Firefox Downloads Exceed 1.6 Million on First Day

**IdolEyes787** · 06-19-2008, 12:17 PM

Five hours. That's how long it took Mozilla fans to download enough copies

of Firefox 3 to eclipse what the previous version tallied in its first day.

According to Mozilla, Firefox 3 reached 1.6 million downloads by early Tuesday evening. The Web site saw almost 9,000 copies of the free, open-source software downloaded every minute in the opening hours of its availability.
The release of Firefox 3 kicked off Download Day, the Mozilla community's campaign to set a new Guinness World Record for the greatest number of software downloads in 24 hours.

Speed, Fidelity and Security
Still, Mozilla calls Firefox 3 a major update. "We're really proud of Firefox 3 and it just shows what a committed, energized global community can do when they work together," said John Lilly, CEO of Mozilla.
It took the community three years to develop the latest version. It's available in about 50 languages. It's two to three times faster than its predecessor and it offers more than 15,000 improvements, including a smart location bar, malware protection, and extensive under-the-hood work to improve the speed and performance of the browser, Mozilla said.

"Firefox's big new feature is the ability to search your surfing history and find sites you've been to in the last three months," Gartenberg said. "It's sort of a mini-search engine for your own browsing experience."

Many Improvements
Among the other improvements, Firefox 3 now uses less memory and its redesigned page-rendering and layout engine means users see Web pages two to three times faster than in Firefox 2.
Firefox 3 also raises the bar for security. The new malware and phishing protection helps protect from viruses, worms, Trojans and spyware. Firefox 3's one-click site ID information allows users to verify that a site is what it claims to be. Mozilla's open-source process leverages the experience of thousands of security experts around the globe.
More than 5,000 add-ons let users customize Firefox 3. Firefox add-ons allow users to manage tasks like participating in online auctions, uploading digital photos, seeing weather forecasts, and listening to music, all from the browser. The new Add-ons Manager helps users find and install add-ons directly from the browser.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20080618/...bWn2KTdQ4jtBAF