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The much delayed but greatly anticipated Firefox 3.6 is finally here, introducing significant improvements in this popular browser’s performance and functionality.  From increased speed to stronger security, improved font management to one click themes, this is a considerable step up from its predecessor.

Over here at the Geek Choice office, we’ve been using the various iterations of the Firefox 3.6 beta, keeping you apprised of their release. Almost immediately, we were impressed by an observable uptick in its performance, with greater speed and decidedly impressive rendering of pages.

These are the following additions to Firefox 3.6:

• Firefox 3.6 will alert you if your plug-ins is out of date, offering you links from which to grab the most recent versions. This is of particular significance when dealing with the likes of Adobe Flash, which has come under fire for its security leaks.
• Full Screen video is available, which sees Firefox play any free streaming videos in a Full Screen format if you so choose.
• Instant Themes are made available by the Personas Gallery. When visiting the gallery, you  can select a theme and see how your browser would look if implemented. If the theme’s to your liking, apply it with just one click.
• What you’ll immediately notice is just how much faster it is. Through more efficient management of memory and better handling of Javascript, the speed of Firefox 3.6 is unmistakable, second only to Chrome.

For a more detailed explanation of just what this update introduces, Mozilla has included release notes that give a nice overview of what’s included.

Firefox 3.6 is free and available for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux computers.

You can download it here.

Whether we’re typing out a quick memo or writing a letter to a friend, word processors are invaluable tools that provide the means to draft documents when needed. Word is the most widely used solution in this regard, but it’s packaged with Microsoft Office, a software suite that includes a host of other applications – Excel, Powerpoint, etc. — that you may not require.

Free and easy to use, Abiword is an alternative for those who need just a word processor, freeing your computer from needless software that’s along for the ride.

Abiword works with every major operating system:

• Windows
• Linux
• Mac

After editing a Word document at work, Abiword can continue editing it at home, allowing for seamless transitioning between the two formats.

This is a nice solution for those looking to keep their system limited to the barest essentials. If you ever have any questions about its use, feel free to contact one of us.

Abiword can be downloaded here.