Firefox 3.0..... the most downloaded software within 24 hours!

It seems like the Firefox download frenzy is slowly fading away, but Mozilla has some serious reasons to celebrate: in just two days, people from around the world have downloaded over 10 million copies of Firefox 3.0.

Mozilla is also happy that its browser could enter the Guiness Book of World Recored as the most downloaded software in 24 hours.

Initially the milestone was set at 5 million downloads, but Mozilla has serve 8 million downloads in the first 24 hours.

However, is hard to estimate if this impressive number of downloads it will translate in increased market share for Firefox 3.0.

According to the analysts and the research companies, Mozilla’s browser currently has a share of 15 - 18 percent from the global browser market. Despite Firefox’s raising popularity, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is still the market leader with a very comfortable 70 percent share.

Of course, many of those who have rushed to download Firefox 3 are already Firefox 2 users, but let’s hope that the browser has managed to attract also new users. Some analysts were quick to predict that the released of the 3.0 version will help Firefox to reach 25 percent market share in a very short period of time.

Other thinks that 22 is a more realistic figure, while some other voices are predicting that until the end of the year, Firefox will reach 30 percent market share. And Firefox will grow on the expense of Internet Explorer. But Microsoft is also scheduled to release a new version of Internet Explorer, so we are heading very quickly to a new browser war.

Firefox 3.0 has evolved also from the technical point of view and it has a lot of advantages compared to its competitors.

For example in the new version you can click the site favicon in the location bar to see who owns the site you are visiting. The identity verification is prominently displayed and easier to understand.

The new browser also integrates malware protection, a system that will warn users when they arrive at sites which are known to install viruses, spyware, trojans or other malware.

Mozilla also improved the add-on update security and those add-ons that provide updates in an insecure manner will be disabled.

As for the usability, Firefox 3 has also a number of ease of use enhancements. For example, it offers easier password management,  simplified add-on installation, new Download Manager, full page zoom, tab scrolling and quickmenu and text selection improvements: Multiple text selections can be made with Ctrl/Cmd; Double-click drag selects in "word-by-word" mode; Triple-clicking selects a paragraph.

One of the best features is the resumable downloading: users can now resume downloads after restarting the browser or resetting the network connection. On the interface side, Firefox 3 has introduced a simpler management of bookmarks.

I guess even if you are a heavy Internet Explore user you could download Firefox3.0 and see how it works.