If you’ve had a computer for any length of time, you know what Firefox is, and may have used it at one point. Techies (geeks) that have been around longer are sure to reminisce about a love for the predecessor, Netscape. The common element of the two being, they ended up in the same place eventually – a forgotten icon somewhere in Program Files. The lack of noticeable updates, display errors and lagging speed are issues that eventually made me end my love affair with the fox and look for something else.
November 2017, Firefox Quantum is released and my interest is … stimulated. Now on version 57, Firefox has become a sleeker, faster, more modern browser than previous iterations. Here are the selling points:
A powerful, new engine that’s built for rapidfire performance.
2x faster – Crazy powerful browser engine. Less time waiting around for pages to load.
Better, faster page loading that uses less computer memory.
30% lighter than Chrome – Less memory usage means more space for your computer to keep running smoothly.
Gorgeous design and smart features for intelligent browsing.
Smooth browsing – Whether you’ve opened 10 or 1000, switching between tabs is faster than ever with Firefox’s new, responsive engine.
Private Browsing
Firefox blocks online trackers while you browse and won’t remember your history after you’re done.
Tracking Protection
Some ads have hidden trackers that follow you online. Rude. We know. That’s why our powerful tool stops them cold.
Faster Page Loading
By blocking some ads and scripts that bog down browsing, pages load up to 44% faster. Now that’s a win-win.
Screenshots
Uncomplicate screenshots. Take and share them directly from Firefox. That means no more searching for mysterious file names on your computer.
Pocket
Built right into the toolbar, it’s the ultimate save-for-later feature. View your articles, videos and pages across any device.
Gaming & VR
Engineered for next-gen gaming, Firefox has built-in support for WASM and WebVR. No additional installation needed!
Library
Save time! Find all your favorite content like Pocket saves, bookmarks, browsing history, screenshots and downloads in one spot.
The new look and features make this a very powerful browser, and of course the things you are familiar with are still there – extensions, password manager, and sync; to name a few.
Comparisons
If you are a benchmark junkie you will probably find the usual half-and-half pros and cons with other browsers. For this reason I never rely on benchmark testing as my sole decision maker. I have never seen a benchmark test that completely altered my reality on a piece of software, and the minscule differences between apps are never enough to make me rethink my choices – Facebook displaying 0.07439 nanoseconds faster isn’t a selling point!
So far, all of the pages I frequent the most load much faster in Firefox than in Chrome or Opera, and sites where I rely on extensions still work flawlessly. My suggestion, as always, give it a test-drive and see what you think.