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Computer Support For Individuals And Small Business |
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11/17/11 |
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Firefox 8 Released |
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The latest version of Firefox is version 8.0 released on 11/8/11. Firefox continues to be the second-most used browser on personal computers behind Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
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But how can this be version 8.0 if version 4.0 was released 3/21/11 (see Firefox 4 Released)? Was there a version 5, 6, and 7? Yes. Following the release of version 4.0, Mozilla modified Firefox development efforts implementing a rapid release process which allows for releases as often as every six weeks.
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As the new versions are released, the main version number is incremented. Version 5.0 was released 6/21/11, version 6.0 on 8/16/11, and version 7.0 on 9/27/11. Version 9 is scheduled for release on 12/20/11.
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If you are currently using an older version of Firefox and were not automatically upgraded, the manual process is quick and painless. In a very unscientific test, we upgraded from version 4.0.1 in only a couple of minutes. This was on a 64-bit desktop computer with a 2.67 GHz processor and 6 GB of memory running Windows 7. |
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In a second unscientific test on a desktop with a 2.8 GHz Pentium 4 processor and 504 MB of RAM running Windows XP Professional the upgrade from version 3.6.13 took only 5 minutes. |
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One of the continual problems with browser performance is the compatibility of add-ons from other programs. During the Firefox 8 upgrade process a window appears indicating all third-party add-ons have been disabled. The user has the opportunity to enable specific add-ons. Similarly, add-ons from user actions are enabled by default, but can be disabled by the user. |
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A number of other improvements are included, though most will not be immediately noticeable. Some are under-the-hood improvements such as improved memory management and better support for HTML5. There are also a few tweaks to the interface such as the addition of Twitter to the drop-down search box. |
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Click here for more information and a direct link to download the latest version of Firefox. |
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