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Firefox beta simplifies video chat, shares calls with a single link
Firefox added its 'Hello' videochat feature to its experimental beta browser back in October, and now it's taking on board user feedback to make it all a little more appealing. You can still use the feature without registering for the account, but there's now less steps to get that running - you'll also get an audio ping when your partner joins the call. Conversation windows each have a unique URL, which can be shared, well, anywhere you can paste it. You can then maintain these links to continue conversations at a later time and the message history will remain, even if you aren't registered for an account. So, what is the point of logging in with a Firefox account? It'll let you directly call you contacts - if they're also logged in.. and aren't using Hangouts instead.
Firefox begins testing Social API with Facebook Messenger, here's how you can take part
You live a fast-paced life, and you don't have time to stop your high-speed internet surfing just to check up on Suzie's latest Facebook update. Mozilla understands your plight, digital denizen, and its "Social API" is here to help -- Firefox browser users can beta test Facebook's Messenger functionality right this minute, should they be able to pause for long enough to get it set up. Thankfully, that setup isn't too strenuous, requiring little more than the latest beta version of the Firefox browser and an opt-in to the Social API program (via Facebook). Mozilla's promising more social service integration as the beta rolls on ("soon"), but for now you can more readily stay in touch with Suzie at least, right?
Firefox 15 beta boasts support for Opus audio format, reduces add-on memory leaks
Can't bear to part with your favorite browser extensions, but can't stand to see them devour your system memory? Maybe you should check out Firefox 15. According to Mozilla's Hacks blog, the browser's latest beta should patch up the majority of memory leaks gushing from Firefox add-ons. Also new, is the beta's support for Opus, a free audio format partially supported by Mozilla. The firm hopes competing browsers will pick up the format as well, calling it "as good or better than basically all existing lossy codecs." The blog makes quite a case for the format, citing tests and bitrate information, going as far as giving instructions on embedding Opus players in web pages. Check out the codec of tomorrow for yourself at the source links below.
Firefox 5 for Android adds CSS animation, support for Do Not Track browsing
The Firefox team is moving as quick as a...well, you get the idea. Nearly two months after releasing its latest browser to the masses, the folks at Mozilla have unleashed Firefox 5 for Android as a beta for willing souls who happen upon it in the Market. The latest rendition will hook you up with support for CSS animations, improved canvas and JavaScript performance, and lower memory usage. You're also going to find Do Not Track included for the first time, which is a privacy setting that prevents other sites from following you around. Otherwise, for a major release, there isn't a ton of meat -- then again, Mozilla's switched things up a bit by popping out updates on a more frequent basis, making few changes to each one, so anyone feeling a bit underwhelmed should know that the team's already hard at work on Firefox 6. Head down to the source links to download the beta and learn what's new.
Firefox 4 beta 5 for mobile released, available on Android, N900, your computer
Tired of using the default browser on your smart phone to browse Engadget? Got a thing for Firefox? Great, 'cause Mozilla just pushed out the fifth beta of Firefox 4 for mobile. You might be familiar with the on-the-go version of Mozilla's creation, but if not, here's your chance to grab the latest (and probably) the most stable build to date. In addition to the Android and Maemo version, the company has released a Fennec build for use on Windows, OS X and Linux. We tinkered with the OS X build of the browser on our Macbook Pro and although pages appear to render quickly, we can't quite figure out how to navigate backwards. You can pinch-to-zoom with the trackpad and scroll with the d-pad, but once you've loaded a page, it seems you need to be on a mobile device do any further navigation. Of course, as you'll see in the gallery below, the beta comes packed with the usual -- preferences, downloads, add-ons, bookmarks and Firefox Sync. If you want to give the software a whirl, hit the source link to grab the build of your choice.%Gallery-117565%
Firefox 1.1 beta for Maemo goes live
The N900 already features one of the best pocket browsing experiences we've ever seen, but it looks to be getting a whole lot better today with the beta release of Firefox 1.1. Major new features include portrait browsing (awesome), form auto-complete, a context menu, volume key zoom, and -- this is pretty neat -- the capability to save pages straight to PDF, so it seems like the kind of thing you'll definitely want to download, even if it's not quite solid enough to earn gold build status. Oh, and if you don't have an N810 or N900 handy and you're amped to play around, you can download the little guy for Windows, Mac OS, or Linux, too.
