Mozilla Firefox 5 fixes bugs, meets rapid release schedule

Written by James Delahunty @ 23 Jun 2011 10:28 User comments (15)

Mozilla hit June 21 target for the release of Firefox 5.

Compared to past upgrades to the Mozilla Firefox web browser, the release of version 5 was much more muted. Mozilla said that it made over 1,000 improvements to the web browser, although most are just minor bug fixes and tweaks. The user interface is virtually the same as Firefox 4.

Among the biggest changes in Firefox 5 are improvements to HTML 5 support, and the CSS Animations standard to enable developers to build more visually-enhanced Web applications and websites.

The release of Firefox 5 comes after March's much louder release of Firefox 4, under a new rapid release strategy that has been likened by observers to Google's Chrome release policies. Security firms in general recommend that browser refreshes are carried out more often by vendors.

Of the changes to Firefox 5, there were ten bug fixes, seven of which were deemed "critical" by the company. One "moderate" bug fix was targeted at WebGL, a 3D graphics rendering standard that was recently (and very publicly) criticized and snubbed by Microsoft due to serious security concerns.

Context Information Security alerted Firefox to the WebGL implementation bug, and has pointed out several other serious security problems with WebGL in the past, even going as far as suggesting users disable WebGL functionality altogether in Firefox and Chrome.

The latest Firefox for Android adds the "Do Not Track" privacy feature, helping users to opt-out of online behavioral tracking to safeguard their privacy. Mozilla says Firefox is the first browser to offer the Do Not Track feature across multiple platforms.

Mozilla Firefox 5 for Windows:
https://www.afterdawn.com/software/network/browsers/firefox.cfm

Mozilla Firefox 5 for Mac OS X:
https://www.afterdawn.com/software/network/browsers/firefox_for_mac.cfm

Mozilla Firefox 5 for Linux:
https://www.afterdawn.com/software/network/browsers/firefox_for_linux.cfm

Tags: Firefox

<First Nokia Windows Phone 7 devices coming October 26th? >Sony: No PS4 discussion for quite some time

15 user comments

123.6.2011 10:53

3MUK

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firefox has always been my preferred web browser. hope they keep updating it.

223.6.2011 12:18

ZippyDSM

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AfterDawn Addict

Er.....name version number<patch number. You do not need FF 100 due to patching....morons.....

323.6.2011 13:25

LordRuss

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Originally posted by ZippyDSM:
Er.....name version number<patch number. You do not need FF 100 due to patching....morons.....

I tend to agree. Just send a patch out. But 1000 'fixes'!!! That conjures up another five letter word that begins with "F" and it certainly doesn't bring fix to my mind.

Yet I still prefer Firefox well above & beyond the other browsers.

423.6.2011 15:00

Azuran

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Yeah I used chrome briefly when I could no longer tolerate the memory leak bug. It was fixed for me in 4 though so now I'm back with FF.

523.6.2011 18:29

nonoitall

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To me, so far FF5 seems like a nice improvement over FF4. Seems like they streamlined a few subtle things that give the browser an overall snappier feel. IMO, this is more like what FF4 'should have been'. I like that they took a hint from Chrome and now when you close a tab on a full tab bar, the remaining tabs defer resizing until the mouse leaves the tab bar - makes it easier to rapidly close several tabs that are next to each other.

623.6.2011 19:43

ZippyDSM

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Originally posted by nonoitall:
To me, so far FF5 seems like a nice improvement over FF4. Seems like they streamlined a few subtle things that give the browser an overall snappier feel. IMO, this is more like what FF4 'should have been'. I like that they took a hint from Chrome and now when you close a tab on a full tab bar, the remaining tabs defer resizing until the mouse leaves the tab bar - makes it easier to rapidly close several tabs that are next to each other.

Ya but it still takes 500MB of ramm to open 5 pages at once >>

723.6.2011 19:48

nonoitall

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I have 25 tabs open at the moment and FF is using ~460MB. Actually at this point, I think FF is one of the lighter browsers RAM-wise, when compared with other current browsers.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 23 Jun 2011 @ 7:49

824.6.2011 03:02

Elliott2010

Unverified new user

maybe maxthon and avant browser are more safer .i dont believe firefox any more.i saw a lots of news report firefoxs dangerous recently.frankly, i only want to protect my information. i think switching to other browser is my best choice.

924.6.2011 15:13

kopah

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Google toolbar is not compatible with ff5 which is a shame

1024.6.2011 20:15

LordRuss

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And neither is Russell's computer... $@&*%*... 1st in what appears to be several proposed random crashes to come. No updates, no new software, no new drives, just a random trip to the can and "hello, crash reporter".

There's one for FireFox 6.

1125.6.2011 16:08

aldan

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funny you should mention that russell.my computer acted like that with firefox 4 so i downgraded to 3.6.thought id give 5 a try and so far so good.

1225.6.2011 16:16

LordRuss

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I could be squalling just because I have an old computer running XP. Most of the software is plain geared up for Vista & 7. These problems don't seem to be prevalent on my 7 machine at all. Which I suppose I should have mentioned that in my last statement. Had I done this kind of omission in a documentary in the military I would have been executed, so I'll be a bit more cautious next time.

1325.6.2011 18:30

aldan

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hear ya.celeron d 2.8 ghz with 1 gig ram.win xp pro.the problems with ff 4 started right away and its been almost a week with 5 and no probs.

1425.6.2011 19:21

smiler123

Inactive

What ever happened to good old Netscape lol

1525.6.2011 19:29

ZippyDSM

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Originally posted by smiler123:
What ever happened to good old Netscape lol

AOL I believe.

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Mozilla Firefox 5 fixes bugs, meets rapid release schedule

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