Firefox 3.5 available today, print enhancements mixed


The tech world is buzzing about the new Firefox, version 3.5, and its seemingly flawless launch today, allowing up to 2 million downloads in less than a full business day.

But like a lot of other extensions, the popular printing-related add-ons are a mixed bag in terms of being ready for the new version. A search at the Mozilla site shows the popular "Print Print Preview" not available, though runner-up "Universal Print" is ready to go -- an opportunity?

And the HP (NYSE HPQ) print-enhancement extension, Smart Web Printing 4.0, already installed in my Firefox plug-ins list, came up showing it's not compatible, though the issues that Smart Web Printing addressed became academic with the introduction of 3.0 (See further explanation in "HP's 'Reduce Printing' Tool for the Web", from a little over a year ago).

Not that these out-of-date (for now) extensions are in such bad company -- TechCrunch's MG Siegler (in "Firefox 3.5 Soars Past A Million Downloads. Approaching 100 Downloads A Second") notes that 3.5's perceived speed improvement (I've noticed too) may be attributable to all those missing extensions!

Comments

Jim Lyons said…
Happy to report "Print Print Preview" is now available for 3.5