Firefox 3.5 released this Tuesday

Author: Gareth Halfacree
Published: 29th June 2009
Comments (32) Stumble
Firefox 3.5 released this Tuesday

The next major revision of the popular open-source Firefox browser - version 3.5 - is due to be released to the public tomorrow.

The Mozilla Foundation is looking to go live with the next version of its popular open-source web browser, Firefox 3.5, as early as this Tuesday.

According to news over on BetaNews, the Mozilla Foundation has confirmed that – all being well – the next Firefox release – version 3.5, codename “Shiretoko” - will be available for public download starting on the 30th of June – this Tuesday.

The browser, which has been available in public beta for quite some time, brings a raft of new features to the platform. Perhaps the most obvious of these is support for embeddable video brought in as part of the HTML 5 standard, which Firefox is able to play natively – no plugin required.

The move will make Firefox the first browser to ship with support for the multimedia embedding functionality of HTML 5 – although, as support is scarce, it's a tool that web developers are shying away from using until more end users are able to make use of HTML 5 sites.

The tags, which support fallback to a playback plugin for those bereft of HTML 5 support in their browser, are also able to trigger another impressive feature: JavaScript-based real-time video overlay, which allows the browser to inject objects – including images and text – in to a playing video seamlessly.

Performance has, as always, been tweaked too – although betas of the next release of Google's competing Chrome browser show that webkit-based systems still rule the roost when it comes to raw speed.

Other high points from the feature list for Firefox 3.5 include improvements to the Awesomebar, a private browsing mode for those late night adventures around the seedier side of the web, fixes for the Add-on manager and the blocklist for plugins, improved add-on compatibility checking during upgrades, and integral support for the Ogg Vorbis and Theora codecs.

Looking forward to getting your hands on the new Firefox, or is it still not enough to tempt you away from your browser of choice? Impressed by the possibilities of the HTML 5 multimedia tags, or is it a feature which will want for support at both ends of the spectrum – developer and end-user alike? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
Quote Ending Credits 29th June 2009, 10:08
Lol, that's my birthday. :D
Quote B3CK 29th June 2009, 10:09
Can't wait to try it out
Quote SlowMotionSuicide 29th June 2009, 10:25
Meh, since it still can't beat even Chrome in speed, I'm sticking with Safari 4.
Quote p3n 29th June 2009, 10:28
Quote:
Originally Posted by SlowMotionSuicide
Meh, since it still can't beat even Chrome in speed, I'm sticking with Safari 4.

I'll be using Firefox until xmarks gets a safari 4 add-on :p
Quote OWNED66 29th June 2009, 10:52
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ending Credits
Lol, that's my birthday. :D

happy BD
Quote Jamie 29th June 2009, 10:54
Quote:
another impressive feature: JavaScript-based real-time video overlay, which allows the browser to inject objects – including images and text – in to a playing video seamlessly.

Yay, another way for ads to be injected into video.
Quote Spiny 29th June 2009, 10:56
Quote:
Originally Posted by p3n
I'll be using Firefox until xmarks gets a safari 4 add-on :p
There's a lot of people saying that - including me :) I've been surprised how good Safari 4 is. No download manager integration though :( & I'd miss my downthemall.
Quote Dreaming 29th June 2009, 10:59
Quote:
a private browsing mode for those late night adventures around the seedier side of the web

about time, was the only real thing I used IE for. The awesomebar can be extremely incriminating.
Quote RTT 29th June 2009, 11:06
Quote:

The move will make Firefox the first browser to ship with support for the multimedia embedding functionality of HTML 5 –

is that true? I thought Safari 3.4 & 4, Opera and Chrome3 already had this?
Quote Gareth Halfacree 29th June 2009, 11:39
Quote:
Originally Posted by RTT
is that true? I thought Safari 3.4 & 4, Opera and Chrome3 already had this?
I don't think it's available on any released - i.e. non-beta - browser, although I'm prepared to be wrong.
Quote Goty 29th June 2009, 11:41
Aren't those all technically still betas?

As for 3.5 shipping on Tuesday, I think 3.5 Beta users may have gotten the download early (or at least my "about" window no longer says anything about a beta).
Quote ImInTheZoneBaby 29th June 2009, 12:14
Quote:
Originally Posted by Goty
Aren't those all technically still betas?

As for 3.5 shipping on Tuesday, I think 3.5 Beta users may have gotten the download early (or at least my "about" window no longer says anything about a beta).

Mine doesn't either, no beta notices anywhere. Then again, probably just a mistake on their part perhaps. I haven't updated Firefox since downloading the Beta.
Quote Phil Rhodes 29th June 2009, 12:29
Quote:
the Awesomebar

Oh, grow the f@*k up.
Quote Jamie 29th June 2009, 12:57
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil Rhodes
Quote:
the Awesomebar

Oh, grow the f@*k up.

I know it's a lame name, but that is what Mozilla call it.
Quote Sebbo 29th June 2009, 13:28
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gareth Halfacree
Quote:
Originally Posted by RTT
is that true? I thought Safari 3.4 & 4, Opera and Chrome3 already had this?
I don't think it's available on any released - i.e. non-beta - browser, although I'm prepared to be wrong.

Safari 4 went gold a couple weeks ago, and I remember Apple was making a big toot about having HTML 5 support then, or at least the http-streaming parts. Maybe Safari et al just haven't had full support, and so FF3.5 is the first to support all the new features?
Quote The_EXorcist 29th June 2009, 13:29
Firefox FTW! Thats pretty much all anyone needs to know
Quote UncertainGod 29th June 2009, 13:33
The overlay features are more fully supported in FF 3.5 than Safari Opera or Chrome (unless you use the dev branch of chrome which is way ahead of FF 3.5).
Quote VipersGratitude 29th June 2009, 14:44
http://mrdoob.com/ to see what it can do
Quote Er-El 29th June 2009, 14:59
So has the W3C completely finished the HTML 5 spec and just waiting for browsers to implement it, or are they still developing it?
Quote UncertainGod 29th June 2009, 15:09
It's not finalised yet and there will almost certainly be some more additions to it, especially if Google get there way.
Quote ParaHelix.org 29th June 2009, 16:14
Quote:
Originally Posted by SlowMotionSuicide
Meh, since it still can't beat even Chrome in speed, I'm sticking with Safari 4.

Mate, to be fair, Chrome doesn't have even a quarter of the features that FireFox has, plus Chrome is based on the FireFox engine, so yeah, it's basically FireFox with no features, hence why it is a *tiny* bit faster. But lets face it, your speed aint really based on your browser, it's your ISP.
Quote alpaca 29th June 2009, 16:26
nice to know, but i'll stick with kameleon on my netbook, it is the fastest browser with (nearly) full functionality i could find, and it kicks ass! :p (btw, is there already any site in HTML5?)
Quote UncertainGod 29th June 2009, 16:30
Quote:
Originally Posted by ParaHelix.org
Mate, to be fair, Chrome doesn't have even a quarter of the features that FireFox has, plus Chrome is based on the FireFox engine, so yeah, it's basically FireFox with no features, hence why it is a *tiny* bit faster. But lets face it, your speed aint really based on your browser, it's your ISP.

Completely wrong, Chrome & FF share no real amount of code. Chrome is webkit based.
Quote Eloquence 29th June 2009, 16:31
Quote:
Originally Posted by ParaHelix.org
Quote:
Originally Posted by SlowMotionSuicide
Meh, since it still can't beat even Chrome in speed, I'm sticking with Safari 4.

Mate, to be fair, Chrome doesn't have even a quarter of the features that FireFox has, plus Chrome is based on the FireFox engine, so yeah, it's basically FireFox with no features, hence why it is a *tiny* bit faster. But lets face it, your speed aint really based on your browser, it's your ISP.

Chrome uses Webkit, Firefox uses Gecko.
Quote sheninat0r 29th June 2009, 17:00
I can't really see why Chrome lovers bother making the speed argument to hardcore Firefox users - none of them will switch to Chrome for 30% faster speed (I made that up, don't kill me!) if they can't replicate the featureset of Firefox and its extensions.

I'm not even particularly crazy with extensions, either; all I use are Stylish, NoScript, DownThemAll, and Adblock, and when I tried Chrome I couldn't bear using it for more than three days before I went back to the comfort of my Firefox.

Until Chrome plugins start coming out and implementing all these features us Firefox users are accustomed to having, Google is going to have a hard time selling Chrome to the educated masses.
Quote Furymouse 29th June 2009, 17:26
Quote:
Originally Posted by sheninat0r
I can't really see why Chrome lovers bother making the speed argument to hardcore Firefox users - none of them will switch to Chrome for 30% faster speed (I made that up, don't kill me!) if they can't replicate the featureset of Firefox and its extensions.

I'm not even particularly crazy with extensions, either; all I use are Stylish, NoScript, DownThemAll, and Adblock, and when I tried Chrome I couldn't bear using it for more than three days before I went back to the comfort of my Firefox.

Until Chrome plugins start coming out and implementing all these features us Firefox users are accustomed to having, Google is going to have a hard time selling Chrome to the educated masses.

You forget the most important plug-in of all....the demotivational poster maker ;)
Quote Nicb 29th June 2009, 20:50
For all you people that trust in Chrome,...... that comes from google!!! Your all crazy. You probably have tool bars on your browser and love them also. You might as well have a key logger attached to your keyboard. As you type, your text is sent back to Google(Including HTTPS). Thats a serious invasion. I hope your don't login to bank accounts and such with Chrome. It protects your against everything but itself. It can be fixed, but who wants to support a browser that takes advantage of the uneducated? Very few want to learn, just believe. But don't take my word for it.

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/39176/108/

http://blogs.computerworld.com/chrome_googles_biggest_threat_to_your_privacy

http://www.securitymanagement.com/news/googles-new-chrome-browser-vulnerable-exploits-004616
Quote benjamyn 29th June 2009, 21:01
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil Rhodes
Oh, grow the f@*k up.

Oh, lighten the **** up
Quote Perforated 30th June 2009, 00:09
re: private browsing, was I really the only person here that just created a second firefox profile for it? It's easy enough, keeps everything distinct, and a quick change of desktop icon & noremote keeps it from being opened accidentally.

Am I the only person that likes to be able to safely bookmark the seedier side of the web?
Quote dyzophoria 30th June 2009, 16:43
sweet, its just disturbing to find fanboy-ism on browsers nowadays, lol, imho, your ISP still plays a major role on how fast your browser loads pages, but its just me, I just want a browser that works,lol
Quote TWeaK 30th June 2009, 21:59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicb
For all you people that trust in Chrome,...... that comes from google!!! Your all crazy. You probably have tool bars on your browser and love them also. You might as well have a key logger attached to your keyboard. As you type, your text is sent back to Google(Including HTTPS). Thats a serious invasion. I hope your don't login to bank accounts and such with Chrome. It protects your against everything but itself. It can be fixed, but who wants to support a browser that takes advantage of the uneducated? Very few want to learn, just believe. But don't take my word for it.

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/39176/108/

http://blogs.computerworld.com/chrome_googles_biggest_threat_to_your_privacy

http://www.securitymanagement.com/news/googles-new-chrome-browser-vulnerable-exploits-004616

Have you not noticed that each of those articles is from the same date (4 Sep 08), covering the same story? Don't you think Google have sorted that out now, 9 months down the line? I remember there was the stir about Google's EULA where they claimed copywright to anything, that was sorted within a week.

Btw, I'm not a hardcore Chrome fan. I actually use Opera, although I'm on the fence about using other browsers. I'm just used to what I've got, and I love my mouse gestures.
Quote Nicb 1st July 2009, 20:50
Tweak,

Sand box Chrome. Google will always want to collect your data. Thats what they do. They have improved security from the outside threats but they have not stopped the data collection within their browser at default. You can stop it from doing that, but my point is, they obviously are taking advantage of the unknowing.
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