Firefox 3.0 is out, go get it

The people who I talk computers seriously with (translation: my nerd friends) know me as a die-hard Microsoft sympathizer. On more than one occasion you can find me defending Bill Gates' buggy and sluggish software.

The most glaring example of this was my preference of Internet Explorer over Firefox. There was really no good reason for this except that I preferred IE's menu systems and general look, to the point where I could sacrifice the somewhat minor efficiency advantage of Firefox.

With the release of Mozilla's Firefox 3.0 today though, I have officially jumped ship. I've only been using it for 5 minutes and I'm already compelled enough to blog about my transition. The new Firefox has all of the security features of IE plus more, and more importantly they're much less intrusive.

One of the worst things Microsoft has been doing with Windows Vista and their recent iterations of IE is bombarding the user with all kinds of security warnings that makes you feel like your 5 years old and you don't know how to use a computer.

Firefox's warnings are much more subtle, but the real reason to go download this new browser is it's speed. Previously I found Firefox's efficiency gains over IE to be minor, but the speed improvements here are definitely noticeable enough to where I don't want to go back. My Informatics curriculum has made me something of a software-efficiency-whore and Firefox gets the job done.

If you don't believe me, then go ahead and load StatTracker side by side and see who wins. If you're not a fantasy player then try loading some MySpace whore's webpage that has way too much crap and clutter. Thank me in the comment section.