Firefox 3 gives browser security, Web app makeover

Mozilla has released a new beta version of Firefox 3, with the popular open source Web browser featuring significant new features that according to its makers will improve security, ease of use and the rendering of Web pages.

For the new era of rich Internet applications, the browser can now run Web-based applications even when the computer is disconnected from a network.

The beta software, released on Monday, is available in 20 different languages for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, at Mozilla's download site.

Although Microsoft's Internet Explorer remains the dominant Web browser, the open source rival has achieved a critical mass of users -- Firefox has been downloaded more than 400 million times -- and it is now common for designers to make sure their Web pages work with the browser. Even Microsoft has bowed to this reality, testing its Live.com Web sites with Firefox and helping with technical issues such as playing Windows Media files from Web pages.

According to the release notes, the core Gecko rendering engine -- the component that interprets Web page instructions and draws text and graphics on the screen -- has seen major changes in the upgrade to Firefox 3.

"Gecko 1.9 includes some major re-architecting for performance, stability, correctness, and code simplification and sustainability," the notes said, adding that those changes "put foundations in place for major performance tuning which have resulted in speed increases in beta 1, and will show further gains in future beta releases".

The Firefox 3 beta had been due to arrive in July, and there is no word yet on when the software will come out of beta. "The final version of Firefox 3 will be released when we qualify the product as fully ready for our users," the release notes said.

Aside from Gecko 1.9, there are a number of areas of change for Firefox 3. Security enhancements include: the ability to integrate antivirus software with downloads; one-click Web site identity verification; automatic testing to make sure plug-ins aren't older versions found to be insecure and automatic disabling if they are; and support for Windows Vista parental controls.

Firefox 3 also aims to be more user-friendly, and boasts improved zooming in and out of Web pages, enhanced plug-in management and the ability to resume downloads after the browser has been restarted or network connection reset. "Mail-to" links can also now launch Web-based e-mail applications such as Gmail, not just local applications on the PC such as Outlook.

Web pages can also now be bookmarked with one click, and a new "Smart Places" folder provides access to pages that are frequently visited or that have been recently bookmarked and tagged.