Mozilla Launches Firefox 3.0 Beta

Mozilla released Firefox 3.0 Final Beta. Even with “final” in the name, I still prefer to test carefully and wait for the stable version for production use. Beta is for curious people and those who help debug; those who depend on the browser for work need predictability.

What looks good in this generation is a set of improvements that makes a difference: smarter performance, more contained memory consumption, a polished interface and security adjustments. For developers, integrated tools become more useful. If you decide to experiment now, backup your profile and, if possible, run on a test machine. Plugins and specific sites may not be ready, and nobody deserves to lose a configuration in the middle of work.

Browsers are in fierce competition. Internet Explorer remains dominant, but Firefox grows, Safari runs on the outside and Opera maintains its loyal audience. This 3.0 is important for Mozilla to keep the pace. I’ll wait a bit more and then tell how the migration went.