I was a huge fan of Firefox from the beginning of my computer days. That is of course way before Google came out with Chrome, which made me look at Firefox as the second slowest web browser in the world, right next to Internet Explorer. However, I’ve always had Firefox installed on my laptop, just for searching off-record and for its’ cool add-ons. Just yesterday, I decided to update my Firefox to its’ latest version, Firefox 23 because everyone said the new update made it really awesome.
They are absolutely correct. The new updated Firefox 23 not only comes with a slightly-improved logo and bug fixes, it also makes web browsing really fast. Yes, even faster than Chrome. I tried loading Freshinfos.com homepage on Firefox for the first time after installing, it only took a couple of seconds to fully load the page. Then I tried loading the same page on Chrome, which I currently use for web browsing and it already had the page cached. But Chrome took way longer than Firefox to load the page. This is when I realized that Chrome has been beaten this time by Firefox.
I’m not saying Firefox 23 bests Chrome because when considering certain aspects, features and overall user experience, Chrome still stays as my default go-to browser. Although, Now I’m having second thoughts and thinking maybe it’s time for a change. Especially because of its’ new features like the mixed content blocking system that “protects users from man-in-the-middle attacks and eavesdroppers on HTTPS pages” and the variety of options for customization.
There are several other changes worth noting about this new upgrade. So, here’s the official changelog:
- NEW: Mixed content blocking enabled to protects users from man-in-the-middle attacks and eavesdroppers on HTTPS pages (learn more).
- NEW: Options panel created for Web Developer Toolbox.
- CHANGED: “Enable JavaScript” preference checkbox has been removed and user-set values will be reset to the default.
- CHANGED: Updated Firefox Logo.
- CHANGED: Improved about:memory’s functional UI.
- CHANGED: Simplified interface for notifications of plugin installation.
- CHANGED: Enabled DXVA2 on Windows Vista+ to accelerate H.264 video decoding.
- CHANGED: Users can now switch to a new search provider across the entire browser.
- CHANGED: CSP policies using the standard syntax and semantics will now be enforced.
- CHANGED: input type=’file’ rendering improvements (see bug 838675).
- CHANGED: Replace fixed-ratio audio resampler in webrtc.org capture code with Speex resampler and eliminate pseudo-44000Hz rate.
- CHANGED: “Load images automatically” and Always show the tab bar” checkboxes removed from preferences and reset to defaults.
- DEVELOPER: HTML5 input type=”range” form control implemented.
- DEVELOPER: Write more accessible pages on touch interfaces with new ARIA role for key buttons.
- DEVELOPER: Social share functionality.
- DEVELOPER: Added unprefixed requestAnimationFrame.
- DEVELOPER: Implemented a global browser console.
- DEVELOPER: Dropped blink effect from text-decoration: blink; and completely removed element
- DEVELOPER: New feature in toolbox: Network Monitor.
- FIXED: Various security fixes.
(All the images, trademarks, logo’s shown on this post are the property of their respective owners)
Roshan Jerad Perera
