By the People – The latest release of the open-source Firefox browser includes many features requested, and even designed, by users.

On November 29, a new version of the Firefox Web browser was released at http://www.mozilla.com. And within two days after Firefox 1.5 went live, more than two million people had downloaded it.

Although it’s only an incremental upgrade — Firefox 2.0 is expected in mid-2006 — the changes are obvious to anyone who has used the earlier version. (Its maker, the Mozilla Corporation, touts it as a faster, safer, smoother version of the program.) For instance, the new Firefox allows pages to load noticeably faster, thanks to a special cache that stores the most recently viewed pages — those accessed through the "forward" and "back" buttons. The browser’s viewing tabs, for accessing numerous pages in one window, can now be re-ordered in drag-and-drop fashion. And a "live bookmarks" feature is continually updated with the most recent headlines from news feeds around the Internet.

Just as important as these improvements in user-friendliness, however, are the new security features. Mozilla’s programmers have made it easier to remove sensitive information from the browser. By simply clicking on a button, all previously visited websites, as well as passwords and personal information one may have entered, can be erased.

By Kate Greene

Full Story: http://technologyreview.com/InfoTech-Search/wtr_15951,308,p1.html