14 DAY TRIAL // The next update to Firefox 3.6 inches forward with Mozilla hammering away at the upcoming release, but with slow progress so far. In all fairness, Firefox 3.6.4 is a shift from the refreshes that are served to major versions of the open source browser. In this regard, unlike normal, minor updates focused on delivering stability improvements and security patches, version 3.6.4 is a Frankenstein build, having swallowed codename Lorentz and Firefox 3.7 in order to offer users Out of Process Plugins as soon as possible. At the end of the past week, Mozilla made available for download a new development milestone of Firefox 3.6.4, as it prepares to launch the fully fledged update.
“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,” an excerpt from the release notes accompanying v.3.6.4 Beta (Build 4) reads. “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.”
OOPP was the feature that justified Firefox 3.7 for Mozilla. In this sense, when the decision was made to offer OOPP to Firefox 3.6.x users, all plans for Firefox 3.7 were folded. Mozilla already confirmed officially that Firefox 4.0 would be the next major release of the open source browser, a milestone that is currently planned for launch by the end of 2010.
Early adopters are now free to grab the latest Beta of Firefox 3.6.4 and start testing the release. Users need to understand that Build 4 is a nightly release that comes with inherent issues, and should stick with Firefox 3.6.3 if they are not familiar with the risks implied by testing pre-release software. The past week, Mozilla was tracking no less than eight severe issues as blockers, namely bugs that prevented the wrapping up of version 3.6.4. The next minor update to Firefox 3.5, v3.5.10 is tied to 3.6.4 at this point in time, and, although it is finalized, plans are to have it released in tandem with the upcoming refresh for Firefox 3.6.
Firefox 3.6.4 Beta Build 4 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.