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Firefox 7 hits the airwaves

by Parm Mann on 28 September 2011, 12:29

Tags: Mozilla, Firefox

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The latest release of the Mozilla's open-source Firefox web browser is now available to download.

Version 7, available from mozilla.org, aims to drastically reduce memory consumption to deliver "a nimble web-browsing experience".

Mozilla openly admits that Firefox "has a reputation for being a memory hog", but is hoping to shed that unwanted characteristic and claims the new release can, in certain scenarios, use up to 50 per cent less memory than last month's Firefox 6.

As a result of the increased efficiency, "users will notice Firefox is faster at opening new tabs, clicking on menu items and buttons on websites".

"It also means that Firefox is less likely to crash or abort due to running out of memory", said Mozilla.

In addition to the performance enhancements, Firefox 7 introduces a selection of new developer tools, support for the W3C navigation timing specification and a variety of security bug fixes.

Mozilla will be hoping the new release is able to reverse a gradual decline in market share. Over the course of the past 12 months, Firefox's global market share has fallen by four per cent according to figures from StatCounter. In the same period, Google's rival Chrome web browser has seen market share increase by as much as 10 per cent.



HEXUS Forums :: 33 Comments

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So, with the current release schedule, I should get FF8 beta thrust apon me in the next week or two…
As long as they don't break the only extension that stops me from going FF free, I have no problems with the version number bonanza.

It is ofcourse the Ctrl+E fix!
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/change-search-shortcut/?src=api
I'm not really a fan of the frequent major version changes, as they are usually only small changes that would previously have been point releases. Especially when they are being released so closely together too.
Be nice if it stops locking up, since the last update its been lockup city..
Personally I'm just sick of updating firefox, just to be told “unfortunately, you're still not using the latest version”… :rolleyes: