Mozilla's on Fire: Firefox 3 Tries to Break Download Record

We anticipate the latest release of our favorite programs because upgraded software combines a comfortable familiarity we love with new bells and whistles we really desire.

And Firefox 3 is giving us exactly what we want.

Mozilla released Firefox 3 this afternoon and at the time of publication, users had already downloaded more than 1.7 million copies (averaging 14,000 copies per minute). With its two previous versions, Firefox holds about 18 percent of the web browser market. So this time around, Mozilla is playing on a gimmick to boost its numbers.

Mozilla is trying to land Firefox 3 in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most software downloads in 24 hours. In the 20 minutes it took to write this blog, the number of Firefox 3 downloads jumped from 1,520,000 to 1,720,000. They might break that record after all!

So what’s all the hype about? Probably Firefox 3’s most noticeable new feature is its improved URL field—it acts as a mini search engine. You can type in any word and the URL field brings up all the sites you’ve visited with that word in its address. Other features are more technical, but according to Mozilla, Firefox 3’s core technology has been rewritten to enable speedier browsing that uses less memory. This will come in extremely handy as websites become more and more sophisticated—think of Google Maps’ ability to drag the map around with the click of your mouse.

After you’ve downloaded Firefox 3, use its new interface to check out TopTenREVIEWS.com and see more reviews on all the latest software.