Optimized Firefox 3 builds available
Neil Lee has updated his optimized Firefox builds for Firefox 3. The architecture-specific versions of Firefox 2 had been dubbed BonEcho, but Firefox 3 brings a new moniker: Minefield. I'm unsure as to the intended implications of the name (it sounds like the perfect way to refer to an alpha release), but I've been running the Intel version with great results.
If you were a user of BonEcho, you were used to the icon being visibly different than the standard Firefox icon. The icon for Minefield, designed by Adam Betts, is a slight variation on the standard icon and not immediately discernible as a deviation from the original. This has confused a few people, but it's definitely a less jarring transition. You still get the title "Minefield" wherever Firefox would have shown up in the interface, so you know what you're running.
As far as performance, I haven't run any solid benchmarks but have noticed what seems like a significant decrease in initial load time and and improvement in general responsiveness when comparing clean installations (no addons) of Minefield to the standard Firefox 3 build.
When I went to grab Minefield, I also discovered a link to the GrApple theme. It's designed to look like Safari and, being a Safari fan, I've fallen in love with it. If you're not overly attached to the default Firefox 3 look (which I didn't mind to begin with), there are great screenshots of the multiple versions available.
Minefield is currently available in G5 and Intel flavors. Neil is also working on a set of instructions for building your own optimized Firefox builds at home for the DIY speed enthusiast.
Clarification: As pointed out in the comments, the name "Minefield" has been used for Mozilla builds for a while. These optimized builds use the codenames so as not to infringe on any Firefox trademarks.
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Neil Lee has updated his optimized Firefox builds for Firefox 3. The architecture-specific versions of Firefox 2 had been dubbed BonEcho,...
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got the optimized version installed, yet somehow scrolling on this website still sucks. and this is on my 2.4ghz core 2 duo macbook pro with 4gb ram. scrolls fine in safari though.
June 23 2008 at 10:27 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyIf these are anything like the optimized Camino builds, the updates should be out the dame day as anything official from Mozilla.
I've been using optimized Camino builds since I got my current MacBook, but will have to try the optimized FF3 builds.
Oh, and FYI -- Gran Paradiso and Minefield are referring to essentially the same thing -- Minefield was the nightly builds without any QA testing and Gran Paradiso was a nightly build with more QA testing, making it more suitable for use, but less useful for extensive testing.
I am not using google! I am USING Google!
June 23 2008 at 9:08 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyIt's a half-hearted attempt at being witty like Fake Steve Jobs. He's promoting his blog.
It's okay, if a bit amateurish. Not a bad concept, but it all comes out a little forced.
Steve Ballmer uses Google's Blogger service?
June 23 2008 at 2:18 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI just downloaded it and dang, I didn't think pages could render faster, but it is noticably snappier! Cool!
June 22 2008 at 11:20 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHey, something weird happened to me yesterday. My cursor stopped working properly. When I mouse over a link in FireFox (or any other browser) it doesn't change into the little finger pointy thing, and I don't see the name of the website in the status bar. The icons in the doc don't get bigger when I glide over them. I don't get any tooltips, etc. Everything works as it should when I click on it, but mouseovers are just not working at all. Anybody know what's up?
June 22 2008 at 10:57 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI've always wondered how this is optimized, too. I mean, Firefox 3 is UB.. so it runs OK on my Mac Pro. I don't like these "optimized" builds because you have to wait for the owner to update it when a new update for Firefox comes out, you can't just do Help > Check for Updates.
June 22 2008 at 8:51 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThere are certain features of individual processors that cannot be used in the official build because not everyone has an Intel or a G4 or a G5 processor.
These builds do.
I know this is a bit off-topic, but does anyone know how to turn off the inertia/coasting scroll feature in Firefox 3, without turning off the smooth scrolling altogether? They've finally gotten the scrolling almost as smooth as Safari's, but I can't figure out how to get that without the very annoying (to me) coasting after I let go. I can't figure out anything in the basic preferences or about:config menu that solves it....
June 22 2008 at 8:47 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replyi would disable firefox's smooth scrolling and get the add on extension called "yet another smooth scrolling"
https://addons.update.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5846
Unless I missed it, it doesn't really say in what manner minefield is optimized. What specifically is optimized?
June 22 2008 at 8:31 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThere are certain features of individual processors that cannot be used in the official build because not everyone has an Intel or a G4 or a G5 processor.
These builds do.
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