14 DAY TRIAL // Just a few days after the global availability of Firefox 4.0, Mozilla is already offering early adopters a taste of the next version of its open source browser. And despite what has already been said, the successor of Firefox 4.0 is not Firefox 5.0. As I told you earlier this month, Mozilla will provide an interim iteration of Firefox, version 4.x.
And it now appears that it’s safe to switch that “x” with the number “2.”
Early adopters that know what testing a nightly build of Firefox implies can download a preview of the first post-4.0 version of the open source browser.
The first Alpha of Firefox 4.2 can be grabbed from the Firefox Nightly Builds page. Users are advised that these builds are designed for deployment in testing environments and not into production.
In this context, end users should stick with Firefox 4.0 Final, and not rush to run Firefox 4.2 as their daily browser just yet.
Preceding Firefox 4.2, there will also be a stability and security update to Firefox 4.0, presumably, 4.0.x.
When he confirmed the release of Firefox 4.x, Christian Legnitto, Firefox release manager made it clear that Mozilla was exploring a few options including releases codenamed Anteater and Macaw.
It now appears that only after it will deliver Firefox 4.0.x and Firefox 4.2, Mozilla will move forward and produce Firefox 5.0.
According to the open source browser vendor, Firefox 5.0 could be available as early as 16 weeks after Firefox 4.0, with Firefox 6.0 and every other release after that finalized in as little as six weeks apart.
At the time of this article Firefox 4.0 was closing in on the 18 million downloads mark, with the browser’s momentum showing no signs of slowing down, at least for now.
Firefox 4.0 Final for Windows is available for download here.
Firefox 4.0 Final for Linux is available for download here.
Firefox 4.0 Final for Mac is available for download here.