World’s best browser just got a bit better. Firefox 2.0 has just been released recently with some really nice improvements. I’ve immediately noticed the speed improvement on the startup. I really like the close tab option on the tab itself now.

Here’s what they show:

  • Visual Refresh: Firefox 2’s theme and user interface have been updated to improve usability without altering
    the familiarity of the browsing experience.

  • Built-in phishing protection:
    Phishing Protection
    warns users when they encounter suspected Web forgeries, and offers to
    return the user to their home page. Phishing Protection is turned on by
    default, and works by checking sites against either a local or online
    list of known phishing sites. This list is automatically downloaded and
    regularly updated when the Phishing Protection feature is enabled.

  • Enhanced search capabilities:
    Search term suggestions will now appear as users type in the integrated
    search box when using the Google, Yahoo! or Answers.com search engines.
    A new search engine manager makes it easier to add, remove and re-order
    search engines, and users will be alerted when Firefox encounters a
    website that offers new search engines that the user may wish to
    install.

  • Improved tabbed browsing: By default, Firefox will open links in new tabs instead of new windows, and each tab will now have
    a close tab
    button. Power users who open more tabs than can fit in a single window
    will see arrows on the left and right side of the tab strip that let
    them scroll back and forth between their tabs. The History menu will
    keep a list of recently closed tabs, and a shortcut lets users quickly
    re-open an accidentally closed tab.

  • Resuming your browsing session:
    The Session Restore feature restores windows, tabs, text typed in
    forms, and in-progress downloads from the last user session. It will be
    activated automatically when installing an application update or
    extension, and users will be asked if they want to resume their
    previous session after a system crash.

  • Previewing and subscribing to Web feeds: Users can decide how to handle Web feeds (like
    this one), either subscribing to them via a Web service or in a
    standalone RSS reader, or adding them as Live Bookmarks.
    My Yahoo!, Bloglines and Google Reader come pre-loaded as Web service
    options, but users can add any Web service that handles RSS feeds.

  • Inline spell checking: A new built-in spell checker enables users to quickly check the spelling of text entered into Web forms
    (like this one) without having to use a separate application.

  • Live Titles: When a website offers a microsummary
    (a regularly updated summary of the most important information on a Web
    page), users can create a bookmark with a “Live Title”. Compact enough
    to fit in the space available to a bookmark label, they provide more
    useful information about pages than static page titles, and are
    regularly updated with the latest information. There are several websites that can be
    bookmarked with Live Titles, and even more add-ons to generate
    Live Titles for other popular websites.

  • Improved Add-ons manager: The new Add-ons manager improves the user interface for managing extensions and themes, combining
    them both in a single tool.

  • JavaScript 1.7: JavaScript 1.7 is a language update introducing
    several new features
    such as generators, iterators, array comprehensions, let expressions,
    and destructuring assignments. It also includes all the features of
    JavaScript 1.6.

  • Extended search plugin format: The Firefox search
    engine format     now supports search engine plugins written in Sherlock and OpenSearch formats and allows search engines to provide
    search term suggestions.

  • Updates to the extension system: The extension system has been updated to provide enhanced security and to allow for easier
    localization of extensions.

  • Client-side session and persistent storage:
    New support for storing structured data on the client side, to enable
    better handling of online transactions and improved performance when
    dealing with large amounts of data, such as documents and mailboxes.
    This is based on the WHATWG specification
    for client-side session and persistent storage.

  • SVG text: Support for the svg:textpath specification enables SVG text to follow a curve or shape.

  • New Windows installer: Based on Nullsoft Scriptable Install System, the
    new Windows installer resolves many long-standing issues.

Firefox 2