Firefox 3.5 Ready For Download

Jun 30, 2009

Complete with optimized Java and HTML5 video and audio support, the latest version of the Firefox browser is now available for server-download.

Version 3.5 had an unusual birth. Originally intended to be the 3.1, Shiretoko, the codename of the new release, had far too many changes and innovations on board to be a simple successor to 3.0. Now, after several beta and release candidates, the 3.5 browser is ready and available for download from various servers. An official announcement is expected to follow soon.

Among the most prominent features so far is native support for audio and video tags from HTML5 which (like Opera) enables the viewing of Ogg media files without any plug-ins. Which explains why some major video platforms have converted to Ogg Vorbis and Ogg Theora.

In an age of cloud computing, an increasing amount of applications are certain to wind up on the web and subsequently in the browser. To meet this challenge, Firefox has optimized its Javascript support by adding a new Tracemonkey engine which dramatically improves browser performance. Native JSON support increases browser speed and scans the DOM Tree much quicker.

The new release also comes with a geolocation function which enables webservers to pinpoint positions of users via the Firefox browser, either through the IP address or by means of a radio network bearing- provided explicit permission is given by the user. Thanks to an object-saving cache, some tasks can be carried out offline. This should prove useful for a multitude of web applications. Firefox brings a number of further features, but not yet support for multi-threading, which will probably come with version 3.6.

Firefox 3.5 can be downloaded from Mozilla's own server, or from a number of mirrors, like here or here.

Related content

  • Firefox: New Beta and Security Updates

    Beginning of the week saw the emergence of two Firefox browser releases. They should be a win for stability and security.

  • Firefox Alpha with Video-Support

    The second early Firefox 3.1 test version (code-named Shiretoko Alpha 2) provides at first glance a video tag, which allows audio and video to be played in free Ogg/Theora format.

  • Firefox 4 Beta 4 Released

    Sync, improved HTML5 support, WebGL support* top the list of new enhancements to the beta.

  • Fresh Moonlight

    Moonlight is the name of Novell's Linux implementation of Microsoft's Silverlight 1.0 technology. Moonlight is now available in a Beta version for 32 and 64 Bit Linux systems, albeit only for Firefox users.

  • From 3.1 to 3.5: Version leap for Firefox?

    Mozilla is considering changing the version number of the expected Firefox 3.1 to Firefox 3.5. This, according to developers, will emphasize the sheer volume of work and vast changes already undertaken in version 3.1.

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News