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Mozilla releases Firefox 4 Beta 1

by Scott Bicheno on 7 July 2010, 10:46

Tags: Mozilla

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qayzn

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Out-foxing the competition

Having previewed Firefox 4 a couple of months ago, Mozilla has now released the first beta version for public appraisal.

The browser market is as competitive as it's ever been, with Google the most prominent new threat, both on the PC and mobile device, so Mozilla will be feeling the pressure to perform. As a consequence, Firefox head Mike Beltzner has called for as much end-user feedback as possible at this early stage in the development process.

As well as a new look and feel, here are what Beltzner considers to be the highlights of the new beta:

  • New Add-Ons Manager: gives you more space to manage your Add-Ons, Themes and Plugins. Customizing your browser has never been easier!
  • HD Video: Watch hardware-accelerated, super-smooth, HD-quality HTML5 video on YouTube using the new WebM format.
  • Privacy improvements: Mozilla always puts privacy first, and this latest beta fixes flaws in some Web standards that could expose your browser history.
  • Crash Protection: Experience uninterrupted browsing (now available on all platforms) - when a plugin crashes or freezes, you can resume browsing by simply refreshing the page.
  • Performance: We know that performance is important. In this version, we focused on improving responsiveness at start-up and during page loads. This is just the beginning for performance improvements in Firefox 4.
  • HTML5 Parser: Run the best Web apps of today and tomorrow - if a user's browser doesn't support HTML5, they still won't miss out on your content.
  • WebSockets: Build real-time, online interactions like gaming and chatting.
  • IndexedDB: Use structured storage in your Web applications to speed them up or provide offline support.
  • Web Console: Peek into dynamic websites with this experimental "Heads Up Display" analysis tool.
  • Simpler Add-On Development: Authors can create Add-Ons that don't require a restart to install, develop their Add-Ons more quickly using the new powerful Jetpack SDK, and safely connect to existing libraries using js-ctypes.

You can see more details and download Firefox 4 Beta 1 here.

 

HEXUS Forums :: 9 Comments

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Posted by crossy - Wed 07 Jul 2010 11:37
Performance: We know that performance is important. In this version, we focused on improving responsiveness at start-up and during page loads. This is just the beginning for performance improvements in Firefox 4.
Yay! - FF used to be an MX5 (small, quick and cute) now it's a truck (big and slow), so anything that kicks it up the butt will win kudos from me. Heck, I now use Chrome on my Linux boxes as much as I use FF. (I don't use Chrome on Windows, because it keeps calling home to Google)

So if they also want to look at the footprint (memory requirement) of FF then that'd also be well received by me.

I'm definitely not that bothered about the DB, webconsole, sockets or video stuff - nice to have, but not essential in my opinion. In fact some of this sounds suspiciously like abilities that would be better delivered via plug-ins. :juggle:

At the moment my ideal browser would be cross-platform, small, fast, secure and tweakable (I mean with useful stuff like NoScript or AdBlock).

Bob
Posted by Tobeman - Wed 07 Jul 2010 13:20
crossy
I don't use Chrome on Windows, because it keeps calling home to Google)

Have you considered SR Ware Iron?

http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron.php
Posted by Unique - Wed 07 Jul 2010 13:39
i downloaded this earlier but haven't installed yet. i'm a bit wary about losing add ons so i'll try on another pc first, unless you can keep your old version of firefox to fall back on?
Posted by MSIC - Wed 07 Jul 2010 16:19
Using this now on one of my machines, it works well so far and am liking it.
It is faster,although we shall see once the various updates, patches and extra functionality over the coming weeks and months starts piling on…
I only had 2 add-ons for FF3.6 (on this machine), Persona's and Adblock Plus. Both automatically and flawlessly transferred.

Not much else to say really… i quite like the filling-up clock icon as a page loads.
Posted by g8ina - Wed 07 Jul 2010 16:52
@ crossy : tried Slimbrowser ??

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