March 10, 2008 6:20 PM PDT

Mozilla releases Firefox 3.0 beta 4

The fourth beta of the Firefox 3.0 browser (download Firefox 3 beta 4 for Windows or Mac, (English-US) from Download.com) was released Monday and includes more than 900 enhancements over the previous beta, Mozilla announced.

The creator of the open-source browser said the new beta includes improvements to performance and memory usage, fixes for stability, and platform-specific enhancements. Some of the enhancements include a new download manager to make locating downloads easier; a full page zoom feature that allows you to zoom in and out of pages more easily; and integration for Vista, Mac OS X, and Linux that features platform-specific icons, buttons, and other user interface elements.

The current beta of Firefox 3.0, which is expected to get its final release later this year, is available for download now at Mozilla.com.

Firefox, which has been slowly chipping away at the lead held by Microsoft's Internet Explorer, recently announced that it had passed the 500 million download milestone.

Firefox accounted for more than 17 percent of all browsers used last month, while IE accounted for nearly 75 percent, according to research conducted by Net Applications, a Web measurement company. However, IE's share stood at more than 79 percent a year ago, and use has been dropping steadily over the past eight months, the company said.

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Add a Comment (Log in or register) 13 comments (Page 1 of 1)
Platform-Specific
by logicbus March 10, 2008 7:40 PM PDT
"[P]latform-specific enhancements include a new download manager to make locating downloads easier; a full page zoom feature that allows you to zoom in and out of pages more easily ... " Aren't these two changes platform-agnostic?
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Acid3
by Solust March 10, 2008 8:39 PM PDT
I haven't checked with the last beta, but Firefox 3 beta 4 scored a 67. That's 15 more points than with Firefox 2.0.0.12 and I'm hoping that will rise to at least the mid 70s - 80s with the final build. Congrats to the Firefox team! By the way, does anyone else find the new interface kinda ugly? I'm definitely going to put a new theme on it as soon as they release the final build.
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Memory Usage?
by Imalittleteapot March 10, 2008 8:39 PM PDT
I'm not one to play with Betas. I hope they don't mean enhanced memory usage like Microsoft means enhanced memory usage. Anyone out there play with this thing yet? If so, does it look like heavy bloat, or does it feel snappier and smoother. Do the new features make anyone feel more productive? I think I?ll just try it out. I just don?t like using betas. I?m looking forward to release.
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Update my log-in info
by robinaire March 11, 2008 11:32 AM PDT
I have been trying to log in, including the new 3.0 beta, and it keeps coming up with the server I LEFT 4 months ago!! How do I correct this? Lee Robinson West Palm Beach, FL
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