One more Firefox 2 version is out the door

By Scott M. Fulton, III | Published July 1, 2008, 12:58 PM

What may not even be the final version of Firefox 2 was officially released this morning, after an extensive testing process during which newer security issues were apparently addressed.

Download Firefox 2.0.0.15 for Windows from FileForum now.

Despite the fact that Firefox version 3 is well under way, the Mozilla organization maintains a commitment to older versions, often for an unspecified length of time. So it is that the fifteenth security and integrity rebuild of Firefox 2 was released this morning, though obviously without the fanfare of last month's record setting download.

Mozilla has said very little about what issues version 2.0.0.15 specifically resolves, other than to call the project "a normal security release." Builds for the 15th iteration began last June 6, and had originally been scheduled for completion on June 25.

While many users are viewing Firefox 3 as the ultimate solution to Firefox 2's ills, including its notorious memory leaks, there continue to be some add-ons and several themes which are incompatible with the newest version -- for instance, a plug-in called X-Ray that lets users scan the underlying code of Web pages in accordance with their location on the page; and Tabbrowser Preferences, a plug-in that gave users more control over the appearance of tabs in the browser, including moving them from the top to the bottom.

For users who must have that functionality and can't bear to part with it, they may want to stick with Firefox 2 in the meantime. There are, however, multiple alternatives and other methods; for instance, this blog entry offers Firefox 3 users instructions on how to modify their own preferences files to accomplish the same customizations as Tabbrowser Preferences formerly provided to Firefox 2.

A check this morning of NetApplications' hour-by-hour scan of Firefox 3 usage share shows the new version was responsible for as much as 7.39% of the world's HTTP requests at 6:00 am EDT this morning, before settling down to around 5% by noon.

Comments

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I'd like to see them support v2 for some time. It took me quite a while to step up from v1 to v2 and I imagine it'll be the same changing from v2 to v3. Really for no other reason than there are just too many plugins I use that won't yet work with v3. I remember when I had v1 and installed v2 I immediately lost half of my plugins and I don't want to do that again. I will upgrade but give me time to feel comfortable about it please.

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I suspect thatt this may not be the last FF2 release - not unless they address the problems that persist in FF3.

Memory leaks resolved in FF3? LOL!
Still the load speeds in FF3 are glacial! And before some say it's all add-ons and plug-ins, this occurs even in safe mode without any additional features.

MS is enjoying this!

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No issues with my FF3. I leave it running 24/7 unless an extension or security issue updates it.

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I seriously have to ask:

What system/OS are you loading this on?

On my system in Windows Vista: IE7 loads only *slightly* faster than FF3.

In Windows XP: FF3 loads faster than IE7 by several seconds.

In Ubuntu: Not a clue...just using FF3 there. ;)

That's with the standard 5 plugins I always have installed. (DTA, ABP, TMP, Opendownload, and Weave)

FF3: 130K with 19 tabs open and it's been running since 7:30 this morning.

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On XP (latest updates).

Even in safe mode with just two tabs open memory usage is ~85k, with load times approaching 20 seconds in many cases - refreshes not much faster.

Addons (which are Dnld Statusbar, NoScript, AdblockPlus & McAfeeSiteAdvisor) in FF2 are a moot issue as the problem occurs in safe mode as well.

Oh, and the memory leak issues continue...

FF2 runs fine - well, as well as FF2 runs.

If you are not aware of the issues, you Need to check the FF forums and user groups. Or just Google something to the effect of FF3 loads slowly... All is not well and the solution to try it in safe mode is not exactly comprehensive.

I only wish the upgrade had been painless! Since we have gone back to FF2 - as have many others. The bells and whistles (many of which are superfluous) aren't nearly as important to me as the basic functionality.

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here only problems with flash that also fails in IE

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Heh...

Lucked out, apparently.

I've got it on my work desktop, and both laptops, as well as on all 5 systems (desktop and laptop) at home without seeing those issues.

Any idea what the rates are for these issues? What percentage of FF3 users it is affecting?

Big one: Have you and others disabled your Operating System's ability to prefetch and cache frequently used programs?

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"Oh, and the memory leak issues continue...

FF2 runs fine - well, as well as FF2 runs.

If you are not aware of the issues, you Need to check the FF forums and user groups. Or just Google something to the effect of FF3 loads slowly... All is not well and the solution to try it in safe mode is not exactly comprehensive."

All that is telling us is that there are some people having problems. The vast majority aren't, given the browser has a marketshare just about 20% now and growing fast. So what we'd like are evidence of your memory leaking. Also take off MCCrafee's crappy software/extension. You shouldn't need that and noscript on the same machine.

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"All that is telling us is that there are some people having problems."

Duh! Ya think!
That is what I said and what I meant. Yes, I am having problems with FF3 - in safe mode - as too many add-ons and plug ins are incompatible!

I couldn't care less what performance your Aunt Sally or Uncle Clyde are experiencing. Hell, they put up with you...so obviously their standards can't be very high...

Your observations are utterly useless. (As if this observation is anything new to folks who have read your crap.)

And the McAfee extension (while I will be the first to admit that McAfee is no shining example of quality software) can provide insight into the historical context of a site that may help determine if I choose to enable a script for greater local functionality.

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I'm willing to bet that most people haven't disabled prefetch and cache in their OS. It's probable they don't know how.

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That doesn't really help at all.

I'm willing to bet a large portion of FF users know how to do just that. The folks your talking about probably wouldn't even know FF exists.

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This is not a new policy and quite respectable. Some may not be able to or interested in upgrading to FF3. Early adoption carries security and compatibility risks that may not be acceptable.

Also it's not like Mozilla is confusing the consumer. The emphasis is placed squarely on FF3. Those using FF2 will be informed of the update through the browser notification.

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"Early adoption carries security and compatibility risks" Pardon ? I updated because this promised me greater security, are you now telling me it ain't secure ? You know something I don't ? I'll go along with you if it's an alpha or even if it's a beta, but this last one was the real thing I hope ! Roll on August when IE8 beta 2 arrives, phew, now that's a browser you can rely on.

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Microsoft doesn't know how to make a stable and reliable web browser. I use IE 7 at work and it crashes at least once on a daily basis. I doubt IE 8 is any more reliable.

Firefox is the only truly stable browser available that matches IE 100% in terms of features.

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Most of the punters don't even know they are using IE7, many don't even know what a browser is. So Foxy is now pushing two at them, now that's just daft.

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Tabbrowser Preferences???

Sounds like a cheap knock-off of TMP.

the new version was responsible for as much as 7.39% of the world's HTTP requests at 6:00 am EDT this morning, before settling down to around 5% by noon.

That should pick up as businesses using FF2 begin to upgrade their clients once they've completed compatibility testing...at least the "by noon" bit.

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Tabbrowers Preferences is much older than TMP. I remember using on Mozilla 1.6. It worked, but it was heavy and slowed the Suite noticeable. B that time I discover the antecesor of TMP: Tab Mix and I never looked back.

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