Draggable browser tabs, new privacy controls and enhanced standards support. What's not to love?Considering that Internet Explorer's market share has been declining in the face of security concerns and the presence of good, stable alternatives, there's a good chance that you or your users are considering switching over to Firefox—the free browser that currently holds about 7 percent of the market.
With features like tabbed browsing, built-in RSS support, pop-up blocking and a plethora of privacy protections, users worldwide are finding Firefox to be a robust, friendly and stable alternative to Internet Explorer, which used to hold a 96 percent share of the browser market.
By the end of this month, the folks at Mozilla.org are expected to release the final version of Firefox 1.5, previously code-named Deer Park. And if the beta is any indication of what the final release is going to be like, we're all going to be in for a treat.
While some browser developers are often tempted into "version inflation" when coming out with a major new release, deeming what are really incremental improvements to be worthy of a whole new release number, the Firefox folks have maintained their typical conservative approach.
While Deer Park might not be revolutionary in this release, the evolutionary improvements are definitely worth looking at.
For most users, the two most obvious new features are the "drag and drop" tabs and the "Clear Private Data" menu function.
While many of us who've gotten used to tabbed browsing couldn't imagine living without it, the new ability to reorder the tabs at the top of the page really improves the experience.
After a few minutes of using it I again had that "how'd I ever live without this" reaction.
Users concerned with maintaining their privacy will love the "Clear Private Data" function. Located in the "Tools" menu, users can now select one function (either through the menu or through a keyboard command) that will clear out their browsing history, form information, saved passwords, download history, cookies, cache and authenticated sessions in one fell swoop. Like the drag-and-drop tabs, it's yet another one of those functions that makes you slap your forehead and ask, "Why didn't they think of that before?"
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Overall, many of the improvements have been targeted at the user experience. The browser feels faster and more responsive, with pages loading noticeably more quickly and forward/back button performance a bit snappier. I wasn't able to do a microsecond time comparison so your results may vary, but it definitely felt faster to me.
But perhaps what's most interesting about the new version is what's going on beneath the hood. I've written about the importance of supporting Web standards before, and I don't think that developers could have asked for better support for standards than what's in the new version of Firefox. Version 1.5 will include support for SVG, JavaScript 1.6, and CSS 2 and 3 … just the way it should.
Of course, most of us will still be stuck developing for IE's limitations, but the new standards support should open the door to creating more compelling content as well as serve as a reminder to Microsoft that standards support is a good idea.
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Developers who create sites with Section 508 accessibility requirements in mind will also appreciate enhanced features that allow screen readers and Braille displays to work more effectively with the browser.
Power users may also appreciate the accessibility features, especially Accessible DHTML features such as keyboard navigation.
This feature has already been implemented in IE, so its appearance in Firefox should ease the fears of any developer worried about having to build browser-specific solutions for accessibility.
There are several other "housekeeping" features coming out in 1.5, including a wizard for reporting "broken" Web sites to Mozilla, the addition of Answers.com to the search menu, security enhancements, bug fixes, improved pop-up blocking and better Mac OS X support.
Good stuff, to be sure. But considering Firefox's record (at least as compared to IE) of stability and security, that's just icing on the cake. A better user experience, more support for standards, and enhanced privacy features are the things that'll drive more users to version 1.5.
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