried installing it like 5 times but it never works lol
Address Bar Search, Please.
Submitted by n0ctis on Mon, 06/29/2009 - 7:00pm
I just upgraded to 3.5 from 3.0.11 and I'm happy. The improvements they've made are great. However, there is one major feature that is overdue from both a functionality and asthetic perspective: search in address bar.
I shouldn't h ave to TAB or click over to another box for search. My default search engine should exist in the address bar without necessitating the installation of another add-on. It would clean up the interface just that much more.
You can
Submitted by darklightning on Wed, 07/08/2009 - 5:52pm
Just try searching in the address bar. It will run a Google "i'm feeling lucky" search. If that fails, it gives a search page.
Submitted by n0ctis on Mon, 06/29/2009 - 7:00pm
I just upgraded to 3.5 from 3.0.11 and I'm happy. The improvements they've made are great. However, there is one major feature that is overdue from both a functionality and asthetic perspective: search in address bar.
I shouldn't h ave to TAB or click over to another box for search. My default search engine should exist in the address bar without necessitating the installation of another add-on. It would clean up the interface just that much more.
All I know is that search in
Submitted by big_montana on Tue, 06/30/2009 - 7:12pm
All I know is that search in the awesome bar works fine for me. As I type a list of results populates and at the bottom of the list is my default search engine. I click on it and it displays the search results in the same window. Maybe you are expecting it to be the only search returned?
Submitted by Scapegoat on Fri, 06/26/2009 - 11:15am
I'd like to make a note that not only can you tear a tabbed page off into another window, you can also take that torn away tab and drag it BACK into your main browser window to go back to having only one browsing window. Awesome.
Submitted by Psychic51 on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 8:25pm
Here's a couple of links to some of the pages MPC showed in the article.
I'm using Firefox 3.5 RC and wanted to try out the new video tricks.
Dynamic Content Injection
http://people.mozilla.com/~prouget/demos/DynamicContentInjection/play.xhtml
Coraline Trailer
http://tinyvid.tv/show/3uwvr4t3wi3rm
i already have it?
Submitted by shomval on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 6:53pm
im not sure if you'd count the firefox 3.5 preview as the same thing , is it? cause they updated it for me already O.o
Submitted by darklightning on Wed, 07/08/2009 - 5:54pm
You are using an RC, not the final
Submitted by aziobron on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 2:38pm
i have FF 3.0.11 and i have the ability to open recently closed tabs and identify sites to the left of the address bar. how r these new features?
Submitted by lumpoco on Tue, 06/30/2009 - 10:50am
I never knew you could that in version 3.0.11. I suppose many could consider Windows 7 as not being a new OS since it's suppose to be what Vista should have been. I loved using Netscape and enjoy using Firefox. I hate using IE (slow performance, crashes and freezes). Opera has gotten too bloated. They think that they are the best browser there is. Since when did a good software ever come from Europe? Enough said!
Submitted by exaltedbladder on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 5:54pm
you can open recently closed WINDOWS tho.
Submitted by Vegan on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 5:31pm
I was just about to chime in on that, myself.
Firefox
Submitted by DrMD on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 1:05pm
My fav browser on all my boxes, except when needed for some backward utility companies that only accept IE to online pay, So looking forward to 3.5. "And don't worry about it. My memory can handle twenty windows, and a hundred tabs". Edited quote thanks to Under Siege.
Thanks to MaxPC Aug09 pg14 for awesome Firefox addons.
Submitted by pseizure2000 on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 11:29am
I would hope they'd patched up some memory leak problems that have plagued the browser for ages. I mean seriously, I know I used up a lot of tabs, but 400+ mb for keeping my browser open for a week or so is just not acceptable!
Submitted by roninnder on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 12:42pm
You're right, keeping your browser open for a week is not acceptable. Why doesn't mozilla have a team of 15 people working around the clock to fix a problem that can be solved with a WEEKLY browser restart?
Browser restart?
Submitted by winmaster on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 6:56pm
Personally, I'd never go a week without rebooting my computer, let alone closing my browser. Seriously, leaving it run for that long without a restart is asking for problems.
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The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Submitted by linkmaster6 on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 12:51pm
I think it was meant to be sarcastic at least....
I hope it was...
Submitted by jmyler on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 11:26am
All these netbooks and notbooks coming out to copy apple and have gestures and you don't mention that firefox 3.5 supports gestures. I think thats a pretty big one.
Submitted by ETNPNYS on Tue, 06/30/2009 - 9:40am
That's not a new feature, dude... I've been using mouse gestures since 2.0... That's like saying "But Firefox has tabs now..."
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Submitted by schwit on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 11:08am
I use Firefox 3.5 full time, but stories like this oversell this release. FF3.5 is better, but these 'amazing' features are either fixes to how older FF versions worked or capabilities that have been available as add-ons.
Submitted by roninnder on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 12:45pm
You could always use IE if you're not impressed.
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