First RC for Mobile Firefox Fennec
Stuart Parmenter, responsible for Mozilla's mobile realm, has announced at the start of the new year in the Mozilla blog the first release candidate for the mobile Firefox.
According to the software developer's announcement, the Fennec text rendering has improved. Under the covers there are to be various optimizations for the Nokia N900, such as /opt for an installation directory. Since N900 support begun in October 2009 beta 4, no new features were added. The release notes for RC 1.0 ended up being a summary of the beta phase accomplishments, so that enhancements aren't individually itemized. The stable 1.0 was actually planned for 2009.
Users already having the beta version installed on the N900 should automatically get an update notice. Other users of the N900 and N810 should install the Maemo build directly from the Mozilla download page, in one of the fully localized versions. For testers, translators and add-on developers without their own Maemo smartphone, a packed and compressed Desktop Builds version for Linux (i686), Mac and Windows is available per FTP.
Among known issues, the release notes list Flash performance problems when the browser plugin is active. Performance is also an issue with the less powerful N810 and N800 tablets; the intended use of Fennec is still on the N900.
The Fennec mobile Firefox has been in planning since end of 2007, originally intended for Symbian. Because the Mozilla team has meanwhile concentrated on the Nokia N series with Maemo, the question in the pavlov blog, "Hey, when it comes to Symbian smartphones..?" remains unanswered.
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.
News
-
Kubuntu Focus Goes Ultra
The Kubuntu Focus team has upped the performance ante of its M2 and Zr laptops with the latest, greatest CPUs from Intel.
-
Linux Gamers May Soon See Less Mouse Lag in KDE Plasma
Gamers using KDE’s Plasma desktop have been suffering from a slight input delay in mouse movement that could lead to getting fragged.
-
Three Lines of Code Improve Linux Storage Performance
A developer changed three lines of code, giving Linux storage performance a 5% bump.
-
AUR Hit Again with Malicious Packages
Once again the Arch User Repository is plagued by a high volume of malicious packages.
-
Alpine Linux 3.24 Features Fresh Desktops and a Newer Kernel
If you're a fan of Alpine Linux, it's time to upgrade because the latest version has been released with KDE Plasma 6.6, Gnome 50, and Linux kernel 6.18 LTS.
-
EU Open Source Strategy Plays Key Role in Tech Sovereignty Package
Comprehensive measures adopted by the European Commission aim to reduce dependency on non-EU countries.
-
Linux Foundation Report Indicates AI Driving Tech Hiring
Within growing security and skills gaps, AI has been found to be a positive driving force behind tech hiring trends in Europe.
-
United Nations Open Source Portal Goes Live
A new open source portal seeks to coordinate and scale open source efforts across the United Nations system.
-
KDE Linux Drops AUR
KDE Linux developers have dropped the Arch User Repository from the build pipeline due to security concerns; other distributions should consider doing the same.
-
California May Exempt Linux from Its Age-Verification Law
After backlash from the Linux community, California may be backing off on its promise to force all operating systems to verify age, but one platform may still have to comply.