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Minefield Shows the (Really) Fast Future of Firefox

Posted by timothy on from the zipping-right-along dept.

zootropole writes "If you are using Firefox 3 (or even Chrome) you should consider taking a look at Mozilla's Minefield. This browser (alpha version yet, but stable) would give a new meaning to 'fast browsing experience.' Some Firefox extensions aren't supported, but riding the fastest javascript engine on the planet definitely worth a try. Minefield's install won't affect your Firefox, so there's no risk trying it. It's fast. Really. And I'm loving it." Reviews popping up around the web are overwhelmingly positive, calling the upcoming browser crazy fast, blisteringly fast, etc.

7 of 412 comments (clear)

  1. Suggesting nightlies to regular users?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Are you crazy? If you want to be a little risky, try the 3.1 beta. Nightlies shouldn't be used by those that want to use extensions or avoid crashes.

    1. Re:Suggesting nightlies to regular users?! by ajs · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What's more, this is the same thing we hear every 2 years. "Browser X is really fast!" Then six months later you hear, "Browser X was lagging behind the pack because it didn't have support for A, B and C, but now it's getting them." After that you get, "Why is Browser X so slow these days?" And inevitably, "Browser Y is really fast!"

      When are we going to realize that browser maturity and performance are going to be on opposing curves and jumping ship to an immature browser just sets you up to lose functionality for a short period of time until the performance can be gobbled up by it.

      This is exactly why I'm not using Chrome. Chrome is very nice, but it doesn't have most of what I require of a browsing experience. Once it does, THEN I'll evaluate its competitiveness, not before.

    2. Re:Suggesting nightlies to regular users?! by JTorres176 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Speed seems to be determined by a lack of bloat... and by bloat, I mean features. Firefox, back in the days it was referred to as phoenix, was exceedingly fast. Since then, fancy bookmarking, spellchecking, rss feeds, etc, etc has been added to it, causing slow startup and loading times. With the addition of a few thousand lines of code, not surprisingly, anything will take a bit longer to start up and go.

      Chrome doesn't have many features, so it runs amazingly fast. Minefield doesn't have many features, so it runs amazingly fast. If either of them are weighted down with features (code bloat) then they will slowly grind to a halt much along the lines of IE or current FF.

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      Evil Walrus >83=
    3. Re:Suggesting nightlies to regular users?! by DMUTPeregrine · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Except that, you know, Minefield is the Firefox trunk. The same thing FF 3.0 branched from, and what 3.1 will be taken from as well. The minefield in the article is simply the current nightly for FF 3.1. So it still has the features, AND is fast.

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      Not a sentence!
  2. Re:This is irresponsible by SkankinMonkey · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't think anyone is encouraging the masses to use a nightly. However, slashdot is "News For Nerds" right? Nerds should be able to use a nightly without destroying their computers beyond recognition, if not they need to give their badges back.

  3. Re:This is a step up by Jaysyn · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Seems pretty quick to me, but that's probably cause it's not running my 15+ extensions.

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    There is a war going on for your mind.
  4. Re:Competition and economics by argStyopa · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "DISCLAIMER: Use of this advanced computing technology does not imply an endorsement of Western industrial civilization."

    Actually, yes, it does. You're just too much of a hypocrite to recognize it.

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    -Styopa