Firefox 6 limbers up for full release
The next iteration of the Firefox web browser is available to download now, one day early, bringing with it improved HTML 5 handling.
The Firefox 6 browser is scheduled for general release on Tuesday but is available to download now from the Mozilla FTP site. It was launched in beta form on 8 July.
Changes in Firefox 6 are largely under the bonnet but include extended CSS and HTML 5 support, such as the ability to create an HTML 5 progress bar and better display for web sites using iframes. It also enables WebSocket support — previously disabled due to security concerns — and adds a plug-in compatibility checker to the add-ons manager.
It also brings a new 'Data Management Window' to give users more control over which websites have access to personal information such as cookies, passwords and location information. It is accessible by typing 'about:permissions' in the address bar.
The release on Tuesday also coincides with the launch of the Firefox 7 beta as Mozilla continues on its accelerated rolling release schedule. Some enterprise users of Firefox have complained that the fast-paced releases make it impossible to deploy in large environments.
One IT administrator working for a Hong Kong-based company posted on the Mozilla planning Google group page pleading for a resolution to an incompatibility issue that is preventing the browser working for 100,000 employees.
"[There] is just no way to justify [further work by] other divisions to make the in-house application work again for Firefox," a user by the name of 'dbp' wrote. "I have no idea why dual branches approach would be an obstacle for a giant development team as Mozilla Firefox if a small tiny one man band GPL project could use this approach."
On 24 June, Asa Dotzler, Mozilla Firefox director, confirmed that enterprise deployments were not a major focus of Firefox, describing enterprise downloads as "really just a drop in the bucket, fractions of fractions of a percent of our user base".
Firefox 8, which moves to the 'Aurora' channel on Tuesday, will add new features which provide extra security from unwanted or malicious add-ons being added to the browser without a users' knowledge.