Memory Usage Is a Top Priority for Firefox in 2012, Along with Performance and Stability

2011 was a transition year for Mozilla, it moved from its tried and tested, but also slow, release cycle to a much faster one where a new Firefox comes out every six weeks. The move hasn't always been smooth, but Mozilla has worked out most of the kinks.

Now, that the wheels are in motion and Firefox adds more features, support for more web technologies and so on, Mozilla has made speed and stability a big priority.

Already, memory usage has been cut down several times, thanks to the efforts of the MemShrink project. But the team is not done yet, it's working on even more optimizations and even more fixes.

In 2012, even as more features are added, Firefox should become more frugal with each new release. Memory usage has always been a big concern, but it is now more so with the big move towards mobile devices, with considerably less memory than desktops or laptops.

If Mozilla wants a competing browser in the mobile space, and it does, then memory usage will have to be a top priority, and it is.

"In 2012, all browsers do more, stay open longer, and display more and richer content; but as the capabilities of the browsers increase so do the opportunities for the experience to become heavy or unstable," Mozilla wrote in its 2012 roadmap.

"Mozilla understands the value of a responsive user experience and a highly stable and performant platform for Web developers," it said.

"In 2012 strengthened and dedicated teams will wipe out any and all Firefox responsiveness issues users face and guarantee the rock solid stability at low memory costs that developers demand for their apps," it boasted.

Performance many times comes at the expense of stability, but Mozilla wants both. What's more, it wants them while also minimizing memory usage. It remains to be seen whether it will succeed, but the organization seems more determined than ever to get this right.