Why settle for a basic build of your Firefox browser on Windows Operating Systems when you can have one that performs 25% faster? Mozilla does not provide optimized browser packages for Windows, while many Linux (“from scratch”) users get the advantage of a browser built specifically for their system. That needs to change! So, here is the Pale Moon project: Custom-built and optimized Firefox browsers for Windows Operating Systems. Make sure to get the most speed out of your browser!
The Pale Moon Project homepage
I’ve used Firefox since before version 1.0… actually I used it before it was Firefox. It was originally called Firebird. I loved the extensions. As in all areas of life… freedom to do what you want is important to me and I loved being able to have faster browsing and extensions customized to my own browsing needs.
My Firefox setup is now one of my sacred cows and one I won’t give up easily.
But Google’s Chrome browser is truly great. I’ve used it on and off in the past, but this week it finally got some of the extensions that are most important to me and I’ve used it a lot this week. It still can’t be my full time browser because it still lacks some of the extensions I really need to streamline my work. But it definitely loads faster than my Firefox setup and I think it serves most pages faster too.
However, I just learned (via Lifehacker) about a Windows optimized build of Firefox called Pale Moon that claims to speed up Firefox on Windows installs by 25%. After using it for a day… I’d say it is at least that. It is a “clone” of Firefox in that it actually uses the Mozilla code, but has been optimized for Windows instead of maximizing compatibility with all operating systems. So what this means is that you can just install it alongside your current Firefox install and Pale Moon will *share* your Firefox profile. I use LOTS of extensions and Pale Moon seems to handle them perfectly.
So for now… I’ll keep running Chrome and Firefox (both are open now, actually). But I’ll be running the Pale Moon clone of Firefox and keep my eyes out for the remaining Chrome extensions that might convince me to make the switch to Chrome full time.
Before you click over to download and try it for yourself… let me encourage you to read the system requirements carefully and especially the part about uninstalling either Firefox or Pale Moon if you use a shared profile. You don’t have to be a geek to run Pale Moon, but you do need to know some things about your computer before you give it a go.
Here’s the link again in case you missed it up above:
The Pale Moon Project homepage
