Firefox 5 arrives as Mozilla switches to rapid releases to match Google Chrome
Firefox 5 is now available to download, just a few months after Firefox 4 made its debut. This signals Mozilla’s switch to a rapid release development cycle which will mean new updates for Firefox being unveiled very regularly.
Firefox users ca now update their browsers to Firefox 5. Just don’t expect a vast difference between it and Firefox 4. The big Firefox releases have, until now, come a year or two apart, and signaled a huge change, in visual appearance as well as features. But Mozilla has now put Firefox on a rapid release development cycle which means the full number releases will be months rather than years apart.
This change is as a direct result of Google Chrome and its own rapid release development cycle. Even Microsoft is ramping up development, promising to release new versions of Internet Explorer more often. In essence, Google has forced its rivals hands by gaining a foothold in a competitive market.
Having used Firefox 5 for the last few hours I have to say I haven’t noticed any discernible differences between it and its predecessor. There is actually a lot of new stuff happening under the hood, with Mozilla claiming Firefox 5 having “more than 1,000 improvements and performance enhancements.” But most normal Web users won’t ever notice the vast majority of them.
For those who do notice this kind of thing, some of the changes Firefox 5 brings with it (via CNET) are: Support for CSS animations, a new add-on SDK allowing programmers to build extensions much more easily, and Do Not Track working on Android devices. Some people are reporting Firefox 5 as being slightly (bit noticeably) faster navigating the Web as well.
One thing this change of release policy has done is remove that big fanfare Mozilla always used to give to a new version. I can’t help thinking that helped persuade people to switch over to Firefox in order to be involved. And that could backfire on Mozilla pretty badly.
Related Posts:
June 22nd, 2011
A mozilla.dev.planning mailing list indicates that that
Mozilla views Firefox as “end of life” for security
patches. The last update to Firefox 4 was 4.0.1 on April
28, which fixed eight vulnerabilities.
Chrome has solved the problem of lagging security updates
by having the browser automatically update, which means
users almost always run the latest and most secure
version. Unfortunately, Mozilla does not have automatic
updating in place. Instead, a pop-up window shows up on
screen to let the user know about the latest major update.
http://venturebeat.com/2011/06/22/mozilla-kills-security-
updates-for-firefox-4/
June 23rd, 2011
As a Firefox user I find this rapid redevelopment cycle a pain in the a**. Every time a new version comes out, it breaks some of my must-have add-ons or extensions, and then it takes weeks or months before they are redeveloped. I can see the add-on developers just giving up in frustration, and when that happens I abandon firefox altogether.
September 2nd, 2011
What i do not realize is in truth how you are no longer really much more well-preferred than you might be right now. You’re so intelligent. You realize therefore considerably when it comes to this topic, produced me individually imagine it from numerous varied angles. Its like women and men don’t seem to be involved except it?s one thing to do with Lady gaga! Your personal stuffs nice. All the time deal with it up!
November 13th, 2011
Real in awe of the small print an individual offered, could be dorsum soon sure as shooting. Alongside this said your cousin-german virtually your blog, many thanks