By Bob Rankin
What’s New in Firefox Version 5?
If you want to download Firefox 5 right now, visit the Firefox 5 website, or click on “About Firefox” under the “Help” tab in your Firefox browser.
Firefox 4 users had complained about a decline in performance, and Firefox 5 addresses these issues with hundreds of behind-the scenes tweaks. Firefox 5 uses less memory, even with multiple tabs open. It starts nearly as fast as Google Chrome, beta testers report. In the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark test, Firefox 5 is much faster than either Chrome or Internet Explorer 9.
Ten bugs in Firefox 4 were fixed, including one in the WebGL 3D rendering standard that Microsoft has called a security hole.
Among the significant new features are improved support for HTML5 and the addition of the CSS Animations standard.
The Android version of Firefox 5 now includes the “Do Not Track” feature, which enables users to tell Web sites not to track their browsing habits. The Android Firefox 5 also sports performance enhancements, particularly on 3G networks, and support for IPv6.
What About Incompatible Add-ons?
On the downside, some add-ons are flagged as incompatible with Firefox 5, including AVG Antivirus, the Google toolbar, the RoboForm password manager, and the popular TinyURL Generator. That’s not unusual with major new versions of Firefox. It takes add-on developers some time to update their code for new versions.
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This excerpt is shared with permission from Bob Rankin.
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