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Firefox 6 due next week
The next version of Mozilla's web browser, Firefox 6, will be officially released on Tuesday, August 16. There are no major UI changes; most of the other changes are under the hood. That's a welcome upgrade as Firefox 6 is reportedly 20% faster than Firefox 5. Also, while Firefox 6 does offer full screen support, it's not Lion-native fullscreen support, which is somewhat of a disappointment. For those of you who don't want to wait till Tuesday, you can actually download the final release of Firefox 6.0 here from Mozilla's FTP servers.
Mozilla planning a Chrome OS-like operating system for phones and tablets
The jury is still out on whether Chromebooks will sell like hotcakes (we're guessing not), but no matter to Mozilla. The organization behind Firefox has plans to develop its own operating system for mobile devices -- a clear shot across the bow at Google's browser-based Chrome OS. In a page on Mozilla's own wiki, a handful of senior developers announced their intentions to create a "complete, standalone operating system for the open web" running HTML5 apps. The OS, codenamed "Boot to Gecko," will be designed with tablets and handsets in mind, says Mike Shaver, the foundation's VP of technical strategy. And here's the fascinating part: the OS will rely on Google's own Android drivers and kernel to boot the device. In a Google Groups discussion thread, the lead devs said they chose Android over a Linux stack since so many device makers have focused their efforts on Android, and it makes sense to "reuse its lower layers." Still, they insist that they otherwise intend to borrow from it as little as possible. Obviously, don't hold your breath for Firebooks, as the project's very much in its infancy, but in the meantime there's some mighty interesting conversation happening in that discussion thread about Mozilla's lofty end game: breaking "the stranglehold of proprietary devices over the mobile device world." [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Google says goodbye to browser toolbar, drops support for Firefox 5
Google Labs isn't the only thing winding down in Mountain View, it seems Google's Firefox toolbar is also kaput. Citing exponential growth in the browser space, the outfit declared that the Google toolbar for Firefox is no longer necessary -- modern browsers are just too darn capable. Support will continue for older versions of the browser, but Firefox 5 will have to stand on its own. Still, El Goog admits that dropping the toolbar kills more than a few features, and is offering a list of similarly featured add-ons to users via the defunct toolbar's help page. Not enough? Head on over to the announcement's comment page and join the peanut gallery, a few clever legumes seem to have uncovered a FF5 workaround. As for the rest of us, it's not like we didn't know Google had its own browser (and interests) to take care of, right?
Google working on video chat for Chrome, Skype cowers in fear
Watch out Skype, Google Chrome is comin' for ya. Not long after releasing WebRTC audio and video chat software as open-source, Google has started to integrate these capabilities into its prized browser. Looking to move past the played out features of Gmail and Google Voice, the company is planning for WebRTC to be a frontrunner for video conferencing and online chatting. The software was introduced as royalty-free, too, even promising to work with other browsers devs (namely Mozilla and Opera) to flesh out the project. This means that anyone building a site can make use of the new tech, and in theory, construct their own personal Skype battering ram. With the company being pro-web apps on all fronts, this is another step forward in its quest to bring the aforementioned technology up to par with native apps. Is this one of many dominoes to fall in the web-based app takeover, at least in terms of Chrome OS? It very well could be, especially if companies would rather see the traffic in-browser vs. within a native app. Now, if only Instagram could make use of that dusty webcam...
Firefox 5 is officially released, how are you liking it?
Why it seems like only yesterday that our little Firefox had its last major upgrade. As expected, the browser turned 5.0 today, and you can celebrate by downloading it now from Mozilla's site. We'd like to know how your test drive of the update is going so far. Let us know in the poll and the comments below.%Poll-65563%
Firefox 5 slips out ahead of schedule, gets official June 21st
Mozilla promised a faster refresh cycle for its wily web browser, following the release of Firefox 4, and it's made good on that promise. We got word this morning that the final version of Firefox 5 is now available for download on Mozilla's ftp server, just 12 weeks after the last re-up. The latest incarnation brings with it support for CSS animation and a more easily accessible do-not-track setting -- now available at the top of the privacy pane -- but won't see much in the way of GUI enhancements. Of course, if you want to play it safe, and avoid any last-minute tweaks, you can always hold off until version 5 gets official, but what's the fun in that? If you've already got your hands on the sly fox, let us know your thoughts in the comments below. [Thanks, Haseeb]
Mozilla's Webian Shell interface will cloak your OS in a browser (video)
With Google's fleet of Chromebooks making their way to market, Mozilla Labs has decided to release a similarly browser-based desktop interface, known as the Webian Shell. As of now, the prototype app consists of a screen-encompassing web browser, which essentially replaces your desktop interface. There's an address bar running across the top of the screen, a clock in the bottom right corner, and a tab button for all your web apps. Developed as part of the company's Mozilla Chromeless project, the tool was written entirely in HTML, CSS and JavaScript and, unlike Chrome OS, is designed to run on top of existing operating systems, rather than replace them. For now, the Shell is still in an early phase of development, looks pretty spartan and can't control a system's hardware. Mozilla, however, says it has plans to incorporate multiple home screens, split screen views and an on-screen keyboard, among other features. Windows, Linux and Mac OS X users can download the Shell now, from the source link. Otherwise, you can just head past the break to see a brief demo video.
Twitter partners with Firefox, adds new image sharing tools
As TechCrunch suggested earlier in the week, Twitter announced a few new features today: improved search on hashtags and usernames, and a Twitter-branded image/video sharing service that may disrupt established players like TwitPic and yFrog (the back end for Twitter's service is provided by PhotoBucket). The photo service will be live in the next few weeks. The company also announced a partnership with Mozilla to deliver a custom version of Firefox that does Twitter search in the location bar; current FF users can get the same features via a plug-in. This upgraded suite of capabilities lines up nicely with the other TechCrunch tidbit from yesterday, suggesting that part of the image service's mission is to integrate with iOS 5. iPhone users would presumably gain a 'Send to Twitter' button in any image-enabled application, although there are hints that this might go quite a bit further. If it's part of a larger plan for shared services on iDevices, that could dramatically improve the multi-app experience for people working with different sorts of data; Richard points to this Chris Clark post from a year ago with some ideas about how that might work.
NVIDIA 3D Vision machines get 3D YouTube video support on Firefox
NVIDIA and YouTube made a rather caveat-heavy announcement today that promises to bring stereoscopic 3D YouTube videos to NVIDIA 3D Vision PCs and notebooks, running Firefox 4. If you're rocking an NVIDIA GeForce GPU-equipped machine, sporting driver release 275 or later, a 3D Vision monitor, notebook, projector, or DLP HDTV, and Firefox 4 with streaming HTML5, you've got access to all the 3D goodness YouTube has to offer -- given you're not trying to access content via a standard YouTube channel, as the outfit's HTML5 support is still limited. And don't forget, you'll need your active shutter 3D glasses handy, too. So, if you fit all of the aforementioned criteria, check out the demo video after break (and make sure to hit the HTML5 function under options) -- otherwise, feel free to go on using the old cyan and red method for viewing YouTube in 3D. Full PR after the break.
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.
Mozilla shames developers with list of slow performing Firefox add-ons
We know how Mozilla must feel. It spends every waking hour tweaking and perfecting Firefox to eke out as much performance as possible, only to see it all ruined by lousy add-ons that weigh the browser down like a block of cement. It's apparently now had enough, however, and has gone as far as to publish a list that exposes the worst offenders. As of this writing, the two biggest drags on the browser by far are the FoxLingo translator / dictionary and Firebug developer tool add-on which, according to Mozilla, each make the browser 74 percent slower to start up. That list is just part of a broader crackdown on poor performing add-ons. Mozilla says it's also instituting automated performance testing of the top 100 add-ons in its gallery, and that it will begin reaching out to developers directly to get them to improve performance (and even provide them with some new tools to help out). Hit up the link below to see how some of your favorite add-ons stack up.
MMObility: Battle of the browsers
Before I get too far in this new column, I need to take stock of my weaponry. I now have almost everything I need: an iPhone, an iPad, a new HTC Inspire Android phone, one basic laptop of choice, and a pretty decent gaming rig (if a little old). I have everything I need to test out games across different browsers and devices. I am prepared to slug these pieces of hardware wherever I need to; I am ready to walk with them in hand. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. I could use some advice, though. I have my preferences, but I wonder what my readers think. Which browser do you prefer? Why? For example, I am in love with Chrome for various reasons, but some games have issues with it. Do I weigh the good against the bad and claim it as my default anyway? Lately, I have all the major browsers bookmarked on my desktop, waiting to go. What about security? I'll be honest: I'm not an expert. Click past the cut and let's discuss. Maybe you can help me.
Firefox 4 for Android launched, ready to Sync and speed up your browsing
It was a release candidate just about a week ago and today it's all ready to go. Firefox 4 for Android has just been released from the Mozilla labs and is now prowling the mobile internet. You can get yours at the Android Market, in no less than 10 languages, though there'll be no Flash playback. Still, tabbed browsing, extreme customizability, and bookmark / tab / history coordination between desktop and mobile (via Firefox Sync) are all nice to have, as is the promised threefold improvement in speed over the stock Android browser. Pretty nice list of improvements for some freebie software, wouldn't you say?
Firefox 4 clocks up 7.1 million downloads within first 24 hours, fails to beat Firefox 3 record (updated)
We noted Firefox 3's spectacular eight million downloads in a day when discussing the recent launch of IE9, and that mark shall live on as a record for another day. Firefox 4 looks to have a had a thoroughly successful debut, going past the five million milestone within the first 24 hours of its release, but it hasn't quite been able to overshadow its predecessor. And before you go comparing its numbers to the latest Internet Explorer, do be cognizant that FF4 released on a wider set of platforms, rendering direct stat comparisons a little dicey. That's not stopping StatCounter, however, who notes that the latest Firefox already has a 1.95 percent share of the browser market, almost exactly double what IE9 can claim so far. Better get working on that XP compatibility, eh Microsoft? Update: Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs has the final stats for the first 24 hours and it's actually even higher than we thought: 7.1 million downloads around the globe. That's in addition to three million users already running the release candidate for Firefox 4, which turned into the final release. Good work!
Mozilla Firefox 4 RC for Android and Maemo now up for grabs
If you're liking what Firefox 4 for mobile already offers in its previous beta builds, then you'll certainly want to check out its release candidate that went live on Monday -- just less than six months after the browser when beta. According to Mozilla, this new build provides a better overall user experience with faster scrolling and improved Firefox Sync, along with other goodies like Awesome Screen smart shortcuts, tabbed browsing, Firefox Add-ons, and Persona themes. Sounds a lot like its desktop sibling (which has a healthy 4.9 million downloads already), doesn't it? Head over to the source page for the Android and Maemo download links, or you can have a look at Mozilla's latest video after the break if you need some convincing.
Firefox 4 for Mac: faster, more customizable and still free
Firefox 4 (free) is now available for your favorite computing platform -- Mac OS X. If you've used the Mozilla browser in the past, you're probably already aware of the update. If not, this is a chance to download and try a laudable Mac browser. The biggest improvement in Firefox 4 is speed. Although we were unable to perform our own benchmarks, the Firefox website shows that page rendering speeds have improved anywhere from three to six times those of the previous release. The Mozilla engineers also worked in a new layers-based graphics system that takes advantage of OpenGL in Mac OS X for faster performance on graphics-intensive websites. In reality, Firefox still felt slightly slower than Safari in terms of opening and rendering websites, although it feels much faster than previous versions of the browser. As with previous versions of Firefox, there are numerous plug-ins and add-ons available, as well as "personas" to customize the browser's look and feel. Some plug-ins will need to be updated from earlier versions, requiring a restart of the browser before they'll work properly. Firefox Sync is a feature that's available to sync your open browser tabs, bookmarks and even passwords between devices. If you install Firefox 4 onto several Macs, like an iMac and a MacBook Air, after closing Firefox on the desktop machine and launching the browser on the laptop you can pick up right where you left off. Regretfully, since there's no Firefox for iPhone or iPad, you can't sync your settings to those devices. For those who hate downward facing tabs in the tabbed browser interface, you can rejoice in the fact that the new Firefox default puts the tabs on top. If you prefer downward facing tabs, no problem -- you can change the setting. I was glad to see that toolbars are now much more customizable. A control-click lets you add or remove many buttons, including various Google applications or even a print button. I won't belabor the description of the rest of Firefox 4's new features here. Firefox fans should go out and download the update immediately; the rest of you might want to try out the free browser just to see if the new features are enough to make you switch.
Firefox 4 is officially released, how are you liking it?
Enterprising readers have probably been rocking the four-point-oh release of Firefox since it slipped out a little early last night, but now you can get yourself that same, fully-legit version from a new, fully-legit address. The browser's live and, as you can see from the rolling download counter Mozilla has set up, a couple-hundred-thousand of you have already got it going on. So, what are your thoughts? Let your voice be heard in the poll and comments below. %Poll-61994%
Firefox 4 slips out ahead of tomorrow's official release
The official launch day may still be tomorrow, but those not willing to wait can now grab the final version of Firefox 4 for Windows, Mac OS X or Linux straight from Mozilla's FTP server. That follows a last minute RC2 revision that was just released on Saturday, which has presumably been all but unchanged for the now final version. Hit up the appropriate link below to start downloading -- just try to act a little bit surprised if anyone tells you about it tomorrow. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Firefox 4 to be released on March 22nd, download statisticians ready their calculators
Having kicked out a release candidate on March 9th, Mozilla now feels confident enough in version 4 of its well loved Firefox browser and has set a date for its final release: March 22nd. That's next Tuesday, if you're calendar-shy, and a download is penciled in for availability at around 7AM Pacific Time. Mind you, Mozilla believes its RC1 build, already available on Windows, Mac and Linux, will likely be the final version put up in a few days' time -- the team is just monitoring the code and performing last-minute checks to ensure there are no massive, world-ending bugs that haven't been spotted yet. So that basically means you can risk it now and get your GPU-accelerated web future started early, or you can wait until it's official on Tuesday and be part of Mozilla's next attempt at breaking the downloads record. [Thanks, Ro]
Mozilla publishes Firefox 4 Release Candidate
Mozilla unwrapped the release candidate of Firefox 4 for Windows, Mac, and Linux on Wednesday. Firefox 4's newly announced release candidate status indicates its features are finalized and, unless its developers uncover bugs of mass destruction, this version will likely become the official release. According to Mozilla, the millions of users currently beta testing Firefox 4 will be automatically updated to release candidate 1, featuring a series of stability, compatibility, and performance improvements. Since the first beta became available last summer, the development team has fixed over 8,000 bugs in Firefox 4. Firefox 4 is Mozilla's latest entry into the increasingly competitive web browser market. The unveiling of Firefox 4 Release Candidate coincides with the release of Google's Chrome 10 and comes as Microsoft prepares to officially release its much improved Internet Explorer 9 on March 14. All three browsers feature better support for the latest web standards and massive performance enhancements. Mozilla executives don't anticipate seeing any show-stopping bugs or needing a second release candidate; they expect to officially release Firefox 4 later this month.
