Seven Good Reasons to Upgrade to Firefox 7

Six weeks to the day afterwards the official release of Firefox 6, Mozilla on Tues rolled out Firefox 7, the next version of its popular Web browser for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android users.

The untried expiration comes every bit part of the rapid release agenda Mozilla enforced for Firefox earlier this class, away which users are offered upgrades every sixer weeks.

Business users WHO neediness to a lesser extent-frequent updates will soon have a slower alternative schedule, as I noted last week. The initiative such enterprise-focused Extended Support Release (ESR) translation of desktop Firefox is expected to be based on Firefox 8 or 9 afterwards this year.

Meanwhile, on that point are quite a little of reasons to make the switch to this newest interlingual rendition, which is now available as a free download. Many of them, in point of fact, reduce to unity key affair: faster speed.

1. Remembering Management

Ever since Firefox 7 entered the Aurora duct backwards in July, its primary focus has been speedier execution and better use of memory, and that emphasis is apparent in the computer software released today.

Firefox 7 manages memory to a greater extent efficiently than its predecessors did, Mozilla says, for a speedier Web browsing experience. "Users testament notice Firefox is faster at chess opening inexperienced tabs, clicking on menu items and buttons on websites," the arrangement says. "Heavy Internet users will savour enhanced performance when lots of tabs are open and during farseeing Entanglement browsing sessions that last hours or even out days."

A new Mozilla Hacks blog entry posted today offers several key prosody demonstrating Firefox's new nimbleness. 2. More Speed

New tools included in Firefox 7, meanwhile, are fashioned to go far easier for developers to habitus speedy Web experiences for users. A new variation of ironware-accelerated Canvas, e.g., speeds prepared HTML5 animations and games in the browser, allowing developers to build more compelling and interactive World Wide Web experiences.

Firefox now likewise supports the W3C pilotage timing spec API sol developers can measure page load time and internet site navigation against bandwidth rush along, website traffic and different factors. This API allows developers to run user experiences remotely and easy so they can quickly optimize websites and Vane apps for different types of users. 3. A New Performance Tool

Focal point on future speeds, Firefox 7's new Telemetry tool collects performance feedback so as to help Mozilla make future Firefox releases even faster.

"Firefox 7 marks a turning point in how we measure Firefox performance," reads a Mozilla Hacks blog post from this morning along the subject. "Traditionally we measured Firefox performance on individual developer machines and our build & unblock substructure. However information technology turns out synthetic benchmarks do not correspond to real-global Firefox utilisation: it is difficult to model a 'true' computer in a lab environment."

Exceptionally slow consumer ironware, changes in utilization patterns and preinstalled "bloatware" can complete affect Firefox performance in unexpected ways, the post notes.

The browser's fresh Telemetry tool will incit users to opt into reporting performance data to Mozilla. "This data will supplement our existing benchmarking infrastructure to help us optimise future Firefox releases," the Post explains.

Telemetry performance metrics are real lightweight, however, and will not negatively impact Firefox performance, Mozilla says.

4. ADD-On Compatibility

When Firefox 6 launched, 97 percent of add-ons compatible with Firefox 5 were all the same harmonious with version 6, according to Mozilla add-ons product manager Justin Scott, World Health Organization wrote a blog post yesterday on the topic.

Not only if that, but "we're connected track to plunge Firefox 7 tomorrow with 99 per centum compatibility from 6," Scott added. With Firefox 8, which will reach beta later this workweek, compatibility issues should improve even more, he wrote.

Add-on users can also install Firefox's Add-On Compatibility Newsperson to flagstone any problems with the software they function.

5. A Cross-Platform Approach

By supporting tools like WebSockets crossways background and mobile platforms, Firefox lets developers create faster, ordered Web applications for usage along mechanized phones, tablets and computers. Firefox also instantly supports the W3C navigation timing spec API across screen background and mobile platforms, so developers can optimise websites and Web apps for different types of devices, platforms and networks. A number of features in Firefox for Android, meanwhile, are designed to make it faster to browse the mobile Entanglement, much as the ability to simulate any website text and paste IT into emails, site forms and SMS messages.

6. Free, as in Beer

Firefox is free in to a greater extent ways than one. First-class honours degree and foremost is that information technology costs you nothing to install, enjoyment operating theater upgrade–a victorious characteristic by most accounts, though certainly not Firefox's only when one.

7. Free, arsenic in Exemption

Perhaps even more important, though, is that Firefox is acceptive source computer software and so it doesn't restrict your employment of the browser in some way. In that respect's no vendor lock-in, and it's eminently flexible and customizable to your needs.

Also significant is that Mozilla is what it calls a public profit arrangement, active non to make money but to make the Web better for everyone.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/476889/seven_good_reasons_to_upgrade_to_firefox_7.html

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