Download Firefox 3.6.4 Beta Build 6, Final Release on June 1

A new development milestone of Firefox 3.6.4 is now available for download, as Mozilla is gearing up to release the third update to the latest iteration of its open source browser. Early adopters can now download Firefox 3.6.4 Beta Build 6, a release that is extremely close to the final version of the 3.6.4 refresh. If nothing else, testers get some new code to play with while they’re waiting for the final release of Firefox 3.6.4 and Firefox 3.5.10. According to Mozilla, both Firefox 3.6.4 and Firefox 3.5.10 are scheduled for launch on June 1st, 2010.

Mozilla delivered the previous refresh to Firefox 3.6, namely v3.6.3, at the start of April 2010. Since that point in time, the open source browser vendor has been hard at work hammering away at a number of blockers preventing the release of Firefox 3.6.4. The large number of bugs Mozilla had to deal with is related to the introduction of a new feature, Out of Process Plugins, initially planned for Firefox 3.7. With OOPP, Mozilla has effectively divorced plugins such as Adobe and Silverlight from Firefox.

“Firefox 3.6.4 provides uninterrupted browsing for Windows and Linux users when there is a crash in the Adobe Flash, Apple QuickTime or Microsoft Silverlight plugins. If a plugin crashes or freezes, it will not affect the rest of Firefox. You will be able to reload the page to restart the plugin and try again,” Mozilla informs.

Uninterrupted browsing actually translates into an increased stability, reliability and performance for Firefox 3.6.4 users. However, plugin behavior will no longer influence the overall experience of Firefox, following the introduction of OOPP. On May 25th, Mozilla revealed that it no longer had any blockers to deal with for Firefox 3.6.4. In this context, Firefox 3.6.4 Beta Build 6 is close to the final release of the third update for Firefox 3.6.

Firefox 3.6.4 Beta Build 6 is available for download here.