14 DAY TRIAL // Firefox 3.6.4 Beta public downloads are now live for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X, a natural step in the evolution of the upcoming release of the open source browser. Version 3.6.4 of Firefox is breaking the mold of traditional security and stability updates for Mozilla’s browser. In this regard, 3.6.4 won’t be a minor update designed to resolve bugs and patch security vulnerabilities, but it will also introduce Out Of Process Plugin capabilities to Firefox 3.6. The new features will allow for popular browser extensions to run isolated from Firefox, and not impact the browsing experience.
“A beta of Firefox 3.6.4 is now available for download and public testing. This version of Firefox will offer uninterrupted browsing for Windows and Linux users when there is a crash in the Adobe Flash, Apple Quicktime, or Microsoft Silverlight plugins. If a crash in one of these plugins happens, Firefox will continue to run and users will be able to submit a crash report before reloading the page to try again,” Mike Beltzner, director of Firefox, revealed.
In all fairness, some early adopters got Firefox 3.5.4 Beta Build 1 as early as April 16th, 2010. At the start of this week, I provided links to the nightly builds for the Beta development milestone. However, Mozilla only deemed Firefox 3.6.4 Beta Build 1 ready for the public on April 20. Still, the download links continue to indicate that the nightly build is being served to testers via the public Beta downloads.
“We encourage users to test this Firefox 3.6.4 beta on their favorite websites, and give us feedback by submitting their crash reports. If users find websites that repeatedly cause plugin crashes, we ask that they file a bug or fill out this feedback form. As always, we appreciate the help we get from the community in evaluating these beta releases,” Beltzner added.
Firefox 3.6.4 has swallowed a previous testing release labeled codename Lorentz, which was basically Firefox 3.6.3 with OOPP. After merging v3.6.4 and Lorentz, Mozilla is now working to resolve eight blockers, severe bugs mostly in OOPP that could delay the official release of the next update to Firefox 3.6. “Users who had installed the Firefox ‘Lorentz’ beta release will be automatically updated to this beta release of Firefox 3.6.4, or can manually ‘Check for Updates’ in the Help menu,” Beltzner said.
Firefox 3.6.4 Beta is available for download here.
Firefox 3.6 Lorentz Beta (3.6.3 Plugin 1 / v3.6.4) for Windows is available for download here.
Firefox 3.7 Alpha 4 / Mozilla Developer Preview of Gecko 1.9.3 Alpha 4 for Windows is available here.
Firefox 3.7 Alpha 4 / Mozilla Developer Preview of Gecko 1.9.3 Alpha 4 for Mac OS X is available here.
Firefox 3.7 Alpha 4 / Mozilla Developer Preview of Gecko 1.9.3 Alpha 4 for Linux is available here.
Firefox 3.6.3 for Windows is available for download here.
Firefox 3.6.3 for Mac OS X is available for download here.
Firefox 3.6.3 for Linux is available for download here.