Web browser is perhaps the most widely used application over the internet. Consequently, this is an arena where major software giants are known to have played a part in what is called ‘browser war'. The resurgence of Firefox (FF) has given tough time to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, and the race to increase market share continues with the latest release of Firefox 3 Candidate version.

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FF can be downloaded freely from Mozilla's website. At the start-up, FF searches for extension compatibility because some of the older extensions do not run with the new version. If a new version is available, the user will be asked if it is to be downloaded or not. Skip this if your existing FF is loaded with a bundle of extensions or select only those which are really important and often used.

At the first glance, the new browser looks very similar - albeit more sleeker. But the difference is clear when the browsing begins. Typing web address in address bar automatically displays list of matching bookmarks and history items. This auto-complete and auto-learning feature is much like instant desktop search. The suggested links keep getting updated with every character that is typed, like typing ‘open' results in various types of results - visited websites with names starting with ‘open' for instance, www.openhardware.de, or sites starting with ‘Open' in their main page title say ‘Open Culture' although the site's address is www.oculture.com, and even the sites that have word ‘Open' anywhere in the title, say Projects Open circuit.

FF3 is all about giving the user more control over browsing and enabling informed decision-making. For example, there is a content handling customisation option available under Edit > Preferences > Applications. Here, users can choose which action should be taken against a particular content type.

Podcast for example, is set to be previewed in FF, but can be opened with a media player as well. An email link can be opened with email software or even with Yahoo Mail. Other available actions depend on content and bring up interesting time saving solutions.

News feeds can be set to be added to Live Bookmarks, whereas previously users would have had to perform this addition manually. Another functionality that has been polished is that of displaying local folders. This has improved a lot and now has a proper file list in a box with a link to higher level and an option to show/hide hidden files. Another much required addition to this new FF is that of Download Manager. It is available in the status bar at the bottom-right corner instead of separate window - users can pause/resume downloads, which means no separate downloading application or plug-ins are required.

On the security front, a number of message boxes have been replaced by information pages and bars. This has an obvious advantage of avoiding default choice selection which may compromise the user's security. On the other hand, it provides detailed information as to why a security alert has been raised. For example, when a particular site appears to be malware-linked or otherwise insecure, a warning page appears detailing why the site has been marked as a suspect, and offers further details instead of a warning box which can be easily ignored.

Another important feature is about the identity of the site. Every address is preceded by an icon that shows information about the site such as its digital certificate status, if available. Saving passwords has also been made more effective, courtesy, using a top bar that appears after a successful login.

For trouble-free speedy navigation, you can use the tab to scroll, combined with quick-menu for tabs to browse swiftly through open tabs. Readability is ensured by providing option of full page zoom that automatically scales the page contents to the zoomed size - all at once, or text and images in separate proportions. Better crash-management means that if browser is accidentally closed, history does not disappear and the user can re-initiate the session. And even if the user does close a browser window on purpose, FF3 asks if tabs are to be saved or not.

Furthermore, finding some text in a page has becomes easier too, since FF3 anticipates search by displaying current selection, like search item automatically. Other new or first-time features include associating keywords with bookmarks and sorting them according to topics rather than treating them as a simple list, auto-recommendation of add-ons and notification of updated versions for the installed add-ons. Coupled with this, there is an enhanced Web 2.0 support with a claimed improvement of twice or three times faster performance for web applications such as online office suites.

FF3 is a release candidate for now and is meant for testing purposes. But with a range of features and enhancements, it can rightly be called the next generation Firefox browser.