There’s a lot to do on the Web, and
Firefox 2 is full of helpful features to make your time online more
productive.
Improved Tabbed Browsing
We love tabs as much as you do, so
Firefox 2 will open new web pages in tabs by default. Each of those tabs
has its own close button, but don’t worry - if you accidentally close a
tab, just go to the History menu to bring it back from the list of
“Recently Closed Tabs.” You’ll never be crunched for space anymore,
either. When you have too many tabs open to comfortably fit in a single
window, scroll arrows will appear on either side, and a button on the
right side will always show you an easy-to-read list of all your open
tabs.
Spell Checking
Sometimes you’re in a rush, and can’t
remember if it’s “i” before “e” or the other way around. Firefox 2 has
built-in spell checking to keep you from making any mistakes in your
blog posts and Web-based email, so you can worry about more important
things.
Search
Suggestions
Some of the search engines in Firefox 2
can read your mind, and actually suggest search terms for what you’re
looking for. Just start typing into the Search bar, and a drop down list
of suggestions will appear. (Works for Google, Yahoo! and Answers.com.)
Session Restore
Losing your place while you’re doing
things on the Web is a pain. Now, with Session Restore, if Firefox has
to restart or closes when it comes back you’ll pick up exactly where you
left off. The windows and tabs you were using, the text you typed into
forms, and the in-progress downloads you had running will all be
restored. You can even set Firefox 2 to always restore your previous
session instead of loading a home page, so you’ll never lose your place
again.
Web Feeds (RSS)
What do news headlines, indie rock
podcasts, and pictures of kittens have in common? They’re all things
that you can subscribe to with Web feeds. Firefox 2 gives you full
control over Web feeds, showing you a preview and letting you choose how
you want to subscribe. You can use a Firefox Live Bookmark, or a feed
reader that you’ve installed on your computer, or through a Web service
such as My Yahoo!, Bloglines or Google Reader.
Live Titles
Keep an eye on that auction or the
status of a delivery using the new Live Titles feature in Firefox 2.
Compact enough to fit as a bookmark label, Live Titles are regularly
updated summaries of the most important information on a Web page. As
the information on the page gets updated, so does your Live Title. Try
one out in Firefox 2 by bookmarking
www.woot.com.
Integrated
Search
Firefox helps you find whatever it is
that you’re looking for. The Search bar comes pre-loaded with search
engines for Google, Yahoo!, Amazon, eBay, Answers.com, and Creative
Commons. Wherever you are on the Web, you can enter a search term in the
Search bar and receive immediate answers from the search engine you’ve
chosen. You can select a new search engine from the Search bar menu at
any time, and add search engines from hundreds of your favorite Web
sites.
Live Bookmarks
Firefox Live Bookmarks let you view Web
feeds such as news and blog headlines in the bookmarks toolbar or menu.
With one glance, quickly review the latest headlines from your favorite
sites and click to go directly to the articles that interest you.
Firefox keeps you in control of the Web
pages you’re viewing, blocking annoying pop-ups. Firefox’s pop-up
blocker notifies you when pop-ups are blocked via the information bar or
icon on the lower right of the screen.
Streamlined Interface
The user interface in Firefox 2 has
been updated to improve usability without altering the familiarity of
the browsing experience.
Accessibility
Firefox delivers a better
browsing experience for everyone - including those who are visually
impaired. Firefox includes support for DHTML accessibility. Web
developers can create pages that reduce the amount of tabbing required
to navigate a document to minimize keystrokes for those with mobility
disabilities. Firefox also includes support for Microsoft Active
Accessibility, Microsoft’s accessibility API standard for Windows. This
support allows Firefox to work with screen readers such as GW Micro’s
Window-Eyes and Freedom Scientific’s JAWS. Firefox 2 (Windows version)
meets United States Federal
Government requirements that software be easily accessible to users with
physical impairments.
The Web is a great place, but sometimes
you’ll encounter bad people. Firefox keeps you safe from spyware,
hackers, scammers and spammers, using the power of a vigilant and
passionate community to protect you 24/7.
Phishing
Protection
Phishing Protection takes Firefox’s
security to a new level, helping to safeguard your financial information
and protect you from identity theft. When you encounter a Web site that
is a suspected forgery (known as a “phishing” site) Firefox will warn
you and offer to take you to a search page so you can find the real Web
site you were looking for.
Open Source, More
Secure
At the heart of Firefox is an open
source development process driven by thousands of passionate,
experienced developers and security experts spread all over the world.
Our openness and active community of experts helps to ensure our
products are more secure and updated quickly, while also enabling us to
take advantage of the best third party security scanning and evaluation
tools to further bolster overall security.
Automated Update
Firefox’s update system always checks
to see if you’re running the latest version, and notifies you when a
security update is available. These security updates are small (usually
200KB - 700KB), giving you only what you need and making the security
update quick to download and install. The automated update system
provides updates for Firefox on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux in over 40
different languages.
Protection from Spyware
Firefox will not allow a Web site to
download, install, or run programs on your computer without your
explicit agreement. Period. You will be notified whenever downloading or
installing software, and Firefox will always tell you what’s happening
so that you can stay in control of your computer.
Clear Private
Data
Firefox offers the ability to clear all
your private Web browsing data with just one click with the “Clear
Private Data” tool. You can be confident that when you clear your
private data in Firefox it’s gone - whether you are using your own
computer or one at the library.
Choose from thousands of useful Add-ons
that enhance Firefox. It’s easy to personalize Firefox 2 to make it your
own.
An Add-on for Everyone
You can choose from over 1,000 add-ons
at the Firefox Add-ons Web site. A
Firefox add-on can help you comparison shop, share bookmarks with your
friends, see the weather in a corner of your browser, write to your
weblog, get news, listen to music - all from inside the browser you
already love. You can even change the appearance of your browser - from
buttons to colors and fonts - so that it matches your own personal
style.
Add-ons Manager for
Extensions and Themes
The new Add-ons Manager improves the
user interface for managing extensions and themes, making it even easier
for you to customize Firefox 2. Install, uninstall, enable and disable
your add-ons in a single place.
Search Engine
Manager
You can now quickly add, remove and
re-order your search engines in the Search bar. Firefox 2 will also
detect when a Web site has a search engine that can be installed, and
will install it for you with a single click in the drop-down menu.
Enjoy a Better Web Experience