Is anyone else using Minefield?

Yes, Minefield. What is Minefield? Minefield is the codename of Mozilla's next version; it is the next step for Firefox. It is the pre-beta version of Firefox 3.1. I am currently tunning Firefox 3.1b2pre.

There's a few changes between 3.0.4 and 3.1b2pre. The main difference is called TraceMonkey. TraceMonkey is the new Java engine built into Minefield (SpiderMonkey was the old one), and it is wicked fast. It is not enabled by default, so you have to turn it on yourself through about:config (instructions here).

I used Nightly Tester Tools to bring along my extensions, so I am good to go.

Vroom, vroom.

Oh, if anyone is interested, click HERE.

 

Not if you install Nightly Tester Tools. It allows you to force compatibility on your extensions. I use over 30 of them, and all of them work using NTT.

Sorry about that.

To get Minefield, follow the last link and choose your operating system (linux, mac, win) and download it. It will install in its own directry, so it will not touch the Firefox you are already using.

Once you have it up, use NTT to make your extensions work. Then follow the instruction link to see what to look for in the "about:config" screen to turn TraceMonkey on. It involves changing two settings to "true" but it is easier to copy and paste the names of the settings into the addressbar.

Another neat feature is the ability to move between tabs like you can in Windows. In Windows, you use ALT + TAB to switch, but Minefield uses CTRL + TAB to switch between tabs. Sounds strange, but I love it.