05/11/2010
compatibility, a remote
work is being done on
speeding up graphics
display using hardware
acceleration (a big push for
IE9) using WebGL.
Developers get some new
tools, as well: Firebug
compatibility, a remote
JavaScript debugger, web
console, web inspector, a
new profile manager, and
possibly a timer API and
memory diagnostic tools.
The presentation
emphasized that plans might
change, so we shouldn't
take any of this as written in
stone. For a complete look
at the plan, you can view
the video presentation and
its accompanying slideshow
on Beltzner's blog. You can
also leave feedback on the
project by leaving a
comment in his Firefox 4
Rypple account.
open tabs to a server and all
the address bar.
Syncing, better privacy
controls that allow users to
easily decide what they
want to share with sites, and
geolocation features are
also on the table for Firefox
4. Like Opera's Link and
Google's Sync, Mozilla's
Weave Sync lets you
synchronize bookmarks,
history, saved passwords,
open tabs to a server and all
your devices. The new
JetPack plugin system and a
new extension manager will
limit extensions' ability to
affect the entire browser and
make programming
compatibly easier. Better on-
page search with
highlighting is also in
development.
Under the covers, some
new capabilities for
developers to take
advantage of will appear in
the next Firefox. Support for
64-bit platforms will bring
Firefox in line with Internet
Explorer and Safari. And
video settling on H.264. If
vulnerability to patent claims.
While a truly free and open
video format would be ideal,
the backing by the three
software powerhouses
Apple, Google, and
Microsoft point to HTML 5
video settling on H.264. If
that's the case, Firefox will
be the only big browser
whose implementation won't
play most HTML 5 videos.
Beltzner's last point about
empowering the user has led
to some user interface
objectives. Tab treatment
figures heavily in this, with
"application tabs" similar to
those we saw in Chrome
OS, and tab "candy" among
the ideas. The actual design
prototype resembles Opera
10.5's look, with no toolbars
or menus cluttering the
browser window, and a very
top Firefox button that
resembles Opera's "O"
button. A "switch to Tabs"
feature, too, will help users
navigate more quickly by
dropping down other tabs in
video started by Apple has
"seem" faster. But this
means taking interface
elements away, which could
provoke a user backlash.
And speed hasn't been the
only setback for Firefox: the
recent fracas over web
video started by Apple has
also put Mozilla's browser in
a lonely position. Apple's
Steve Jobs denounced
Flash as the standard for
Web video, saying that
Apple products like the iPad
and iPhone would instead
favor HTML 5 video.
Though Firefox has been an
early supporter of HTML 5
video, too, it's gone with the
less-polished and less-
popular Ogg Theora format,
where Apple, Microsoft, and
Chrome have settled on
support for the licensed
H.264 video format, which
enjoys widespread use on
the Internet.
Mozilla considers Ogg
completely license-free,
though there have been
doubts raised about its
There's hard work to be
questioned about this
increasing pressure from
competitors, Beltzer
unambiguously stated, "We
are in it to win it." But he
went on, "It's no longer the
case where it's all easy wins.
There's hard work to be
done here."
Improving Firefox's speed
was foremost among
Beltzner's goals. The fact
that Chrome, Opera, Safari,
and Internet Explorer 9
Platform Preview score
higher than Firefox on the
widely used SunSpider
JavaScript Benchmark has
to be a motivator for this
objective. The browser's
next JavaScript engine,
dubbed JagerMonkey, is the
first line of attack on this
front. Firefox has also long
trailed these competitors in
the time it takes to open the
browser app. Beltzner noted
that not only does he want
Firefox to run faster, but that
the interface should be
simplified so that it would
3.7 would be ditched in
enabling new open,
standard Web technologies
(HTML5 and beyond); and
empowering, putting users in
full control of their browser,
data, and Web experience.
Beltzner noted that Firefox
3.7 would be ditched in
favor of an update to 3.6,
called 3.6.4. Both use plug-
ins to run in separate
processes (called "Lorentz")
for improved stability and
security. He said
unequivocally that the target
was to ship version 4 by the
end of the year. A beta is
planned to hit by the end of
June, and the final release
should ship sometime from
next October to November.
Since the arrival of Chrome
just over a year ago,
Firefox's market share has
stalled at just under 25
percent, and this has to
concern Mozilla, whose
browser had enjoyed
seemingly unbridled growth
over most of its five years of
existence. But when
plans for the near future.
In an attempt to spark some
momentum for Mozilla's
open-source Web browser,
Firefox team leader Mike
Beltzner delivered a Web
video presentation Monday
night outlining the product's
plans for the near future.
Beltzner outlined goals and
dates for changes to
Firefox's internals and user
interface, with the caveat
that they were subject to
change. Firefox growth has
recently stalled in the face of
competition from Google's
Chrome, and enthusiasm
has been growing around
other recent efforts such as
Microsoft's Internet Explorer
9 Platform Preview and
Norway's Opera 10.5. Apple,
too, has made waves lately
with its Safari browser, a
version of which is included
in its hot CE devices, the
iPhone and iPad.
Beltzner listed the three main
goals of the plan, to make
Firefox: fast, as in super-
duper fast; powerful,