I came across this article explaining how Google has started using link prefetching in an effort to speed up the search site. When using Firefox (or any other Mozilla browser), Google now prefetches the first result in the list. As they explain it, this means if you click on the first result that the page will come up faster because it has already begun downloading.

Mozilla has a Frequently Asked Questions document providing all of the details about link prefetching.

Disclaimer: Any viewpoints and opinions expressed in this article are those of Nicholas C. Zakas and do not, in any way, reflect those of my employer, my colleagues, Wrox Publishing, O'Reilly Publishing, or anyone else. I speak only for myself, not for them.