Firefox 18 With IonMonkey Now in Beta
Firefox just released the first beta of Firefox 18, which will be a milestone release for Mozilla as it introduces the IonMonkey JIT compiler.
Firefox users can expect a considerable speed bump in complex JavaScript applications over the JaegerMonkey engine that was launched with Firefox 4 in early 2011. Mozilla currently claims that IonMonkey, which is similar in its architecture to Google's Crankshaft in Chrome, is not too far behind Chrome in the Kraken benchmark, and provides a substantial performance increase in Google's v8 benchmark.
Besides IonMonkey, Firefox 18 will not deliver much else. According to Mozilla's feature tracking, the browser will get per-site third-party cookie setting support as well as inline PDF support. The final version of the browser is scheduled for release on January 1, 2013.
The beta version can be downloaded here.
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Wolfgang Gruener is an experienced professional in digital strategy and content, specializing in web strategy, content architecture, user experience, and applying AI in content operations within the insurtech industry. His previous roles include Director, Digital Strategy and Content Experience at American Eagle, Managing Editor at TG Daily, and contributing to publications like Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware.
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johnsmithhatesVLC vaughn2kBenchmark results will make me think and consider...What about the tab management? Unlike Chrome it will always be able to show like the first 10 characters of the web page and everything about the browser is much more customizable. Also tab candy is really useful for organizing.Reply -
ta152h They go from a hunting monkey to a monkey that's missing an electron? I'm not sure I follow that progression; but it's kind of weird. In a creepy way.Reply
I'd name it Schwerpunkt. Then they could use the line "A browser without Schwerpunkt is like a man without character."
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sharpless78 ta152hThey go from a hunting monkey to a monkey that's missing an electron?Reply
There could be extra electrons too. ;) -
john15v16 I hope they got it right this time...I used to only use firefox...would love to start using it more again...but it's chrome for the time being...Reply -
randomizer I ran a couple of tests that I've used before on jsperf, and if anything this version was slower than 17. In fact it was considerably slower than IE10, let alone Chrome. Anyone can make benchmarks that make a browser look good or bad.Reply