Been a good long while since I really wrote anything about computer tech or software on the modern front, but then again there hasn’t been too much going on that’s really received more than an “oh, okay” reaction from me.
In this case, though, I’ve got a bit more of a reaction to Firefox 57 – also known as Firefox Quantum. It’s damn good.
I’ll go into more detail in the near future, after I do more testing, but to keep things simple, Firefox Quantum does deliver what it promises. While I’ve been a loyal Firefox user for over a decade now, I’ve seen the browser at both its high and low points in behavior, stability, memory usage, and all around quality, and I can safely say this is the biggest improvement that I’ve ever seen.
Memory usage has been drastically decreased and looks to stay pretty low, all things considered – my tab-heavy workflow only seems to be using about 350MB as I type this, as compared to the normal 600+ it would use previously. Pages do load and render faster than they did on previous builds which is a nice plus.
Perhaps the best way for me to phrase it is, Quantum still keeps the Firefox feel that I like (which is the key reason I’ve used the browser as my primary for over a decade now) yet has finally improved the back-end systems to a point where I see it matching, or beating, all the fan claims of how superior Chrome is.
Use what browser you want, I don’t care, but for this overhaul will certainly make most anyone take a second look at our old friend, Firefox.
More detailed coverage to come Friday. Or not.