Over the next 35 days we’ll be talking about all of the new developer features in Firefox 3.5.
The upcoming release of Firefox 3.5 is a big upgrade for users. It includes new privacy features, improvements in interactive performance and a new JavaScript engine that will improve the experience for users using script-heavy web sites. These are all features that users will appreciate and talk about.
But what Firefox 3.5 really represents is a huge upgrade to the web itself. We’ve included support for audio, video, threads in JavaScript, new canvas features, tons of new CSS features, downloadable fonts and geolocation. While Firefox 3 was a signifigant upgrade for the web’s users, Firefox 3.5 does the same for developers.
Because of the sheer volume of new features for developers in Firefox 3.5 we’ll be spending the next 35 days featuring all of them, with two posts a day, every day. Each day’s first post will describe one new feature in Firefox in depth – how to use it, why it’s there and some examples of what it can do for you. The second post will be all fun – examples of demos that people have put together using all of the features that are in Firefox 3.5.
Like much of what we do at Mozilla this is a community-led project. We’ve reached out to members of the Mozilla and web developer community for posts and demos. Some posts will be written by core Mozilla hackers, but many of them will be written by people who are just excited about the chance to use this technology in the wild.
My personal belief is that these posts represent Mozilla’s dreams for the future of the web. We are not a company like every other browser vendor – our core mission is to improve and protect the web. Firefox 3.5 represents what we think the next stage of the web will be – interactive applications, video, web sites collaborating and sharing information – all via the browser. Our hope is that each of you will take what we post here, encourage other browser vendors to implement similar features where they haven’t already, and do your part to keep the web vibrant.
So this means it will be more than 35 days before 3.5 final will be released? Oh goody more waiting.
following @mozhacks now and looking for all the awesome innvoations.. way to go guys
thaaaaaaank you …..
Great news! I’m willing to see and try them!
I am so excited to see this! I love Firefox and have been using it for maybe two years now, and this is a great step in the right direction! Kudos, Firefox 3.5!
i cant wait!!! i love ffox!
As a web developper, I must admit I hardly wait for the RC of Firefox 3.5! The Ogg version of Dailymotion is a perfect example of what the web should be. Let’s hope IE9 will support HTML5 (dreams…).
No, the 35 days thing isn’t related to the release date. Odds are you won’t have to wait quite that long.
@Dwight No, the 35 days thing doesn’t have anything to do with the release date. It’s just a set of days we picked to talk about new features.
please make it fast !
and lightweight… and maybe make some load-plugins-on-demand feature….
i want to click the fox and it opens in less than 2 seconds
Great initiative, will be following this closely!
But…I want it naaaa-ooow!
im been using fire fox since i was 18 and i hope it will be worth the wait
@Admin: dude, leave firefox open, what’s wrong with you?
I love the new Jetpack feature. Though it is in alpha
Good news, seems like it will be released earlier than IE9 and Windows 7
Geolocation? Elaborate please. If it is what I think it is then it had better have an “Off” switch. Speaking of which, how about you try something novel with this release: instead of cramming new features in, why not leave them out? Make available, but as extras for those who want them, and not bloatware for those who would rather not.
Geolocation is the subject of tomorrow’s feature, turns out. It’s actually off until you allow a web site access to that information.
No rush, no hurry, please!
It’s better to release products with higher quality.
I can wait.
I’ve been using FF 3.5b4 for a while now and it’s pretty solid. I really appreciate the fact that I can now have the “awesome” bar search only my history, but I’d really rather just have it search typed URLs. Is there a hack to make this happen?
Quezako – no browser supports HTML5 in full
What you see in Firefox 3.5 will only scratch the surface of what HTML5 has to offer
when i tried the firefox 3.5 the favicons stopped working. i like favicons so ff3.5 had to get deleted and i had to go back to the old crappy one. My question is
Have you fixed the problem where the favicons stop displaying in ff3.5 Thankyou
Bhai, ye to bata de ki kab Release hogaa ye 3.5
aur kab tak jheelnaa hogaa…
Glad to know that Mozilla is going to release 3.5 version with all awesome features. Already mozilla has a significant place in the web. Hope it keeps the same and gain more attention of the users in future with this 3.5 version.
Thanks
Sankar
Just downloaded the beta and it’s taken over all my addons, skin etc. Very nice but where’s the x64?
I thought it was going to be x64. J
I will look forward to the future posts of Firefox upgrades
35th comment!
Is it going to be as fast as the new Opera (which is gobsmackingly fast) As a web developer i often have 4/5+ browsers open at any given moment, would be nice to see if 3.5 is a bit more lightweight too 300mb of system memory is quite the footprint.
Even so FF will always be my ‘main’ browser of choice, thank the lawd for IE Tab Addon, means i can keep crappy IE isolated, and closed, Thank god.
Long live the mozilla.org red T-rex logo!
Hope you finally fixed all the Japanese character displays in Java (most work, but MOST is NOT all, and ALL is the standard, since ALL worked in versions prior to the number 3).
If it’s not fixed … bye bye, so long, sayounara, and see ya someday. It’s been broken now for WAY TOO LONG.
The version 3.5 is very slow! already consumes 140Mo from the start!
There are also bugs display some site!
Frankly, as an advanced user of firefox (since its first version) that browser is deteriorating!
Following for updates http://twitter.com/sonergonul
The new relaease of Firefox 3.5 b99 works pretty well.
Acid test 3: 93/100 no improvement compared to Firefox 3.5 b4
Long live to Firefox
W00t Fx 3.5 is coming!
Appreciate the work you’ve all done. I’m on a 64bit Ubuntu and hope for an integrated version.
My vision would be rather separate versions, for developer and average user (like me). Preventing an overload of features I’d need to opt out, browsing lightweighted and with self response. I’d appreciate very much if you’ll give it a thought, thanks.
Great work!
@ CG: You’ve got it @$$-backwards… Mozilla builds the browser; the independent developers rework the add-ons to work within the new browser version.
@Alan & Lycanthrope: I totally agree with both of you. Less fluff/bloat, lightning-fast, add-ons only if you want ‘em. Look at how popular salad bars have become. Why? They let YOU personalize the salad to your tastes. Who could ever contest that?! FF rocks, and I’m a REALLY impatient b!t©h, so give us 3.5 now, Mozilla, or I’m calling my Daddy!
Sounds great! cant wait anymore
I am using firefox 3.5b4 and I can say it’s simply awesome, but seriously more 35 days of waiting is not cool. why don’t you people try to speed up the release(just kidding). You guys have done a great job and I am proud to be a part of it.
waiting 4 my fav browser…
I hope the final release comes out cool.
The Beta-version is available though.
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-beta.html
FoXy Rules…
Firefox ftw.
Guys, first off the features in 3.5 are NOT bloat.
Geolocation lets web sites know your physical location (if you choose, off by default) (think google maps)
Audio/video elements are for sites to embed video and audio WITHOUT the use of flash… and you can manipulate these video’s with JS. So this means videos can have an effect on the page… the page to the video… trigger events… the sky is the limit.
TraceMonkey is the new javascript engine… The latest nightly is now faster at Sunspider benches than chrome 1(whoa!) (1423ms vs 1556ms)
Private Browsing is just that.
However, Mozilla outlined that the next version (3.6 ATM, and not that i can’t wait for 3.5!!) is really the dream come true… they’re going to implement lightweight themes and add-ons, and increase start-up time, UI interactions, etc. noticeably. The same improvements that doubled Firefox 3.5 browser’s java script performance is going to be used internally for the UI.
Firefox 3.5 most certainly rocks as loading facebook and other JS intense sites is a quick, short and painless… I’d go as far to say it takes a 3rd the time on average, and i can’t wait to see sites that start using the video/audio elements. Like the article states, this is a treat to the developers, we’ll get more presents from mozilla with the next version :p
whoops the sunspider tests are 1223ms to 1254ms (FF3.5 to Chrome 1)
I am a longtime fan of Firefox. I have used it and loved it since it was Phoenix 0.3.
So far I’m not impressed with FF 3.5. I have tried beta 4 and beta 99. There are many sites and pages that just won’t load.
I would like to upgrade firrfox with facebook.
The address http://www.hacks.mozilla.org should exist and redirect to hacks.mozilla.org
I too am an ardent fan for Firefox and have been looking forward to upgrading to 3.5. Now that has happened I am extremely disappointed to find that it takes upwards of 8 minutes to start. This is totally unacceptable and will have to switch to IE until the problem is fixed.