The previous version of Firefox worked perfectly well for me during the past few years. Sure, it had a few glitches that I had to live with, but overall it was worth it. Whenever I needed to browse a website on Internet Explorer, I used the IE Tab plug-in.

However, version 2 wasn’t all good. As time went by and I installed more and more plug-ins, undesired phenomena showed up. The most annoying one was when Firefox would completely freeze itself for about twenty seconds or more. Slow computers would probably get stuck for a longer time.

When Firefox 3 was released I heard there were still some plug-ins that haven’t updated, so I decided to wait. Currently, most of my favorite plug-ins work with version 3. That includes the Web Developer Toolbar, Adblock Plus, RIP advance, Greasemonkey, GooglePreview, Download Statusbar, Add Bookmark Here, Session Manager and others.

Some plug-ins are still not working well, such as FireBug.

Firefox 3 has improved in a way that it does no longer get stuck or freezes anymore. I’m able to open as many tabs as I like without any kind of lag. Adding a new bookmark to my over-bloated bookmarks list is immediate, unlike the previous version.

Today, Firefox is running smoothly and faster than before. You can really feel it. The user interface has slightly improved. The tabs slide with a nice animation, the location bar (where you type the web address http://…)  shows the name of the page as well. It recognizes the words you type differently than before, and shows you a list of websites to select from. I have to say that at first this feature was a little annoying, but after a few hours it became convenient as it learned the way I like to browse. Yes, it’s a smart location bar!

So… should I update to the new version?

There’s no reason not to. If you’re using Internet Explorer, Maxthon or any equivalent then give it a try.

When you’re using Firefox 2, check that all your plug-ins have an updated version for Firefox 3 before upgrading.  If one of them is missing, you can either wait a little longer or find a replacement.

Upgrade is easy

I couldn’t believe how easy was the upgrade. You simply run the setup and it practically does everything for you. It imports your bookmarks, upgrade your plug-ins and all your previous settings. At the end of the day, you get the same Firefox experience you had before, but only better and faster.

Firefox is completely free. There are no spyware, malware or any other annoyances inside.

Get Firefox 3.0 from this link