Firefox 10 Out Tomorrow, Readies for Silent Updates
Mozilla’s fast-release approach, which the company adopted last year to better compete with the likes of Google Chrome, dictates that every six weeks, they are to release the latest version of Firefox. And tomorrow, January 31st, Mozilla will be releasing Firefox 10.
According to a report from ComputerWorld, the new version will include one of the first components of Firefox’s planned silent update mechanism, which allows the browser to automatically disable incompatible add-ons, and marks all others as compatible.
Since Mozilla started with their fast-release approach, add-on developers have a hard time keeping up, failing to revamp their code or at least mark their extensions as suitable for the newest browser.
“Add-on compatibility has always been a huge barrier to releasing more often, so it was critical we have a plan that wouldn’t leave add-ons or users behind,” Justin Scott, who leads Mozilla’s add-on team, said in a September 2011 blog post. “For this new [rapid-release] system to work, we wanted a compatibility process that didn’t require developers to lift a finger unless their add-on was one of the few broken.”
Mozilla’s “silent update” approach will upgrade Firefox in the background without any user interaction, and they plan on pushing through with this until they release Firfox 13, due out on June 5.
Firefox 3.6.26 will also be released on Tuesday, after which, two more updates will be released for the 3.6 version then support for that will cease by late April.
Also, Firefox 10 is the first edition in the Extended Support Release (ESR) line that Mozilla has created for enterprises that cannot — or will not — upgrade every six weeks, it will be upgraded every 42 weeks.
As for other features, you’ll have to wait for the next version of Firefox to experience them. The much awaited New Tab Page and Home Tab are rumored to be included in Firefox 12, which moves to the Aurora channel when Firefox 10 launches tomorrow, had been delayed and will be making their debut on Firefox 13.
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