Firefox 3.5 new version expected to appear on June 30

PanARMENIAN.Net - It looks like Mozilla will just meet its prediction of a June release for Firefox 3.5. The new version of the open-source browser is expected to appear on June 30.



Three release candidates for Firefox 3.5 have already appeared in rapid succession, the most recent in the middle of last week.



Features include a new version of the Gecko rendering engine; a new JavaScript engine (TraceMonkey) promising better performance and stability; support for new features of HTML 5, CSS, JavaScript and other technologies; private browsing (aka 'porn mode'); local storage for web applications; and provision for location-aware browsing.



These developments mean, for instance, that Firefox 3.5 can handle embedded Ogg and WAV content without requiring any plugins, and that web sites are (with the user's permission) able to deliver information customized to the user's location with the aid of Google Location Service or a similar service.



Versions will be available for Windows (2000, XP, Server 2003, and Vista), Mac OS X (10.4 and later), and Linux.



According to Net Applications' Market Share figures for May 2009, Firefox accounts for approximately 23 percent of web use, behind Internet Explorer on 66 percent.



Safari follows on 8 percent, with Chrome on 2 percent. No other browser's share exceeds 1 percent.



It remains to be seen whether the arrival of Firefox 3.5 will result in a shift from earlier versions (the bulk of Firefox users are already on version 3.0), or whether it will attract more people from Internet Explorer and other browsers, iTWire reported.



More than 70 languages are supported by Firefox 3.5. Armenian version is not envisaged.