Author Topic: Firefox 7 is out (Read 52,187 times)

cyberdiva · « **on:** September 27, 2011, 09:26 PM »

Hi, all. I just got notified that Firefox 7 is available. As usual, I responded "remind me later," since I always like to have some feedback first from those braver or more foolhardy than I am.

rgdot · « **Reply #1 on:** September 27, 2011, 09:40 PM »

Have been running beta for a couple of weeks. I don't see any perceptible improvements over older versions.
I think at some point the versions and supposed improvements pass you by. While this may not make sense from a viewpoint of a program/code at some point a user has to accept that some newer stuff are not meant for older (XP era) computers. For example may be in this case it has to do with hardware acceleration. I have not seen any major, or arguably minor, improvements on the memory and CPU front. 3 similar tabs (no add-ons!) go to 400MB+ as fast as v3.6 for me.

Renegade · « **Reply #2 on:** September 28, 2011, 12:05 AM »

v7???? WTF????

This is like a new major version every week just about!

Something's screwy...

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #3 on:** September 28, 2011, 01:12 AM »

Not screwy:

IE 9 is out (and now 10 is being put forward for Windows

Opera 11.5 is there
Google Chrome is at version 14
Even Safari is at version 5 (I think - can't see any way to check for updates)

Firefox is still at version 3.5 which must be really bad ... oh no it isn't at version 3.5 any more. Someone farts in the office each week and that bumps the major version number up one!

I can't honestly say I have seen anything since version 3.5 that justifies a whole version increment - except the annoyance of constantly broken extensions. I haven't seen anything since version 4 that warrants any sort of version number change in the first or second digit.

Really extensions are the only reason I ever use Firefox - I am increasing using Chrome which is so much faster and just works.

Maybe I am being overly critical and there are major things going on behind the scenes that are building up to a major wow factor but somehow I doubt it. Mozilla is just turning itself into a joke with this ridiculous pace of version change.

KynloStephen66515 · « **Reply #4 on:** September 28, 2011, 01:15 AM »

They just do it for the cup-cakes

lanux128 · « **Reply #5 on:** September 28, 2011, 01:44 AM »

version 7 already? where is the changelog?

Krishean · « **Reply #6 on:** September 28, 2011, 02:36 AM »

http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/7.0/releasenotes/:

Quote

What’s New in Firefox

The latest version of Firefox has the following changes:

Drastically improved memory handling for certain use cases
Added a new rendering backend to speed up Canvas operations on Windows systems
Bookmark and password changes now sync almost instantly when using Firefox Sync
The 'http://'; URL prefix is now hidden by default
Added support for text-overflow: ellipsis
Added support for the Web Timing specification
Enhanced support for MathML
The WebSocket protocol has been updated from version 7 to version 8
Added an opt-in system for users to send performance data back to Mozilla to improve future versions of Firefox
Fixed several stability issues
Fixed several security issues

Please see the complete list of changes in this version. Web and extension developers should also view the curated list of platform changes. You may also be interested in the list of changes in the previous version.

Edit: formatting+links

rgdot · « **Reply #7 on:** September 28, 2011, 02:40 AM »

Quote

Drastically improved memory handling for certain use cases

Keywords: certain use cases

mahesh2k · « **Reply #8 on:** September 28, 2011, 04:09 AM »

Don't get me wrong but those who propose monthly and weekly updates for ubuntu, facebook and firefox needs to get a gurrlfriend, kitteh and puppy and a good hobby or maybe pr0n or anything that keeps them away from writing broken code and tempts them to release new version without adding new features.

argv · « **Reply #9 on:** September 28, 2011, 04:18 AM »

I have just switched to Chrome. Thunderbird also seems to follow the same trend: yesterday just got to version 7 but there is nothing changed which justifies the major digit incrementation.

tomos · « **Reply #10 on:** September 28, 2011, 08:06 AM »

from Stephen's "cupcakes" link above:

Quote

Under the rapid-release program, new versions of the browser ship every six weeks, which means the change in features from the earlier version is correspondingly smaller.

Apparently version #8 is due on the 18th of November
https://wiki.mozilla.org/Releases#Firefox_8

Jibz · « **Reply #11 on:** September 28, 2011, 08:57 AM »

Well, to be fair I don't think a lot of user-visible changes have happened in the past couple of Chrome releases.

It's just that Chrome silently updates in the background without bothering you with it, whereas Firefox is still using the "OMG there is an update" dialogs and the "What's New" page showing nothing new after the update

.

And the automatic updating in the background is really great, especially when it comes to flash player. I am so sick of updating flash player manually for IE and FF.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #12 on:** September 28, 2011, 11:48 AM »

Quote from: Jibz on September 28, 2011, 08:57 AM

It's just that Chrome silently updates in the background without bothering you with it

That's true but the reason FF has to go through the hoops is because they regularly kill extensions by these updates.

The current rash of sill version number bumps has done nothing to help users at all and the new full version numbers just are not justified.

Think back to the differences between FF 1, 2 and 3 ... they were so different that extensions had to be rewritten between versions.

Now all you do is either turn off compatibility checking or hack the extension to make it appear compatible.

I am amazed someone hasn't come out with an extension to fix stupidly broken extensions!

Actually they have - see Add-on Compatibility Reporter https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/add-on-compatibility-reporter/

40hz · « **Reply #13 on:** September 28, 2011, 12:05 PM »

Well...I know I'll sleep a lot better nights knowing that Mozilla is committed to churning out dodgy code even more rapidly and regularly than before.

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #14 on:** September 28, 2011, 12:37 PM »

Quote from: 40hz on September 28, 2011, 12:05 PM

Well...I know I'll sleep a lot better nights knowing that Mozilla is committed to churning out dodgy code even more rapidly and regularly than before.

I had been toying with exploring it as a option, just to give it a fair shake so-to-speak. But this and the memory leak (or was it a hemorage...) thing just kinda kill the curiosity. I've never had a problem with IE...and incentive==0 at this point.

40hz · « **Reply #15 on:** September 28, 2011, 12:54 PM »

@SJ - I'm doing something like 75% of my browsing in Opera these days.

If the Sage extension were available for Opera it would be more like 100%. Especially since Mozilla broke Canaware's NetNotes extension yet again.

Armando · « **Reply #16 on:** September 28, 2011, 01:21 PM »

I've been using Firefox 7 for 24 h (approximately...

) now and it does feel snappier. Ram management is also slightly better than before. That said, it's too subjective to take seriously and it #!*&!! broke my roboform extension.

(But why isn't that extension compatible?? Like everybody else, SiberSystems had many weeks notice of the release cycle and nightly builds / beta versions to test compatibility.

)

I'm a long time firefox user, and I've always come back to it after seeing how others weren't really better (if any) and in fact slowed down my work flow. I've just experienced a week of Chrome. Same criticism as Firefox (e.g.: Ram through the roof), not any advantages (apart from the fact that turning extensions On/Off doesn't warrant a restart -- but firefox is getting there), and some annoyances (a few missing extensions I really like).

I might try opera for fun next week... Maybe I'll like it better than 6mths/1y ago.

cyberdiva · « **Reply #17 on:** September 28, 2011, 01:56 PM »

Quote from: Carol Haynes on September 28, 2011, 11:48 AM

I am amazed someone hasn't come out with an extension to fix stupidly broken extensions!

Actually they have - see Add-on Compatibility Reporter https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/add-on-compatibility-reporter/

I've resisted this add-on, but I just took a look, and the most recent comment is that it isn't working with FF7. Duh. If Surfulater and Lazarus worked with Opera, I'd switch. But they don't, and so I won't.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #18 on:** September 28, 2011, 01:57 PM »

Quote from: Armando on September 28, 2011, 01:21 PM

SiberSystems had many weeks notice of the release cycle and nightly builds

Because they couldn't give a damn about their customers - the version 6 toolbar has never been updated for RoboForm (so you can't even use Firefox 3's later builds) even though they suggested lifetime license holders could continue to use version 6 when they unilaterally changed their license policy and shafted most of their user base.

In practical terms the toolbar you have probably still works - just download the addon I suggested a few posts above this one which allows 'incompat' addons to run and if they don't work you can report that it is really broken.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #19 on:** September 28, 2011, 01:57 PM »

Quote from: cyberdiva on September 28, 2011, 01:56 PM

Quote from: Carol Haynes on September 28, 2011, 11:48 AM
I am amazed someone hasn't come out with an extension to fix stupidly broken extensions!

Actually they have - see Add-on Compatibility Reporter https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/add-on-compatibility-reporter/
I've resisted this add-on, but I just took a look, and the most recent comment is that it isn't working with FF7. Duh. If Surfulater and Lazarus worked with Opera, I'd switch. But they don't, and so I won't.

Just installed it on FF7 and it seems to work fine.

cyberdiva · « **Reply #20 on:** September 28, 2011, 01:58 PM »

Thanks, Carol. I think I'll give it a try later today. Gotta run.

KynloStephen66515 · « **Reply #21 on:** September 28, 2011, 02:39 PM »

Quote from: Jibz on September 28, 2011, 08:57 AM

Well, to be fair I don't think a lot of user-visible changes have happened in the past couple of Chrome releases.

It's just that Chrome silently updates in the background without bothering you with it, whereas Firefox is still using the "OMG there is an update" dialogs and the "What's New" page showing nothing new after the update .

And the automatic updating in the background is really great, especially when it comes to flash player. I am so sick of updating flash player manually for IE and FF.

Opera has nice little "Ohai, theres an update if you want it, but I wont bother you again if you don't" dialog that opens at the bottom right or the window when it spots theres a new version. If you want it, it quietly does its thing, then asks you if you feel like restarting your browser and re-opening all your current tabs so its like it never happened.

Its kind of cute really, sorta like when your Grandmother asks you if your feeling OK, but doesn't want to push the issue, so asks you in her "Quiet Voice"

Tuxman · « **Reply #22 on:** September 29, 2011, 12:39 AM »

I, as always, installed tefe009's SSE2 build. Restarting worked fast as hell on my 3 years old main machine. Seriously, they made a great job here.

Also, Acid3 is 100/100 points now.

But seriously, who cares?

40hz · « **Reply #23 on:** September 29, 2011, 03:17 AM »

Quote from: Tuxman on September 29, 2011, 12:39 AM

I, as always, installed tefe009's SSE2 build.

@Tuxman -is that Tete Atelier's FF rebuild you're referring to?

******

Note: Just gave 7 a try. The ReadItLater extension got broken. SHOWSTOPPER!

Firing up Revo to uninstall it as we speak. $:-\$

nosh · « **Reply #24 on:** September 29, 2011, 04:41 AM »

Read It Later v.2.1.3 works fine here. And FF7 does feel like more than a mere version bump, worth holding on to. v8 is going to break quite a few extensions though, if the beta I tested a while back is anything to go by.

There's also a Roboform update available now.