Firefox has been our preferred browser for quite some time now on all our computers.
So it was a no-brainer that we’d look at Firefox 3.5 (a key update to the browser released yesterday) sooner rather than later.
Here are some of the enhancements in Firefox 3.5: improved JavaScript performance, a new Private Browsing mode, native support for open video and audio and Location Aware Browsing. You can read details in the Firefox 3.5 Release Notes.
The folks behind Firefox claim that the update is twice as fast as Firefox 3 and ten times faster than Firefox 2 on complex web sites.
A short while ago, we downloaded Firefox 3.5 on our Windows XP laptop. The whole process was smooth and took only a couple of minutes.
After the download, we tested the upgrade by visiting some of our favorite web sites like SearchIndia.com, NYT et al. It did seem faster.
Next, we installed Firefox 3.5 on our Windows Vista desktop.
With the Vista OS, the Firefox 3.5 download process was not smooth.
There was a partial installation at first and we had to do it a second time. Perhaps, it was because we had several browser windows and tabs open. Plus, there was an incompatbility with Microsoft .NetFramework Assistant 1.0. Overall, the process took about four minutes.
After the installation, there were no issues on the Vista PC also. All our bookmarks and favorites on the toolbar were carried over from the previous 3.0.11 version.
As of 6:39PM ET on Wednesday, there has been over 6 million downloads of Firefox 3.5.
Why is there a mere 96,182 downloads of Firefox 3.5 from India? Are the schmucks there waiting for SRK or Akshay Kumar to endorse it or give the Firefox upgrade the seal of approval. 🙁
We’ve Installed Firefox 3.5. Have You? added by SearchIndia.com on
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ever tried google chrome? its not bad….
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Yes, we downloaded Chrome on our old Acer but didn’t use it much. Happy with Firefox.
Firefox is the best browser that I have used so far. As far as I know, it is miles ahead of IE in any regard, be it downloading speed, compatibility, or performance. But the only problem that I face is that when I open my ICICI banking account in Firefox, some of the links seem to be deactivated whereas I am able to access them in IE. MOrever, I did face some Java and Flash Player issues in Mozilla. Maybe I had to update some settings or something.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
The number of downloads from India for Firefox 3.5 is still a low 134,812 (as of 7:40AM ET July 2, 2009). Source: Mozilla
Hei
Give it a try again if you have a spare PC it really is very good. I categorize the websites i visit into folders and there’s the frequent 6 websites that you always log into that pops up on homepage. Really easy and organized
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We’ll download Chrome on the HP PC downstairs later today.
In Firefox too, you can create folders in bookmarks and put related sites together. And on the toolbar, you can keep your frequently visited sites as many as 30 depending on your screen size and the names you give to the sites. On our 20-inch Acer monitor, we have 29 links on the Firefox 3.5 toolbar.
hey,how fast is your downloading ? say you wanted to download a movie ( about 1 gb ) how long would that take ?
ive got broadband at about 93kb/s download speed.( its bad, i know ).But thats about as fast u get here ( kerela)
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: how fast is your downloading ? say you wanted to download a movie ( about 1 gb ) how long would that take ?
We just tested our download speed on the East Coast at 8AM ET i.e 5:30PM IST – our download speed was 22.65Mbps.
This means a 1GB movie would take about 6 minutes to download. A 5MB MP3 file would take 2 seconds.
But our download speed goes down in the evening between 6PM-11PM ET as more people clog the network watching naughty movies. 😉
We use SpeedTest to test our download and upload speed.
In India, based on what we’ve read and heard ISPs are doing a shoddy job in delivering real broadband. Overall, we think consumers still get a raw deal in India.
SI is one of the 9 websites on my chrome home page. 🙂
biggest problem with chrome is that many applications desgined for IE and FF don’t work on it.. i had to use my IE for filing my tax.. I use FF mainly for my porn stuff because it is supposed to be the safest browser, ain’t it?
Couldn’t live with the 768 kbps anymore.. so shed my cheaponess upgraded to the highest that this guy offers.. 6 Mbps..
Nairbhai, 93 kbps and broadband shouldn’t go in the same sentence, but you already knew it 🙂
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: SI is one of the 9 websites on my chrome home page.
Muchas gracias. 🙂
2. How much is Charter (?) charging for 6Mbps?
We pay $45/month, which we think is outrageously high. But there’s no real competition in our area so our ISP is able to get away with it. Their customer service is rotten too.
I’ve increased the count by 1, infact 5, since my friends didn’t know it was released. Don’t blame me now.
I always hate IE or any other browser for that matter.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: I’ve increased the count by 1, infact 5
Super! 🙂
IE, like most software from Microsoft, is a piece of crap.
Oh man, it rocks!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
🙂
Firefox = Citius and Fortius.
One more FF upgrade here.. – looks like they removed feature which showed shady bookmarks showing up on the location bar (for “privacy”-seekers like me).. that’s a good thing.
yeah, ATT DSL also charges 43 or something.. I switched to take advantage of the 175$ cashback. I was paying 61/month the TWC/Roadrunner for 8 Mbps.. thought this was a better deal..
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: One more FF upgrade here..
Way to go. 🙂
Unfortunately, we don’t have AT&T here.
May Brian Roberts’ wife desert him for a young hulk.
Maybe many people in India are either unaware/bored to download Mozilla. Could be due to the fact that they think the low Broadband speeds nullify the advantage that Mozilla provides.
Moreover, Indians don’t use the net as much as you people think. In terms of broadband speed and frequent usage, India and US are miles apart, maybe nautical miles apart!!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: Moreover, Indians don’t use the net as much as you people think
The Internet is fast replacing TV as the medium of entertainment in the U.S.
Life without Internet would be unimaginable here.
Sad that Indian ISPs are treating customers in so cavalier a manner.
haven’t upgraded to 3.6?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Yeah, did that a few days back.