Hasta La Gadget!

As the beta for Firefox 15 hits the digital shelves, it’s time for the final release version of Firefox 14 to be brought to the masses with another completely free download. This web browser has been noted to be having a set of security upgrades along with a tie with Google for private web searching. Firefox 14 also implements a new system of site identification with different symbols appearing depending on what the site you’re browsing has in store for your web-browsing experience.

This update for Firefox brings a set of new icons that’ll have you quickly identifying the level of security, primarily, for each site you’re visiting. If you see a globe symbol, you’re at a site that’s not secured in the least. If you’re at a site with SSL encryption, you’ll see a padlock icon with ‘HTTPS’ scrolled across it. If you see a green lock with a name on it, on the other hand, you’ve got a site with an Extended Validation certificate. This means that the certificate authority has taken a much closer look at the provider of that site than your average site would.

Firefox 14 also brings on developer tools that includes Pointer Lock API support, Mac users will be glad to see full-screen mode for OS X Lion 10.7 and above, and again, all downloads remain free. You can download Firefox 14 in its final release version now, or you can head straight to Firefox 15 beta if you like as well – at your own risk, of course!

Also head to the timeline below to check out our recent stories on Firefox and events that have lead up to this day in time and space!

[via Mozilla]

Firefox 14 brings security updates with new browser download is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Mozilla’s own Jono DiCarlo has just made some very interesting comments regarding Firefox. In a very long blog post, DiCarlo talked about how the rapid release cycle for Firefox updates has been killing Firefox itself, something which has become an issue with many users ever since Firefox started to compete with Chrome.
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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Mozilla says something big is coming to Firefox for Android next week, Firefox for iPad being developed by Mozilla,

Mozilla has officially named its “Boot to Gecko” mobile platform, which will now be known as Firefox OS, and has signed up a clutch of carriers who have promised to back the new smartphone competitor. Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, Smart, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefonica and Telenor have all jumped on board with the HTML5-based OS, while ZTE and Alcatel One Touch will both be creating devices expected to launch in early 2013.

Inside those phones, Firefox OS will run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors, though it’s not been confirmed which generation of chips will be used. Still, there should be plenty of power to keep HTML5 apps running swiftly; one of the things Qualcomm has long been pushing with Snapdragon is browser-engine performance.

Brazil will be the first country to get Firefox OS devices next year, with Telefonica signed up to offer them through its Vivo brand. Mozilla is heavily promoting the new platform’s customization options, helped by the fact that there’s none of the pesky middleware that’s usually present on smartphones.

Fully open-source, Firefox OS is based on the underlying Linux kernel modified for Android, with a ‘Gonk’ hardware abstraction layer and then the multi-platform Gecko Web browser engine to actually run all the “local” apps. There’ll also be a ‘Gaia’ UI and app suite that’s hardware-independent.

What remains to be seen is whether Firefox OS can hold its own against Android, which has already made significant inroads into the entry-level smartphone market. More on the platform in our hands-on.

Firefox OS smartphones due 2013 as Mozilla reveals partners is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’ve been keeping an eye on Firefox Beta for Android at all, you’ll know the browser has seen a flurry of updates over the past few weeks bringing performance improvements as well as additional features. Mozilla now say that that the stable version has now been updated to add all those improvements, which includes Flash and HTML5 support, a tab redesign, and revamped welcome page.

Mozilla say that the speed improvements are the real star of the show, and from using the Beta version, we have to agree. Initial load times are “lightning fast”, and the company says that the browser was created against a new benchmark called Eideticker, something it claims helps achieve performance that’s twice as fast as the stock Android browser.

The new “Awesome Page” displays your favourite websites in addition to the most recently visited tabs, and the URL bar has been tweaked to display the most recent searches and visited websites to cut down on awkward typing time. Desktop users will also be able to sync bookmarks between the regular Firefox and mobile version. Tabbed browsing has been tweaked too, allowing users to easily switch between open windows without too much fuss.

The new Firefox update doesn’t seem to have quite the Play Store just yet, but Mozilla say it will definitely land today. Keep an eye out in the meantime, and definitely give it a try.

[via Engadget]

Firefox for Android leaves beta with improved performance is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

After a brief stretch in beta followed by some vague teasing, Firefox’s native Android app update is finally set to hit Google Play. While there are a raft of bells and whistles — a new welcome page, curvy Australis tabs, Flash and HTML5 support, for starters — it’s the browser’s newfound speed that is getting the MVP treatment. That rapidity is as good a place as any to start a quick hands-on, especially since the native browser lag on one of our older handsets, a Galaxy S, often makes us want to hurl it through a pane of glass. Mozilla claims it built Firefox to a new benchmark it developed called Eideticker, resulting in an overall browser experience twice as fast as the stock Android one. As advertised, initial loading is quasi-instant, and navigation, zooming and tab switching seemed smooth as well, even on the two-gen-old phone.

Feature-wise, preferences and other desktop settings imported easily with Firefox Sync’s shared password system, and the unfortunately named “Awesome Screen” is the new home page shown above, from which it’s fairly simple to launch your preferred sites. Flash and HTML5 generally displayed correctly despite a few minor rendering bugs, and the curved tabs and other design touches make it one of the more elegant Android browsers we’ve played with. Unfortunately, many sites display in full because they don’t yet detect Firefox as a mobile app, but the installation of the Phony 3.2 add-in lets it impersonate other smartphone browsers, and it seemed to work well. We also didn’t like that tabbed browsing now requires two taps to get to another page, unlike the previous version, but we imagine that was needed for the increased speed. Overall, Firefox is a welcome addition to the Android ecosystem — we bet you’re just as eager to start browsing as we are, so stay tuned for the app to hit Google Play later today, or jump past the break for a quick speed demo from the kind folks at Mozilla.

Update: The new version is now available at the source link below.

Continue reading Native Firefox Android browser adds speed, Flash, HTML5 and a fresh look (hands-on)

Native Firefox Android browser adds speed, Flash, HTML5 and a fresh look (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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