JavaScript is being used by an increasingly greater number of websites. Mozilla Firefox 18 is set to be a speedier platform for such sites. The Mozilla team is claiming that it is including a new JavaScript technology in its upcoming browser release which will help it load sites using JavaScript up to 26 percent faster.
The new technology that will be a part of Firefox 18 is IonMonkey which is a just-in-time (JIT) compiler. In the past, Firefox has made use of other compilers such as TraceMonkey and JagerMonkey but with this this new JIT compiler, Mozilla is taking a rather new approach. (more…)
Gmail users who envy Outlook’sSkyDrive integration will find that the proverbial grass is now a little greener on their side, thanks to fresh features in Attachments.me’s Chrome and Firefox browser extensions. With the plugin installed, files residing in Microsoft’s cloud service can be attached to emails from within Gmail. Also included in the update is support for user-created rules that can direct attachments to SkyDrive as they flood into inboxes. Can’t wait for Gmail to gain similar support with Google Drive, or just prefer Redmond’s storage solution? Hit the source link below to infuse Mountain View’s web mail with some of Microsoft’s storage locker mojo.
Mozilla has been seeding Firefox OS to eager developers for some time. However, we’ve largely been denied a peek at how the developer’s own take on a mobile app store will play out on an actual device. Some of that picture just filled out thanks to some images of the mobile Firefox Marketplace that have landed in Engadget’s hands. From what we’ve seen of the current store, it’s a significant break from the top-level storefront we saw back in the Boot to Gecko days, not to mention Mozilla Marketplace on the desktop. The deeper exploration shows a minimalist store that’s focused on quickly delving into individual categories rather than an abundance of highlighted apps. We’re not seeing any startling revelations — there’s only free apps visible in these early images, for example — but the gallery is proof that Mozilla is well on its way to fleshing out the core of its OS for a launch next year. Let’s just hope that the rest of the software moves at a similarly quick pace.
iOS users keen on Mozilla’s Firefox Home will have to find another browser syncing solution: the application has been retired. The app worked in conjunction with Firefox Sync, and was designed to give users access to their desktop history, open tabs and bookmarks on the go. Mozilla says the project “provided valuable insight and experience with the platform,” but ultimately decided its resources were better focused elsewhere. All isn’t lost, however — the company is making the source available on GitHub, encouraging users to tinker with the iOS Sync client Firefox Home was built on. Feel free to swim in the code yourself at the source link below.
Firefox 15 is barely fresh off the vine, and we’re already looking at a beta version 16 for both desktop platforms and Android. Mozilla’s test release builds in the first support for web apps that play nicely with the Mozilla Marketplace; as long as titles have a slight amount of extra formatting, they can slot into Firefox without hiccups. More treats exist if you’re running certain platforms: the Android crowd receives a Safari-style Reader Mode that strips out the fluff from pages, while Mac users see the once test-only VoiceOver support flipped on by default to improve accessibility. Even developers get a little something special through a quick-access toolbar and more readily accessible CSS4 scripting. If any of this sounds tempting, there’s a pair of source links waiting for your attention.
It’s not hard to see that offering high-quality games through the cloud has its pitfalls, not the least of which is getting customers to pay. Square Enix may have licked that last problem through its new Coreonline web gaming service. Players can still pony up for the full-priced games or even single levels if they want unfettered access, but the cleverness comes through Coreonline’s parking meter approach to ad-supported free play: the more ads you watch and the longer they run, the longer you’ll get to play without spending a single coin. As our colleagues at Joystiq found out, however, the current level of OS support is inconsistent. Windows gamers can use Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer to start playing, but their Mac-owning friends have to lean on Chrome for some games and can’t even consider running the marquee title, Hitman: Blood Money. Square Enix’s library of eligible games will start expanding in October; while there’s no guarantee the Final Fantasy series or many other dream games will make it to the roster, Coreonline’s approach might just be viable enough to spare us a few raids on the bargain bins.
Heads up Android users, it looks like not only did Firefox for the desktop get updated today, its Android counterpart got a pretty significant update as well. For those who prefer using Firefox on their Android devices over other browsers, such as Google Chrome, this is an update you’ll probably want to check out. In the latest update, Firefox for Android will be getting the “Awesome Screen”, improved HTML5 capabilities, and the ability to import settings and bookmarks from your desktop version of Firefox to your mobile device via the Firefox Sync feature. It has also been updated with added support for Android tablets, utilizing the screen space more efficiently and improved performance for a faster load time. If you have yet to update your Firefox for Android or would like to get your hands on it, head on over to Google Play for the download.
Mozilla might be scaling back its official support of Thunderbird, but it still has love left for those who yearn for more in their e-mail clients than OS developers can give. The newly-released Thunderbird 15 update’s most conspicuous change is a deliberate visual harmony with its Firefox cousin: the company wants its apps to have more in common than just a shared name on the About screen. Under the hood, there’s now a live chat feature to skip the wait for e-mail, a Do Not Track option for web searches and the choice of using Ubuntu One cloud storage for large attachments. It’s hard to know if future Thunderbird releases will be as substantial once the community takes the reins. For now, though, Thunderbird aficionados can relax.
Mozilla’s newest duo of updates is coming on today in the form of updates for both their desktop web browser and Android web browser interfaces – complete with a browser-based game to make it all worthwhile! With the desktop version update you’ll be getting reduced memory usage for browsing with add-ons as well as lovely new tidbits like a new JavaScript Debugger. The Android version of Firefox brings a plethora of requested updates such as Flash for Honeycomb devices, a personalized start page, and – you guessed it – support for tablet-sized devices as well!
This Firefox update for Android is available for download in the Google Play app store right this minute for essentially every Android device on the market. Firefox for Android has an update to its personalized start screen in that the “Awesome Screen” is now available as well – browsing history, passwords, bookmarks, and form data are all available to you right at the start. This update also allows you to import your personalizations from other devices and interfaces with a feature called Firefox Sync.
Mozilla’s update for the Android version of Firefox allows you to switch between mobile and desktop versions of webpages with a “request Desktop Site” button in your menu, and has a new set of stability improvements and feature updates that you might never have known existed – except for the fact that you’ll be browsing faster than ever before after update. There’s also a set of new HTML5 capabilities for developers, this includes JavaScript, CSS, and other open Web standards as well.
What’s perhaps the most exciting element in this whole set of announcements is a new game called BrowserQuest. This game is a cross-platform Firefox-based massively multiplayer adventure that you’ll be able to play on your desktop and with your Android device. Just create a character and begin your quest! Mozilla has created this game to let you see in a rather recognizable way how the web can be a fantastic place to play games!
Then there’s Firefox Desktop – an upgrade here will allow you to work with a collection of new developer features such as JavaScript Debugger (built-in to the browser) for getting in on the Web application code of your choice – learn and grow! Debuggers will also be able to use this tool to remotely debug apps running on Firefox for Android on a local network – neat stuff! This update also brings on support for compressed textures (for web based games) as well as a set of other new enhancements for gaming developers – check it out here:
Have you lost count on the version number of Firefox? Assuming you answered in the affirmative, here is a little reminder – Firefox 15 has just been released today, bringing along with it its fair share of features. For instance, background updates enables Firefox to download the update in the background itself, where you can follow up by applying it alongside the current installation, letting you maintain the updated version so that you can switch to it the next time that the browser is fired into action. The whole logic behind this is to do away with the update progress dialog which pops up whenever you kick start Firefox after it has downloaded an update.
For those of you who have already installed Firefox 15 on your respective machines, just how do you find the latest version of this popular web browser? Will it strengthen your loyalty to the Firefox brand, or has it made you look elsewhere for a potential new match up? Feel free to share your experience with Firefox 15 in the comments.
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Heads up Android users, it looks like not only did Firefox for the desktop get 
Have you lost count on the version number of Firefox? Assuming you answered in the affirmative, here is a little reminder – 