Jul 03 2008
FireFox 3 and Internet Explorer 8 Beta
Yes, they are here! FireFox version 3 is now available to download and in a month or two every FireFox installation out there will show a dialog to upgrade to 3. Similarly, Microsoft is planning on releasing their Internet Explorer 8 which is now in Beta 1 mode. Regardless, it definitely seems like FireFox is getting a lot of attention lately and the buzz does come on Internet Explorer’s expense:
For us, web developers, it is a mixed blessing. On one hand, we get a better, faster, more reliable browsers. On the other hand, browsers don’t just come into the market and replace old ones instantly, therefore we will now need to test for Internet Explorer (IE) 6, IE7, IE8, FireFox (FF) 2, and FF3. Not mentioning the fact that some browsers like to behave differently on different operating systems which we have to account for as well.
My first impression of FireFox 3 is a positive one. The awesome bar is indeed awesome. Performance wise it does seem to be a bit faster when it comes to AJAX, however I am not sure I notice any difference in general performance. All my necessary plugins released versions that work with FireFox 3 - so I am a happy camper. In our web development work, we did see some sections of sites that work in FF2 and break in FF3 - so be aware that there are some HTML rendering differences.
Now, the question is when will IE8 be ready for us? and what will it bring to the table? Let’s just wait and see…
