With Firefox 3.6, Mozilla Aims To Speed Up Web Browsing

The latest update to the Firefox web browser has now been made available. Released Friday evening, Firefox 3.6 Beta 1 promises a number of new features, including built-in theme support and drag-and-drop file uploads, but perhaps most importantly, there is a renewed focus on browser speed. Claiming improved JavaScript performance, better overall responsiveness, and faster startup times, there's no doubt Firefox's development in these areas has been fueled, at least in part, by the speed increases achieved by its rivals, Google Chrome, Safari, and Opera. Sponsor What's New in Firefox 3.6 In the latest edition of the Firefox browser, the team has introduced the following new features: Built-in support for Personas, Firefox's themeing system which lets you browse through a gallery of skins and apply different ones with just a click Plugin alerts: Firefox will now alert users if their plugins are out-of-date, a useful addition since older plugins can lead to performance problems and even security issues. Open native videos can now be viewed full-screen Drag-and-drop features: In the beta, you can drag and drop files from your computer into the browser allowing you to easily upload files from your PC to web sites.  Support for the WOFF font format Support for CSS, DOM, HTML5, and other developer features Improved JavaScript performance, overall browser responsiveness and startup time Why Speed Matters Although Firefox and its rival web browsers are all fighting to best Internet Explorer in terms of install base, they still pit themselves against each other with their unique features, being first to offer support for new standards, and of course, web browser performance. It's in this last area that Firefox has struggled recently.