Developers over at Mozilla have given the go ahead for the next version of Firefox to become available on the 31st. A meeting at Mozilla has revealed via some notes of the upgrade date, and according to Computerworld follows the six week schedule that the company began last year.

The latest version will include one of the first parts of the Firefox silent update mechanism, where the software automatically disables incompatible add-ons, and will mark others as compatible. Mozilla has said that add-ons that work with Firefox 4 and later will be marked as compatible.

There have been many complaints of add-ons not working since Mozilla started the faster release program, and developers have been slow in reworking their code or marking their extensions as suitable for the latest browser.

Last March Mozilla started to automatically mark add-ons as compatible when Firefox 4 was released, but this was limited to extensions provided via its own website. The new feature will now do this for add-ons from other sources, which according to Mozilla accounts for 75% of all extensions.

Mozilla is looking to offer silent upgrades so Firefox can upgrade in the background without the user needing to do anything. More parts of the service will become available in future versions of the software. The silent update is expected to be complete by the launch of Firefox 13 that is due on June 5th.

Tomorrow will also see the 3.6.26 security update for the aging browser, which will be followed by two more before being retired in late April. While Google Chrome has been gaining the most users in recent times, there are still many who use Firefox. Do you still use Mozilla Firefox?

More About: FireFox 10, Mozilla

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According to Mozilla’s official press release Firefox 7 manages memory much more efficiently than before, this will obviously improve overall performance – but it will be very noticeable for people out there whose computer is lacking in terms of RAM. But that’s not all, we are also told that clicking on menu items, opening new tabs and general navigation should be faster than before.

If you take your web browsing a little more seriously or you are a developer there are some noticeable changes ‘under the hood’, we are told that HTML5 games and animation should load faster thanks to hardware-accelerated Canvas speeds, also Firefox 7 supports W3C navigation timing spec API – this is a valuable tool for developers who want to ensure page load times are acceptable across different connection speeds. Finally we must mention Telemetry, this sounds complicated, but it is pretty simple – to cut a long story short it allows users to anonymously send browser data to Mozilla’s team to help with future development, don’t worry, it’s secure.

For those of you already running Firefox you will probably get a notification telling you that the update is available for install, if not open up Firefox, go to ‘Help’ and then ‘About Firefox’ – as long as you are running a pretty recent release Firefox should tell you that Firefox 7 is available, follow the on-screen instructions and soon you will be running Mozilla’s latest stable Firefox build.

As you can see Mozilla’s devs seem to believe that in terms of design Firefox is fine, however now they want to concentrate on refining their web browser’s performance and make it more appealing to web developers – we can’t help but think this is because of the strong competition which Google Chrome brings to the table.

Have you installed Firefox 7? If so, have you experienced any annoying issues since updating?

More About: firefox, Mozilla, Mozilla Firefox, Web browsers

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Firstly here are the all important download links for the English US versions of Firefox 6 (click on your OS version to download the applicable release – Windows – Mac – Linux. If you would like alternative language versions check out this link. For me on both Windows 7 download and Ubuntu installation was painless, however don’t be too surprised if some of you experience some niggling issues.

When we first ran Firefox 6 on Windows 7 we were prompted with a screen telling me that 7 of my add-ons were incompatible and then we were also told that Flash player needed updating, the incompatible add-ons will probably be updated soon, however in terms of Flash, installation was simple via the links Mozilla provide you with.

Mozilla claim that this new version of Firefox is faster, prettier and “more awesome” than previous release, you can find out reasons why over at InformationWeek, not only this but it also patches 10 dangerous security holes which you can read all about over at ZDNet – below we have added the official changelog according to Mozilla:

The address bar now highlights the domain of the website the user is visiting; streamlined the look of the site identity block; added support for the latest draft version of WebSockets with a prefixed API; added support for EventSource / server-sent events; added support for window.matchMedia; added Scratchpad, an interactive JavaScript; prototyping environment; added a new Web Developer menu item and moved development-related items into it; improved usability of the Web Console; improved the discoverability of Firefox Sync; reduced browser startup time when using Panorama; fixed several stability issues; fixed several security issues.

We used Firefox 6 for approximately 10 minutes prior to posting this article and ignoring the incompatible add-ons there were no problems to report, in terms of performance sites loads quickly and all content showed up clearly, however we have to confess that we are struggling to really notice any major changes worth getting excited about.

Please let us know if you experience any problems in the comments section below, we will do our best to point you in the direction of fixes and we are sure how thousands of readers will do to.

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It is an honorable thing that Mozilla is trying to do, but have they thought it through. The company known for its Firefox web browser has seen the struggles that both Windows mobile browser and Symbian has faced, so why would they want to try and compete in a market that is being dominated by Android and iOS? Not only that, but they will also need to persuade the likes of Samsung, Motorola, HTC and others to support B2G. They have some tough hardware choices ahead, so we could see this idea fall at the first hurdle?

Ars Technica has learned that Mozilla will use some code from Android to create B2B, but it is only being used to get the project up and running. Mozilla will then work on their custom UI and will use Gecko to start programming. This new OS is expected to be open source like Android, although they will allow outside contributions, which should make B2G a very interesting OS.

There are so many things that could go wrong for Mozilla on this one, we have already discussed the issues with competing in a tough market, as well as those tough hardware choices, but it is also the notion of open source as well. We say this because we have seen the kind of apps that get developed through this system – something that you do not get with iOS.

We know that Apple is like big brother watching, but at least it helps with quality control and to keep things legal. Mozilla needs to try and keep a little control, unlike Android, as they allow apps onto the Android Market that allow you to download music for free – now that is just not right.

We have heard from many readers that say that why is there so much competition on the OS market, as there is nothing to gain from it. Well that would be wrong, because it is all about brand power. Google took Android, made it available on more handsets than iOS and BlackBerry OS and the rest as they say is history.

More About: Android, B2G, iOS, Mozilla

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The powers that be at Google have been doing their own research, and have found that exponential growth in the browser industry has made it unnecessary for them to carry on support for the Firefox 5 version of their very own branded toolbar.

Browsers these days are powerful enough without the need for clutter such as a toolbar, and if you use Google Chrome or many of the latest browsers these days, you will know what we mean. Browsers are clean, easy to use, navigate and search without the need to have a toolbar now, and most of what toolbars can do can be acquired via other means of browser-addons and widgets.

However, if you are still using an older version of Firefox, support will still continue for versions prior to version 5. More good news that we have also found out is that a few clever internet moguls have worked out how you can bypass the Firefox 5 rejection. To find out, check out this page here. Obviously this is not supported by Google or Firefox, so anything you do is at your own risk.

For the rest of you, who think it is time to move on away from the clutter of the Google Toolbar you can uninstall it in 3 easy steps. When Firefox is running click the little arrow next to the spanner icon. Then select Uninstall from the drop down menu. Thirdly, click the Uninstall button. Alternatively, you can go to the Control Panel by clicking the Windows Start button, going to Add or Remove Programs (Classic View), and then highlighting Google Toolbar for Firefox and finally clicking Uninstall.

So does this start the ball rolling for more and more toolbars to be removed from existence? As we stated, the need for toolbars has become defunct in the new age of internet browsing, and all they seem to do is cause clutter and take up unwanted space.

Do you use Google Toolbar, or any other toolbar for that matter? What are your thoughts on browser toolbars?

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So what are these features we here you ask? We have not had a chance to try all the new features, but one of the main issues is with the Touchpad. Earlier this morning we discussed how to could turn off Inverted Scrolling, but you will see a few other features in there. At first when we tried them all, we assumed that there was an issue with the install but these features do not work on my MacBook Air or iMac.

The first feature that we are unable to see working correctly is Look up, now this works fine in Safari, but will not work when you are using Firefox. Three zoom in or out is another that will not work for us; again we tried this in Safari and it worked fine but not with Mozilla’s OS.

With Three finger drag you are meant to be able to place three fingers on your Trackpad and then drag a program around on your desktop to place it where you want; this feature will not work at all. Also with rotate, you should be able to rotate an image slowly by placing two fingers on the Trackpad and moving them in a circular motion; instead it just moves round at 90 degrees at a time.

These are currently the only features that we have not seen in action, and it is a shame, as these will be ones that most of us will use on a daily basis. It is not all bad though, as Apple has included a number of new multitouch gestures within Mac OS X Lion, and we have to say that we are very impressed so far.

We are not the only ones having an issue with this, as you can see on Apple Discussions that a few other Lion users are experiencing the same issues. There are some gestures that are set to a different amount of fingers to what is shown on the video when you hover over each gesture, but they do not apply to those missing above.

Update: Something strange is happening, as one or two features have now decided to work.

More About: apple, firefox, Mac OS X Lion, Mozilla

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We know that Firefox has never worked its best with Mac OS X, so we can only hope that this issue has now been solved. Having tried both Safari and Firefox, the former has the edge in performance, but much prefer the features on the latter. Having said that, I could go on for hours about the pros and cons of both products.

Anyway, back to the subject of the update, GMA News reports that last week Mozilla had learned of a bug that would cause the browser to crash in Lion, as well as a Java plugin issue with 10.6 update 5. Thankfully both issues have now been resolved. Could you imagine the pain that Firefox users would have endured, having spent hours getting their system ready (with these five easy steps) only to find that it would crash in Firefox?

Firefox 5.0.1 will be an out of cycle update, but is considered one of the most important, because if Mozilla had not launched it before the Lion release this would have been considered unwise, as it would have angered a number of its users.

Users of the current version of Mac OS X do not need to worry, as this is a non-issue for them. We also need to point out that this Firefox update does not affect any other OS. As for the next official Firefox update, version 6 is due on August 16 – 17, 2011.

Mac OS X Lion will offer a couple of firsts for Apple; the first is that the update will be made available for download via the Mac App Store. The second is its price, the upgrade will cost just $29.99 – how many new operating systems do you know that costs as little as that? This will be a huge test for the company; so will be interesting to see how many people take Apple up on this inviting offer.

More About: apple, Firefox 5, Mac OS X, Mozilla

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Over the past few weeks we have noticed that Firefox 4 was becoming too demanding, and would take up more of its fair share of system resources. This has been an issue with me, as I currently have a 2009 MacBook Air with just 2GB or RAM. The fan on the MBA would run for long periods of time, but after installing Firefox 5 and updating to the latest Flash Player all is quiet.

However, we have no doubt that the fan will fire up again once we watch a video or two. Then again, I am sure I can hold our a few more weeks, as the rumored new MacBook Air will be in my Apple basket before there is even time to write about it. Anyway back to this latest browser from Mozilla.

The first thing that we noticed when the download was complete was just how small it was compared to Firefox 4, but all we care about is how well it performs. The early signs are very promising, and currently is both fast and very solid. So why should you download this latest update instead of jumping ship and going over to the dark side?

One reason is what we just covered above, the fact that although it is a small download, it is a fast one as well. PC World tells us that there are over 1,000 improvements – not sure we want to dig around and list them all. All we know is that they all work together to give the user a more enjoyable experience.

More often than not these browsers seem to compromise over security when it comes to making things faster, but not Mozilla. Firefox 5 is more focused on security than any other version before it, which is thanks to the hard work supplied by you the user.

Although Firefox 5 is a vast improvement we cannot help but think that Mozilla has not gone far enough. OK, we know that we cannot have everything at once, but with Google Chrome breathing down their necks Mozilla had better hope that Firefox 6 has even more to offer.

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You can see Mozilla’s list of top 10 slow performing add-ons here, the chart looks at how add-ons affect Firefox start-up times, the results are pretty staggering.

If you install the FoxLingo add-on Mozilla Firefox will take 74% longer to start-up, having Firebug installed will take 74% longer whilst the AniWeather add on makes start 54% longer.

Here are the other add-ons which cause slow start-up: FlashGot (50%), FoxClocks (46%), FoxyTunes (44%), Video DownloadHelper (33%), FastestFox ( 33%), Xmarks Sync (30%) and SimilarWeb (23%).

Obviously having one of these add-ons installed will seriously affect Firefox’s start-up time, however imagine if you have FoxLingo, Firebug and AniWeather installed! We recommend that the you check which add-ons you have installed and uninstall any which are unnecessary.

Hopefully Mozilla publishing this list of add-ons will result in developers improving their apps, this way Firefox users will get a faster web browsing experience, which is what we all want isn’t it?

Have you removed any add-ons as a result of this article? Let us know if you have noticed any speed improvements in the comments section below.

More About: Mozilla, Mozilla Firefox

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To get the final version of Firefox 4, head to Mozilla’s FTP server here, as reported from TechRadar. Click on your platform of choice, either Mac, Linux or Windows, and then simply click the folder that is relevant to you, which is likely to be en-GB or en-US. Inside you’ll then find the .exe file you need if you’re on Windows, and that’s the final version.

This version is pretty much the same as the RC release that became available at the end of the week. Mozilla has obviously seen no major problems with the last version, and having previously released 10 betas for Firefox 4, the full version is finally available for public use.

So to those of you who have already downloaded Firefox 4, what are your thoughts on it? Is it the most impressive version of Firefox 4 to date, or are there some areas that you’re disappointed about? We haven’t heard of any major problems with the new version yet, but if you spot anything, you can come here to report any issues and see if other readers are having the same problems.

More About: Firefox 4, Mozilla

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