Mozilla releases Firefox version 35.0
Mozilla has released the latest version of its browser, Firefox version 35.0, which can now share mobile device Wi-Fi and cellular signals for improved geolocation services and to help support context-aware applications.
Mozilla has also implemented HTTP Public Key Pinning Extensions for enhanced authentication of encrypted connections in the new version of the browser.
Among the HTML5 support features that Mozilla has added to the browser is support for the CSS front-loading API, the implementation of resource timing API, and the default enabling of CSS filters.
For desktop, version 35.0 uses tiled rendering on OS X, built-in support for H264 (MP4) on Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) and newer, through native, APIs, and Firefox Hello with a new rooms-based conversations model.
The latest version sees a few fixes, including reduced resource usage for scaled images, PDF.js updated to version 1.0.907, and a number of security fixes.
These include fixes to Gecko Media plugin sandbox escape, cookie injection through Proxy Authenticate responses, uninitialised memory use during bitmap rendering, and "miscellaneous" memory safety hazards.
For developers, Firefox Version 35.0 includes support for inspecting ::before and ::after pseudo elements, and added support for the EXT_blend_minmax WebGL extension.
Mozilla has also added search dialogue to network error pages to the mobile browser, included the use of Android Download manager to keep track of downloaded files, and offered the ability for some devices to view search activity by swiping up or from the search widget.
Along with improved geolocation functionality, the mobile browser also sees Bing now using HTTPS for secure searching.
Bing became Mozilla's default online search mechanism late last year, when the company struck a five-year partnership with Yahoo -- which has been powered by Microsoft's Bing since 2010 -- after its 10-year deal with Google came to an end in 2014.
The new deal sees the Bing-backed Yahoo become the default search portal for Firefox, and appears to have taken a bite from the US desktop share of Google, which had previously paid Mozilla around $300 million per year under the companies' former partnership.
According to statistics from StatCounter, Google's share of the US search market in December last year was its lowest since 2008, falling from 77.3 percent to 75.2 percent.
Meanwhile, Yahoo's share climbed from 8.6 percent to 10.6 percent, even though Bing itself remained flat.
While the analysis makes no claim regarding Mozilla's new deal with Yahoo, the shift immediately followed the Mozilla's new partnership with Yahoo in November.
The next version of the browser, Firefox 36.0, is due on February 24.