Firefox 3 beta 3 due out today

Filed under: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Mozilla, Beta

Firefox 3 beta 3 due out today

by Brad Linder Feb 11th 2008

Firefox 3 beta 3 is due out later today. And while there aren't any major surprises, it's nice to see the new features like improved OS-specific themes and a new bookmark/history manager. Mozilla Links has posted a great overview of the changes you'll see in the latest beta.

First up Firefox 3 beta 3 looks more at home on Windows XP, Vista, OS X, and Linux (or at least Ubuntu). The new themes are still a work in progress, but users will notice redesigned icons and a slightly changed toolbar layout. For example, the backward and forward buttons in the Windows version have been combined into one button. At first we were a bit concerned, and then we realize how much more often we hit the back button than the forward button and we realized we were just scared of change. Plus, while this is the new default, users can easily separate the buttons.

The Mac and Linux versions now have native windows for file and text selection boxes and other menus. And the OS X version also includes Growl integration.

Another nice new feature is that when you try to close multiple tabs or close a browser session with multiple tabs open, Firefox will ask if you want to save your session. Right now, you can only save a session if Firefox crashes or if you install an add-on like Session Fix.

Firefox 3 beta 3 isn't available for download just yet. But as soon as it is, you'll be able to download it from the Firefox beta downloads page.

Tags: firefox, firefox-3-beta-3

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

kevjohn said 4:48PM on 2-11-2008

Wow. I can honestly say there's not much in this beta that looks worthwhile to me. It doesn't look like it's doing anything that I'd want my browser to be doing that it already isn't doing.

And I hate the look and feel of the Vista theme. When I first got my Vista machine I searched for days to find a way to change the default back to the 'classic' Windows look.

Wayne said 5:06PM on 2-11-2008

I may have misunderstood what you were saying but Firefox 2.0 already lets you save every session. Click Tools, Options and in the drop down box where it says When Firefox Starts select Show My Windows and Tabs From Last Time.

Sounds like they've just made that the default option. Nothing special.

Brad Linder said 5:09PM on 2-11-2008

The difference is that this won't change the default behavior. If you close your web browser with just one window open, next time you start your home page or pages will show up. But if you close your browser with multiple tabs open a window will pop asking if you want to close all the tabs or save the session so that it will be restored next time you login.

kingkool68 said 5:57PM on 2-11-2008

I have been using Firefox 3 Beta 2 for a couple of weeks and it is vastly more stable on OSX. There still a bit of wonkiness in the download manager but it has been a real joy to use. It is even usable on my PowerBook G4 867Mhz machine.

Hopefully Beta 3 will be even better.

thiel said 7:03PM on 2-11-2008

I have recently switched to beta 2 as my main browser. It is much snappier and the memory load is WAAAAYYY smaller than FF2.

theplaymaker62 said 7:49PM on 2-11-2008

NOT I repeat NOT coming out today... Just checked the Mozilla site and I quote "If all goes well during the testing, Firefox 3 Beta 3 will be released on February 12th in the evening, Pacific Standard Time. " (http://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/index.php/2008/02/07/firefox-3-beta-3-expected-early-next-week/)

and based on the checklist they have: (http://wiki.mozilla.org/Releases/Firefox_3.0b3) looks like it may take longer then that... Boo :(

Yser said 8:16AM on 2-12-2008

In Maxthon2, we use mouse gestures to go back or forward, which is a lot more convenient than buttons, and everything is customizable. everything. I think people underestimate the power of M2.

Milan said 9:51AM on 2-12-2008

So do I, but in FF ;)

Bruno said 1:19PM on 2-12-2008

ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/3.0b3/win32/en-US/Firefox%20Setup%203.0%20Beta%203.exe

Ben said 2:48PM on 2-12-2008

This is NOT the final version of FireFox 3 beta 3.

It is only the release candidate for beta 3.

The download for the final beta 3 will show up here http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-beta.html when it is finished

Kane said 3:28PM on 2-12-2008

http://www.mozilla.com/products/download.html?product=firefox-3.0b3&os=win&lang=en-US works even though it's not posted yet

hani said 7:42AM on 2-13-2008

I don't like the new design of backward and forward buttons.

xdrewfacex said 7:54AM on 2-13-2008

it's up on the beta downloads page now...
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-beta.html

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