Think Firefox 3 is fast? Try Firefox Minefield
A colleague today showed me a cool, new browser that he's been using to browse the web at blisteringly fast speeds. The browser? Minefield. The author of the code?
Mozilla.
Yes, that same Mozilla that makes the Firefox browser. Minefield is, in fact, a way to glimpse into the future of Firefox, as it's a pre-release/alpha version of the Firefox browser.
After spending some time with Minefield, one thing is clear: the future of Firefox is fast. Lightning fast.
How fast? Some claim that it has the fastest javascript engine on the planet, which means it leaves Google's Chrome browser in the dust. In my own unscientific tests, I'd say that this assertion is correct. Ars Technica pegs Minefield as 10 percent faster than Chrome.
You can download the latest nightly build for Mac OS X, Linux, or Windows, but be warned: it's alpha code. While a quick scan of the Web shows few complaints as to stability, Minefield may not be for you. It doesn't support some of my favorite Firefox extensions (like Adblock Plus), but it actually has surprisingly good support for extensions, given that it's a fast-moving project.
Feeling brave? Or simply feeling like your browser is too slow? Give Minefield a try. It's a separate install so it won't affect an existing Firefox install. You have nothing to lose but your chains.
Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay. 
I would rather create a new Firefox profile for use with Minefield. Also since Minefield is the latest nightly build, it would be updated everyday and I've seen quite a few nightly builds that can hose a profile.
Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean that the world isn't out to get me. ;-)
It's just you. I've been using Minefield on a 32 bit system with no problem, and therefore my flash plugin works just, etc etc. Just saying...
Huh? 10% faster IS NOT leaving anything in the dust... please keep sensationalism in its place
REALITY CHECK: The human eye would NEVER notice a speed increase of 10% of a millisecond..!!!
A big note of warning: There is a really annoying/odd habit of Minefield to crash/kill itself when it has an update waiting for a long period of time- or is ready to download an update. As every update has its fixes and flaws- this can create an issue when you want to stick with a build that seems to work.
Usually its able to save your tabs from the lost session- but occasionally it won't- creating problems.
This form of Firefox really isn't for the faint of heart.
Also; many sites also have issues recognizing it as a modern build of Firefox- blocking you from using sites like ABC.com, Hulu, and NBC.com on occasion.
=P as...|@#|@
We're using Sharepoint @ work, but are having a problem catering to the Mac and Linux users due to this.
1. ActiveX is not a true standard - it is Microsoft proprietary technology
2. ActiveX depends on COM, OLE and other Windows APIs that do not exist on other platforms
3. ActiveX is an enormous security concern
4. ActiveX controls are generally only compiled for Intel x86 compatible processors
This does not mean you have utterly no options. Take a look at WINE / Codeweavers' Crossover Office, which will allow you to run Internet Explorer 6 on your Intel (or compatible) Mac/Linux workstations. Crossover Office is simple, and should do the job basically out of the box, however it is not a free product. It is based on WINE which is Open Source, and will also run IE 6/Active X, though it requires some manual configuration. Keep in mind, that Crossover Office will only work on x86 (Intel) architecture based machines. If your Mac/Linux boxes are PowerPC or some other architecture, you're stuck with emulation.
Safari vs FireFox vs Minefield
All measurements are in seconds (s), rounded to the nearest 10th.
Each browser had the listed page loaded three times. Between each test the browser was reset (all "private data cleared", caches, etc.). The final number is the average (arithmetic mean) of those three tests. All browsers had the latest updates, no plugins, other browsers closed. TextEdit open.
Run on a MBP with OS 10.5.5 "Leopard" and in a new user account.
www.nytimes.com
Safari - 4.6s
(5.3, 3.9, 4.5)
FireFox - 5.9s
(6.8, 6.3, 4.7)
Minefield - 6.2s
(6.8, 5.6, 6.1)
www.cnet.com
Safari - 2.5s
(3.1, 2.2, 2.3)
FireFox - 3.7s
(3.8, 4.3, 3.0)
MineField - 2.8s
(3.0, 2.7, 2.7)
I should also point out, further to my above comment, that Safari was faster once it was initially loaded. It loaded both pages (cnet.com and nytimes.com) in just under 3 seconds.
Google Chrome is similar to Safari in that it has a huge wait time when first starting up (27 seconds for cnet.com), but was less that 2 seconds for nytimes.com
Firefox 3.03 was well under 2 seconds for both.
IE7 was also well under 2 seconds for both.
Opera 8.02 was just over 3 seconds for both.
I know that IE7 really bites in some speed tests, but I honestly don't see an issue with daily browsing. It's as fast as FF or Minefield and uses a lot less RAM than Safari. I use IE7 for 75% of my browsing and Minefield for the rest.
- by GRobLewis October 24, 2008 3:28 PM PDT
- I just downloaded a version of Minefield that supports the new trackpad gestures for the recent MacBooks (pinch, twist, swipe). Works great.
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