With the arrival of Mozilla FireFox 55, the open source browser has entered a whole new phase. The improvements and introduction of multi-threading have finally started to catch up, but older plug-ins such as Flash have made the browser problematic with multi-threading. In FireFox 55 and later, Mozilla will focus on addressing these issues: for example, in version 55, running Flash controls will require user confirmation by default, and such content will no longer be allowed to be invoked locally. Also starting with version 55, Firefox will begin to support WebVR.

Another obvious update is that the search box and the address bar have become more closely related, and you can set the search engine for your keyword in the address bar at any time and start searching immediately. It seems likely that in the near future, the separate address bar will be eliminated and search will be as easy as Chrome.

At the same time, the sync feature also got a major boost, with the sync menu introducing a portal to the Firefox Sync Center, where you can manage Firefox syncing across multiple devices.

Specific updates are as follows:

New

  • Browsing sessions with a high number of tabs are now restored in an instant

  • Sidebar (bookmarks, history, synced tabs) can now be moved to the right edge of the window

  • Fine-tune your browser performance from the Preferences/Options page.

  • Make screenshots of webpages, and save them locally or upload them to the cloud. This feature will undergo A/B testing and will not be visible for some users.

  • Added Belarusian (be) locale

  • Assign custom shortcuts to Firefox menu items on OS X and macOS via System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts

  • Simplify print jobs from within print preview

  • Use virtual reality devices with the web with the introduction of WebVR

  • Search suggestions are now enabled by default for users who haven’t explicitly opted-out

  • Search with any installed search engine directly from the location bar

Changed

  • Breaking profile changes – do not downgrade Firefox and use a profile that has been opened with Firefox 55+.

  • Windows stub installer is now streamlined for simpler installation. Users requiring advanced install options should use full installers.

  • The Flash plugin is now click-to-activate by default and only allowed on http:// and https:// URL schemes. This change will be rolled out progressively and so will not be visible to all users immediately. For more information see the Firefox plugin roadmap

  • Modernized application update UI to be less intrusive and more aligned with the rest of the browser. Only users who have not restarted their browser 8 days after downloading an update or users who opted out of automatic updates will see this change.

Developer

  • Insecure sites can no longer access the Geolocation APIs to get access to your physical location

Click here for more updates

Download address:

Ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox…

From: cnBeta.COM