Maybe they are waiting until next year for the gasp 10 year anniversary? Lol, doubtful but its just been a long wait. EP2 felt like a million years ago. Im sure HL3 is going to be a super awesome experience any way you slice it. It will be worth the wait, which is why I don't mind the delay.
Nice to see something from the team after all these years. As for iron sights, I don't mind them at all. Gameplay? Will reserve judgement until it is released!
Firefox is fine, its definitely your system. You can always delete your profile and try a new one.
If you like fast browsing (with a light footprint), try K-Meleon. http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/
Too many to choose from. But since someone mentioned Paul Gilbert above, this was always one of my favorites from him. Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES1RypBww_g