Firefox 8 Now Available For Download
The latest version of Firefox is now available on Mozilla's download server.
At the time of this writing, the download link is not live, but users can simply replace the version number in the link from 7.0.1 to 8.0 to get the updated browser -- or hit the download links below.
Mozilla usually advises us that no Firefox release is official until the software is announced by the company, but we can safely assume that the quiet publication is a sign of a release candidate process without hiccups and that this is, in fact, the browser that will be pushed out to Firefox users this week. As a side note, Mozilla will not be including a silent update in its browser until version 10, so you will still have to grant permission for an update in this and the next version of Firefox.
As previously noted, the big news in this release are the addition of a Twitter search option, a few tab tweaks and greater restrictions for third-party add-ons. Most importantly, add-ons such as toolbars are not given free reign and cannot run without the user's explicit permission anymore. If you are a Firefox user, this is a must upgrade.
It will be critical for Mozilla to avoid a upgrade mistakes in this version as it was the case with version 7.0, which forced the company to release a 7.0.1 fix. Market share for Firefox was down to 26.39 percent in October, just ahead of Chrome, which landed at 25 percent, according to StatCounter. Google recently updated its stable channel to version 15 in late October, the beta channel to version 16 and the developer channel to version 17 last week. Chrome 16 Beta officially introduces a profile manager, which enables a much more convenient switching between multiple users. Version 17 adds support for panels, and adjustable margins in Chrome's print preview.
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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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zoemayne the version number doesnt stand for any major change. you can't keep posting articles for every version. as far as i'm concerned if the interface hasnt changed its still 4.0.Reply -
of the way zoemaynethe version number doesnt stand for any major change. you can't keep posting articles for every version. as far as i'm concerned if the interface hasnt changed its still 4.0.Reply
It's gotta be at least 4.0.5. -
dreamer77dd Well it updates without the person needing to know how to download it. It wont let toolbars just install without you truly wanting them. I am not connected to any browser and if one is better then the other, I will switch. FireFox is built by the people, not corporation with infinity funding, right?Reply -
zanny Looking back, we are technically at approximately 4.1.3 (or 6, depending on lower digit verison numbering) with firefox 9 being 4.2.Reply
Firefox 5 added the CSS 3 / HTML 5 standards into the browser in full implementation, so thats a big deal. Firefox 9 adds type inference like V8 has that makes Jagermonkey competitive with V8 again, so thats a big deal. 6 - 8 just did some light UI tweaks and optimizations, so nothing important there.
The biggest downfall about the rapid release ideology is you can no longer hype a version. You can't say Firefox X will be a big deal because its only 3 months since X - 1 came out and 3 months until X + 1. It hurts products more than helps them, especially at the corporate level, where they don't rapidly update browsers and running Firefox 4 when Firefox 8 is coming out and Firefox 10 is the currently alpha drives sysadmins insane because they have no idea the difference in standards and security between any two versions, whereas a jump from something like 3.X to 4.X meant a big deal.
Now there are no big deals, and that, in my opinion, hurts the product.