Installed it on my XP laptop. Why doesn't Mozilla get it in their heads that betas and Release Candidates shouldn't REPLACE your current install?

I'll keep it short. Much better than the earlier beta (performance, stability), but of course none of the add-ons work, so hold off if you love your add-ons. Definitely faster loading certain things. Rendering seems okay.

Interface: Not really much different than FF2. What's all the hoopla about?

People that love FF will gladly switch to version 3, if only for the better performance and stability. Otherwise, I sense no approaching orgasm of nerdly delights here. No monumental breakthroughs of interface design, no groovy new voice recognition or text reading features. No behind the curtains optimization of my joyless, disconnected cybhermit existence.

FF3 appears to be a significant clean-up of flaws in FF2, rather than a stab at design innovation. Oh, well.

Recommendation: Wait for the gold release, then maybe a couple months for add-ons to catch up.

Note: It took about an hour to piece my FF2 install back together from backup files.