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

Send private message to this user

Member

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

223.6.2011 12:18

ZippyDSM

Send private message to this user

AfterDawn Addict

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

323.6.2011 13:25

LordRuss

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

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

Send private message to this user

Member

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

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

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

Send private message to this user

AfterDawn Addict

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

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

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

Send private message to this user

Newbie

Google toolbar is not compatible with ff5 which is a shame

1024.6.2011 20:15

LordRuss

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

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

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

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

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

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

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

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

Send private message to this user

AfterDawn Addict

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

AOL I believe.

Comments have been disabled for this article.

	VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads (16 Mar 2024 4:31) VLC Media Player, the versatile video-software powerhouse, has achieved a remarkable feat: it has been downloaded over 5 billion times. 1 user comment
	Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit (19 Dec 2023 11:09) Google settled its lawsuit in September 2023, and one of the settlement terms was that the way applications are installed on Android from outside the Google Play Store must become simpler. In the future, installing APK files will be easier. 8 user comments
	Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets (06 Jun 2023 9:19) Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
	Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations (02 May 2023 3:38) Neato Robotics has ceased its operations. American robot vacuum pioneer founded in 2005 has finally called it quits and company will cease its operations and sales. Only a skeleton crew will remain who will keep the servers running until 2028. 5 user comments
	How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp (20 Mar 2023 1:25) The world's most popular messaging platform, Meta-owned WhatsApp has enabled sending messages to yourself. While at first, this might seem like an odd feature, it can be very useful in a lot of situations. .... 18 user comments

	Guide: Is Your Wi-Fi Sluggish or Slow? Here's How to Fix Do you have problems with you Wi-Fi? Slow connection or is it cutting off constantly? This guide aims to remedy these problems. 1 user comment
	Windows 11: Check if TPM is enabled on your computer In this short guide we will look at how you can check the status of Trusted Platform Module (TPM) on your PC ahead of the coming launch of Windows 11.
	Guide: Phone battery drains quickly - how to fix (iPhone / Android) In this guide, we go through the most typical reasons for rapid battery drain with phones, and look at potential reasons or solutions.
	What IP rating for dust and water resistance means An IP classification (such as IP68) is given to mobile phones, Bluetooth speakers, and other devices, but what do these classifications mean? 1 user comment
	GUIDE: Wi-Fi speeds are slow? Here are some tips Having problems with Wi-Fi speed and stability at home? Here are some tips to follow to alleviate the issues. 1 user comment

Mozilla Firefox 5 fixes bugs, meets rapid release schedule

15 user comments

Latest news

Reviews

Guides

News archive

Subscribe

Sections:

Follow us:

	Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
	Review: Samsung Jet Bot 90 AI+ - a high-end robot vacuum cleaner Samsung's Jet Bot 90 AI+ is a top-class robot vacuum cleaner that can avoid obstacles and empty its own dust container. Here we review the product. 1 user comment
	Samsung Jet Bot 80+ review - excellent robot vacuum cleaner We review Samsung's Jet Bot 80+ robot vacuum cleaner over a period of three months. 1 user comment