Tuesday, September 27th 2011

Firefox in Warp Zone, Updated to Version 7.0

A little over a month after releasing Firefox 6.0, and quickly following it up with two minor updates (6.0.1 and 6.0.2), Mozilla released its next "major" version, Firefox 7.0 into the release channel. It is now clear that Mozilla Firefox is playing catch-up with other popular web-browsers in some sort of a version number game. The three year old Google Chrome is already into version 14, with version 16 already in the dev channel.

While Firefox users will not be in for a different user interface (it's bad to drastically change it from time to time), Firefox 7 does seem to come with several under-the-hood changes. To begin with, the Windows version features a brand-new rendering back-end that speeds up Canvas, a tweaked Sync system that instantly syncs changes to bookmarks and saved passwords, support for text-overflow: ellipsis, compliance with the Web Timing specification, WebSocket protocol updated from version 7 to 8, and improved support for MathML. The only UI change is that the protocol of the page loaded is hidden. The full URL will be copied when you copy the address in the bar. Firefox 7 is launched for all platforms it's available in: Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android.
DOWNLOAD: Mozilla Firefox 7
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80 Comments on Firefox in Warp Zone, Updated to Version 7.0

#1
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
Posted on Reply
#2
TheGuruStud
Mozilla needs to fire all upper management. This is just dumb.
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#3
Ferrum Master
Gosh... do you know people how I like opera browser...

The only case for using FF for me is because of modify headers feature... Damn That Metal Show and VH-1 :shadedshu
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#4
MilkyWay
One thing dawned on me is that big revision changes are going to get mixed up in this number scheme with smaller revisions of Firefox which can be confusing.
Posted on Reply
#5
Kreij
Senior Monkey Moderator
Didn't Mozilla want to hide the version numbers from users not too long ago?
What happened to that?
Posted on Reply
#6
dir_d
who cares about version numbers, just keep making it better.
Posted on Reply
#7
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
dir_dwho cares about version numbers, just keep making it better.
You need to care, because each time there is a major version number change, several extensions and skins automatically break (become unusable, because they think they aren't designed for /can't run on the newer version of Firefox). And so you have to wait for each of the extensions and skins to get updates that will make it work on the "new" Firefox. It's not like the extensions/skins have updates the moment there's a "new" Firefox, sometimes it takes days/weeks. If you've gotten used to an extension, (like say, Sunbird) you're likely to miss it.
Posted on Reply
#8
_JP_
If the work-bar isn't back, I'm not updating to this version.
Posted on Reply
#9
n-ster
I think that to the general public, it gives a placebo effect that mozilla is working hard on FF and it is becoming godly. Once FF finishes with the catch-up, everyone will be happy
Posted on Reply
#10
Derek12
I still don't understand the actual trend to increase version numbers every so often without adding major features from Chrome or Firefox. I am using Chrome 16 and Firefox 9 both alpha or Beta and don't notice many features comparing to their stable versions. I would prefer to use the old versioning scheme.
And also I don't understand why now those browsers have two or more beta or dev versions with different version numbers...
Posted on Reply
#11
Easy Rhino
Linux Advocate
so they are not following the apache development guide?
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#12
TIGR
Where's the "I don't care" option? I'd like to think most of us have better things to do than get twisted knickers over version numbers.

We can survive waiting a while for extensions to be updated for new versions if need be.
Posted on Reply
#13
NC37
They do still update older versions. I've been slow on keeping pace with them and suddenly found updates still being churned out for the old stuff.
Posted on Reply
#14
dir_d
btarunrYou need to care, because each time there is a major version number change, several extensions and skins automatically break (become unusable, because they think they aren't designed for /can't run on the newer version of Firefox). And so you have to wait for each of the extensions and skins to get updates that will make it work on the "new" Firefox. It's not like the extensions/skins have updates the moment there's a "new" Firefox, sometimes it takes days/weeks. If you've gotten used to an extension, (like say, Sunbird) you're likely to miss it.
i dont use much, adblock plus is all. Even if that didnt work for a week i can manage. I just want them to keep rolling along with the updates making the browser faster, use less memory and be more secure.
Posted on Reply
#15
[H]@RD5TUFF
So since version 6 had no noticeable improvements I assume this is the same.:shadedshu

Just upgraded all the same, all my add-ons still work.
Posted on Reply
#16
bear jesus
I just hope version 7 works properly for me, when it hit version 6 Firefox started running like a pos, constantly freezing after periods of no more than 10 min and everything i tried to fix it failed.

For now i have had to start using chrome to watch videos that are longer than Firefox will run for but if version 7 of Firefox does not work for me i'm going to have to give up on Firefox and find another browser which has good enough ad blocking extensions as that is the one thing truly keeping me on Firefox.
Posted on Reply
#17
WarraWarra
TheGuruStudMozilla needs to fire all upper management. This is just dumb.
@TGS +10milj point for you.

Total waste of time for firefox to do anything to numbers above Firefox 4 as even 4 is useless garbage, ugly and not user friendly.
Firefox will be the cause for me to download and start using IE9 if they stop supporting the only decent 3.6.22 version they still have. :banghead:

Any idea if they fixed the wrong place right click then select open in new tab that got mixed up with open new window bug ?
If they did or not there is more chance of me ridding purple elephants on the moon while smoking 100kg pot in 10 sec.s and breathing the fresh air on the moon without protective gear than using anything firefox above version 3.6.2* :nutkick:

+ They still did not add the SSL hacked TLS1.1/1.2 fix from 2006 that is needed in this version but they add garbage changes. :banghead:

There is just no end to the Firefox Stupidity & incompetence. :mad: :banghead:
Man I wish Firefox would lay of the crystal meth they use everyday, no wonder they have no teeth left.
Posted on Reply
#18
v12dock
Block Caption of Rainey Street
Eh, im always down for more updates
Posted on Reply
#19
RejZoR
Version 7 is not bad, but i still get retarded choppy scrolling and lagging of the entire brwser and Windows GUI on my main system. If i restart the browser, all is well again. It has been like this since FF 4.0. I have no clue what the hell they are doing.
Posted on Reply
#20
semantics
rejzor turn off smooth scrolling?

Don't care for the epeen numbers from FF but w.e updates are updates. Just tell them once they hit 20 this is gonna sound stupid

FireFox 23 just makes it sound old and broken not up to date.
Posted on Reply
#21
Wile E
Power User
RejZoRVersion 7 is not bad, but i still get retarded choppy scrolling and lagging of the entire brwser and Windows GUI on my main system. If i restart the browser, all is well again. It has been like this since FF 4.0. I have no clue what the hell they are doing.
Mine does that on occasion too. And if I keep letting it go when it happens, it eventually locks my system. I even went to stock settings, ran memtest, and a bunch of stability tests thinking something in my system degraded. Nope. Only happens with Firefox, and at any settings.

Thankfully it's not too often.

As for this whole version number thing. This is stupid. This breaks extensions for no good reason. I ended up having to mod all of my extensions to shut FF up about them every time it wants to update it's major version number on a whim.
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#22
syeef
Just updated. But both Firefox 6 and 7 has GUI bugs on Win 8 dev preview.
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#23
ViperXTR
devs must be high in neutrinos, coding faster than the speed of light D:
Posted on Reply
#24
Easy Rhino
Linux Advocate
TIGRWhere's the "I don't care" option? I'd like to think most of us have better things to do than get twisted knickers over version numbers.

We can survive waiting a while for extensions to be updated for new versions if need be.
no, you need to care about everything all the time! let the tech nerd rage flow through you!!
Posted on Reply
#25
m4gicfour
Soon, young padawan, your conversion to the dark side of the code will be complete. Increase your version numbers, embrace the cheap marketing tricks, unlimited POWERRRRR! You will not learn of these things from a Jedi.
Posted on Reply
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