Mozilla.org said:Firefox 4 Beta is based on the Gecko 2.0 Web platform. Please read below for more detailed information about what's new in this version of the beta release, as well as the known issues.
This Firefox 4 Beta is considered to be stable and safe to use for daily web browsing, though the features and content may change before the final product release. At this time many Add-ons may not yet have been tested by their authors to ensure that they are compatible with this release. If you wish to help test Add-on compatibility, please install the Add-on Compatibility Reporter - your favorite Add-on author will appreciate it!
Check out what’s new, the known issues and frequently asked questions about the latest version of Firefox. Please tell us what you think using the feedback tools provided as part of the beta. We appreciate your input!
Computerworld said:Mozilla on Wednesday announced it would ship the final version of Firefox 4 on March 22.
The upgrade will be available for downloading at approximately 7:00 a.m. PT next Tuesday.
Having already went through the Aurora stage, Mozilla's next Firefox release, version 5.0, has went into public beta and is now available for download from virtually anyone running a Windows, Mac OS or Linux system.
The Firefox 5.0 beta comes with multiple fixes as well as goodies like:
- support for CSS animations
- support for switching Firefox development channels
- moved Do-Not-Track header preference (for easier discovery)
- improved canvas, JavaScript, memory, and networking performance
- improved standards support for HTML5, XHR, MathML, SMIL, and canvas
- improved spell checking for some locales
- improved desktop environment integration for Linux users
It comes as a surprise that Firefox 5.0 has undergone faster development unlike the former Firefox 4 build that gone through 12 Beta and 2 RC builds prior to release of its final version. After releasing 7 Betas of Firefox 5, Mozilla has now released the final build of Firefox 5.0 (available for download via Link Removed) and the official release of browser is expected on June 21. Firefox 5 Final can be downloaded for Windows, Mac and Linux in various languages. Try out this latest build if you can’t hold yourself!
The changelog for Firefox 6.0 includes the following:
- The address bar now highlights the domain of the website you're visiting
- Streamlined the look of the site identity block
- Added support for the latest draft version of WebSockets with a prefixed API
- Added support for EventSource / server-sent events
- Added support for window.matchMedia
- Added Scratchpad, an interactive JavaScript prototyping environment
- Added a new Web Developer menu item and moved development-related items into it
- Improved usability of the Web Console
- Improved the discoverability of Firefox Sync
- Reduced browser startup time when using Panorama
Firefox 6.0 beta is available herefor Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
The Aurora channel for Mozilla's Firefox browser is now hosting a new version which is ready for testing, a Firefox 7.0 build that's supposed to offer lower startup times, reduced memory usage, improved syncing (bookmarks and passwords sync instantly) and better font rendering.
The Firefox 7.0 Aurora release also includes new web and server technology and tools that 'allow developers to build performance tests directly into the browser'. Of course most users were probably just happy to hear (well, read) reduced memory usage.
To get the new Firefox Aurora build, for PC, Mac OS or Linux, just see this page