Breaking News: Australia tax inquiry opens submissions

ZDNet / Browser / Preview

First Look: Mozilla Firefox 0.8

By Alex Kidman, ZDNet.com.au on February 12th, 2004 
Submit

Overview

Mozilla's standalone browser undergoes a point change and a name change all in one. We look at everything else that Firefox has to offer in our Australian first look.

 

First Look: Mozilla Firefox 0.8Mozilla's standalone browser undergoes a point change and a name change all in one. We look at everything else that Firefox has to offer in our Australian first look.

For a product yet to hit its first 'proper' point release, Mozilla's Firefox is a surprisingly capable and nimble little browser, albeit one with a somewhat strange naming pattern. It's previously been known as Mozilla Phoenix, before changing to Mozilla Firebird, a name which it held up until the 0.8 release, at which point it's become Firefox. Whatever you call it, it's shaping up to be serious competition to the Internet Explorer dominated Web space.

While it's been unofficially available as a modified Windows executable, the first full release of Firefox now comes as a standalone executable in 'official' form for the first time, making installation a very painless experience. At 6.3MB for the Windows version it's also surprisingly slim, although at the time of writing the Mozilla Web site was under sustained download attack, so getting hold of a copy isn't an entirely smooth process.

We installed Firefox onto a machine that already had an installation of Firebird 0.7 running, and the installer intelligently picked up most of our preferences and bookmarks. One of the things that makes Firefox so enjoyable to use is the level of possible customisation through the use of extensions that modify the core program. Of our Firebird extensions, only one was picked up in install to run in Firefox -- the very handy AdBlock utility -- and very early in Firefox's release it was nigh on impossible to get additional extensions due to the load on the mozilla.org server. That seems to have now rectified itself, and most of the more useful extensions, such as the superlative Tabbrowser Extensions package, seem to have translated across painlessly to Firefox. The dialog box for extension installation looks and works in a much more logical fashion, although less savvy users may have issues working out how Firefox uses profiles to determine which extensions to run, and the dialogs that accompany them.

So, what's actually new in Firefox? Well, aside from a number of bug fixes and the new Windows installer, the package now comes installed with a Mac OS X theme for better visual integration on that platform, a new download manager (along with better handling of certain file extensions that previously were unreliably downloaded by Firebird) and a smoother setup for bookmark management.

The download manager tracks downloads smoothly, and on the Windows version we tested, brings up a small popup dialog in the style of Windows Messenger to indicate activity, as well as showing a history list of downloaded files that quickly allows you to view any downloaded content. If you leave a long download running, it'll even pop up a smaller dialog letting you know once all your downloads have finished, which is very useful if you're queuing up a lot of content at once.

All of the features in the world would mean nothing, however, if Firefox can't cut it as an actual Web browser, and from what we've seen so far, we're heartily impressed. It's always tricky to talk in terms of page rendering speed, as there are so many variables involved in loading single pages from any given server, but certainly from a perceptual point of view, and given our limited early testing, Firefox feels a good pinch faster than its predecessors, especially for image-heavy pages where Firebird would previously lag quite a bit. Firefox touts itself as being more standards compliant than Internet Explorer, and while that's a laudable task, it does bring up the bugbear of pages designed specifically with IE in mind; we have hit some pages that don't render quite properly under Firefox, although fewer than before.

While it's still early days for Firefox, what we're seeing already does indicate that while many may see the browser war as being a dead issue, there's still plenty of room for improvement out there. Check back soon for our full review.

(Back to top)

Talkback

Add your opinion

In order to post a comment, you need to be registered. (Sign In or register below)

Post your comment

Terms of Service - As a ZDNet registrant, and by using this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understand our Privacy Policy.

Resource Centre Useful content from our premier sponsors

ZDNet Australia Live

RT @ZDNet Would an accelerator just for clean tech companies work? http://t.co/rsawucUi
> they don't all have long lead times!

Telstra GameArena gets hacked, 35k accounts stolen, lets hope the passwords were hashed properly http://t.co/4xMi1DBR

RT @erucsbo: #Kaspersky denied #iOS app: #Apple buries its head in the #security sand http://t.co/4ANNtZ1F

Cloud TVRs stop in wake of TV Now ruling - http://t.co/VCviX6NP

Optus uses Singapore to boost cloud #Cloud #singapore http://t.co/AqMiBgfM

NBN cost-benefit analyses are so 2011: It wasn't too long ago that one of the rallying cries of the Coalition's ... http://t.co/5hZlPIpF

Regional review highlights NBN, mobile: Poor mobile coverage across the nation is the biggest telecommunications... http://t.co/ejFFqqzC

I guess but in both cases, dead body!

59 minutes ago by Doubt on National Botnet Network coming: Earthwave

@wenhwu And two ZDNet articles ;)

I think it's for the very reasons you mention in your first paragraph that there is no CBA. With the ideological differences and vested ...

1 hour ago by RealismBias on NBN cost-benefit analyses are so 2011

Yay! RT @lukehopewell: NSW abolishes rego stickers: http://t.co/QGeepgmf

Optus uses Singapore to boost #cloud: Optus has announced changes to its enterprise cloud suite, which will alig... http://t.co/SdQwsoNu

cool RT @joshgnosis: Cool, NSW Govt to ditch rego stickers for cars. http://t.co/0qWEZ48p

Privacy Act amendments hit parliament: http://t.co/evSFcY1D

Google didn't infringe on Oracle patents: jury http://t.co/rbUpPtDI

Good points; but how do you establish consensus about the terms of reference of a cost-benefit analysis? What is to be included? How far ...

1 hour ago by Gwyntaglaw on NBN cost-benefit analyses are so 2011

Regional review highlights NBN, mobile: Poor mobile coverage across the nation is the biggest telecommunications... http://t.co/4xoofIHY

NBN cost-benefit analyses are so 2011: (Image by US Navy, public domain) On the first point, he is correct: Labo... http://t.co/WP2DDH0L

Optus uses Singapore to boost cloud http://t.co/4KweZf4Z

RT @zdnetaustralia: Optus leverages Singapore to boost cloud http://t.co/yaKRDILg ^ML

I live in a small country town & have done since 2002. When I got to this town it had no mobile phone & no broadband. The only reason w...

2 hours ago by fibretech on Regional review highlights NBN, mobile

Optus uses Singapore to boost cloud - ZDNet Australia http://t.co/uBjaFdZq

Optus uses Singapore to boost cloud: Optus has announced changes to its enterprise cloud suite, which will align... http://t.co/nvXHO4Vc

“@ZDNet: The curse of free cloud services: a cautionary tale http://t.co/UsX7fIyl” Lessons to learn for not only user but developers!

Telco regional review becomes a political tug of war http://t.co/Hm2jfVdN ^ST

Hi there, just became alert to your blog through Google, and found that it is really informative. I am going to watch out for brussels. I...

2 hours ago by Uttedsips on Fujitsu Stylistic ST5011

Optus uses Singapore to boost cloud - ZDNet Australia http://t.co/SuNgy86q

Optus uses Singapore to boost cloud - ZDNet Australia http://t.co/mj4ou8W4

Like most things in life, the devil is in the details. If a cost benefit analysis included a societal element, I'm certain nobody on eit...

2 hours ago by RealismBias on NBN cost-benefit analyses are so 2011

Optus uses Singapore to boost cloud - ZDNet Australia: iTWireOptus uses Singapore to boost cloudZDNet AustraliaO... http://t.co/bchZXTe5

Regional review highlights NBN, mobile - ZDNet Australia: iTWireRegional review highlights NBN, mobileZDNet Aust... http://t.co/3ciPt00F

Optus uses Singapore to boost cloud - ZDNet Australia: iTWireOptus uses Singapore to boost cloudZDNet AustraliaT... http://t.co/9N7AKfe4

Optus uses Singapore to boost cloud - ZDNet Australia http://t.co/1lPxYVBu

RT @sidhenz: The new @MDSNZ courses come up for some lively discussion on @ZDNetAustralia http://t.co/L4TOpTtL

Optus uses Singapore to boost cloud - ZDNet Australia http://t.co/V988brWP

Optus uses Singapore to boost cloud - ZDNet Australia http://t.co/MgDUJCKm #australia #technews

Yay! About bloody time too RT @zdnetaustralia: NSW ditches registration stickers in favour of technology: http://t.co/68RPK1xL ^LH

NBN cost-benefit analyses are so 2011 http://t.co/VHjKdpk5

Regional review highlights NBN, mobile http://t.co/OXAbOuG6

Optus uses Singapore to boost cloud http://t.co/csta3yhS

Optus uses Singapore to boost cloud - ZDNet Australia http://t.co/3GipwyLy

The coalition has done nothing else but keep changing their view over the last 2 years. -first it was "there is nothing wrong with the ...

3 hours ago by djz on NBN cost-benefit analyses are so 2011

Use the force Luke... FFS

3 hours ago by Beta on Regional review highlights NBN, mobile

michael kors outlet http://www.michael-kors-discount.com/#5923

3 hours ago by michael kors bag on Best iPhone travel apps

Hey butterflyeffecs and lex, Sorry you're not fans of this piece. But you're dead right in that it is the thoughts and experience of a se...

3 hours ago by LHopewell on Android fragmentation steers Vic Health

teen cams
http://www.aloe-vera.cz handjob

3 hours ago by MyncWenry on Fusion-io ioDrive (80GB)

We have fashional replica bags designer .Replica luxury bags sale here are perfect compromise of quality and price. The replica handbags ...

3 hours ago by Machelle on Telecom NZ CEO Paul Reynolds to leave

It's not a question of whether anyone at HSU would know how to do this, but whether they would have connections with people who could. T...

3 hours ago by meski on CT, phone clone

Fred, I can tell you what the difference between FTTN and FTTH is. FTTH means we will be developing technology and services that we sell ...

3 hours ago by andye on NBN FUD: will Abbott ever learn?

You are 100% right – Abbott is a paragon of tenacity. Now if he could only try that hard to get Malcolm Turnbull's phone number, we co...

4 hours ago by braue on NBN FUD: will Abbott ever learn?

Very interesting to hear Ben and thanks for providing some real-world examples. I suspect the NBN has actually improved things for a grea...

4 hours ago by braue on NBN FUD: will Abbott ever learn?

Hi Geoff, my opening paragraph simply suggests that the leader of the opposition party would rightfully be turning to his communications ...

4 hours ago by braue on NBN FUD: will Abbott ever learn?

Very good point Richard – perhaps one of the most interesting things about this whole debate is how extensively it feeds the collective...

4 hours ago by braue on NBN FUD: will Abbott ever learn?

Yes. I also wonder how much of this intentional subterfuge is actually playing out as part of Turnbull's master plan. Given the rough ri...

5 hours ago by braue on NBN FUD: will Abbott ever learn?

Westpac Management runs STG IT since the take over and it is they Westpac who makes the decisions.

5 hours ago by jeff_syd on St George opts to keep 200 IT workers

This story has been voted 12000 times in the last 24 hours!

6 hours ago, Is Bill Gates a great leader?

This story has been voted 10 times in the last 24 hours!

1 day ago, CeBIT 2012 opens: photos

This story has been voted 15 times in the last 24 hours!

1 day ago, Lenovo ThinkPad 3G tablet (32GB)

Facebook Activity

Keep up with ZDNet Australia

LinkedinLinkedin Join our network

RSS FeedsRSS Feeds Subscribe now

NewslettersNewsletters Subscribe today

AlertAlertsSubscribe now

ZDNet Events Calendar

ZDNet Events Calendar

Plan Comparison

Prev Next
Loading...
Deals powered by WhistleOut

Sponsored resources