Firefox 4.0, the Next Major Version of Firefox

[Crispy]

According to Mozilla’s current plans, the next major release of its open source browser will be labeled Firefox 4.0.While the moniker is bound not to be a real surprise for quite a consistent number of Mozilla watchers, the fact of the matter is that the browser vendor has not officially announced that Firefox 4.0 would be the successor of Firefox 3.6. At one point, Mozilla was planning two upgrades to Firefox 3.5, namely versions 3.6 and 3.7. Firefox 3.6 was delivered earlier this year, and it looks like Firefox 4.0 will be next.

​

”As many have heard, I've been working with various stakeholders in order to put together a product plan for the next version of Firefox, which is looking like it will be called Firefox 4. I'm happy to say that it's at a point where I'd like to present it to the community in order to set expectations and focus, as well as in order to gather more feedback and thoughts,” revealed Mike Beltzner, director of Firefox.

Full read: Firefox 4.0, the Next Major Version of Firefox - It?s quasi-official - Softpedia

 

[JMH]

Firefox 4 roadmap unveiled; beta expected in June

For quite some time, Mozilla has been hard at work on Firefox 4. What was initially planned to be Firefox 3.7 has officially been rolled into Firefox 3.6.4, which is currently available in beta form, featuring out-of-process plugins. Firefox 4 is expected to be an all-out overhaul and evolutionary version of the world's second most popular browser.
On beltzner.ca, an early product plan for Firefox 4 has been made public. The roadmap is not set in stone, however, the slide show gives the world an unheard of, detailed, glimpse into what will make up Mozilla's next major release. As seen in slide 27, the first beta is expected towards the end of June, with the final release coming in November. Keep in mind, this is all subject to change.


Here's some of what we can expect from Firefox 4:

• Speed - it will be "super-duper fast"
• Power - it will support " 5 and beyond"
• Empowerment - users will be allowed to fully control their browser, its data, and their web experience
• Completely re-vamped user interface allowing layout customization and less chrome
• Improved stability and security
• Ability to install add-ons without restarting browser
• Better tools for developers
• 64-bit support
• Hardware acceleration
• Multitouch support

Source -
Neowin.net - Firefox 4 roadmap unveiled; beta expected in June

 

[Win7User512]

Firefox 4

Mozilla hopes to release Firefox 4 in October or November, a new version that has speed among its top goals.
"Performance is a huge, huge, huge thing for us," said Mike Beltzner, vice president of engineering for Firefox, in a Webcast on Tuesday about plans for the browser. "We created the performance story, and we've got to keep at it."
Among other features planned for Firefox 4--and Mozilla emphatically cautions that plans can change--are support for high-speed graphics and text through Direct2D on Windows; a tidier user interface with more prominent and poweful tabs; support for several newer Web technologies; 64-bit versions; and compatibility with multitouch interfaces.
Performance means any number of things in a browser. Among them: the time it takes to launch the program or to load a Web page, the responsiveness of the user interface to commands such as opening new tabs, and the speed with which Web-based JavaScript programs execute. Firefox programmers also will work on more perceptual speed improvements, Beltzner said, such as changing the order that Web page elements appear on the screen and the appearance of the page-loading progress bar.

Click here for more.

 

[yowanvista]

At least a 64-bit version

 

[fseal]

They should skip over 4.0 and go to 5.0. Netscape/Mozilla don't have a good history with the 4.0 version number

 

[manhunter2826]

Their sights on Chrome -- especially with regards to speed

Thanks for the link Win7.

 

[v0id]

Beta in June

 

[stormy13]

At least a 64-bit version

Already is,

Firefoxownload - Mozilla x86-64

Nice to play around with, but not much point if you want Flash.

 

[Arc]

They should skip over 4.0 and go to 5.0. Netscape/Mozilla don't have a good history with the 4.0 version number

Interesting info

 

[yowanvista]

64-bit version too

 

[severedsolo]

64-bit version too

and what good is that? flash are still sitting on their a**es doing nothing

 

[manhunter2826]

64-bit?

^Wow, that I did not know -- it's not mentioned in the article?

 

[Win7User512]

64-bit?

^Wow, that I did not know -- it's not mentioned in the article?

"Also on the Firefox 4 plan is support for 64-bit processors. Operating systems have now made the jump in earnest, but not all software has followed suit." (In the article)

64-bit version too

and what good is that? flash are still sitting on their a**es doing nothing

Yeah, they are. But you recall what Steve Jobs said about Flash. Besides others have had some of the same criticisms that he discussed.

 

[manhunter2826]

^Thanks Win7.

 

[JMH]

Mozilla’s Firefox browser is a lot like an aging athlete: It’s far easier to stay in shape than it is to fall out of shape and recover. Firefox is in that latter camp, a slightly plump browser that aims to be as buff as a sprinter—even “super-duper fast” in its next version.

When it comes to browsers, the success of Google’s Chrome reveals thin is in. Minimalist matters. The challenge for established browsers like Internet Explorer and Firefox is that they have to slim down a bit. However, that’s easier said than done when you have a bunch of plug-ins, add-ons and an established user base you can’t afford to alienate.

With that backdrop Mike Belzner, vice president of engineering at Firefox, delivered a Webcast outlining plans for Firefox 4. The message boils down to three words (Techmeme): Performance, power and personalization. Firefox needs to be fast, tidy and support new technologies such as 64-bit, Direct2D on Windows and other items.

Gallery: First looks at Firefox 4

More -
Firefox 4: Can it become 'super-duper' fast? | ZDNet

 

[polarbear]

Always been a fan of Firefox... Looking forward to the new version and possible the 64-bit version... GL

 

[Lordbob75]

Mozilla's Firefox 4 roadmap: faster, friendlier, more s

Mozilla's Firefox 4 roadmap: faster, friendlier, more secure

Firefox Director Mike Beltzner has presented his plan for Firefox 4, the next major update of Mozilla's browser. Guiding the development of the new version are the questions "Who uses Firefox?" and "What do they want from it?"

Source: Mozilla's Firefox 4 roadmap: faster, friendlier, more secure

Yay!!!

~Lordbob

 

[johngalt]

It's about time they started seriously looking at x64 builds. Of course, without Flash, that makes it a bit less fun, but hey, that's Adobe's fault, not Mozilla's.

Not sure if this is still true or not, but ISTR that they were gonna scrap Fx 3.7 and the current trunk builds of 3.7 would be moved to the 4.0 trunk - but I haven't seen that happen yet (and it has been several months). I wonder if that is true or not?

Fx still has me b/c of the customizability, but Chrome is coming in close now with its feature set and the explosion in extensions for it. The main two reasons I still use Fx now are 1) Weave, and 2) NoScript.....

 

[Dark Nova Gamer]

It's about time they started seriously looking at x64 builds. Of course, without Flash, that makes it a bit less fun, but hey, that's Adobe's fault, not Mozilla's.

Not sure if this is still true or not, but ISTR that they were gonna scrap Fx 3.7 and the current trunk builds of 3.7 would be moved to the 4.0 trunk - but I haven't seen that happen yet (and it has been several months). I wonder if that is true or not?

Fx still has me b/c of the customizability, but Chrome is coming in close now with its feature set and the explosion in extensions for it. The main two reasons I still use Fx now are 1) Weave, and 2) NoScript.....

Wouldn't HTML5 support cover the 64-bit Flash issue?

 

[johngalt]

Only for those sites that decide to convert to using HTML5 - anyone still using Flash (and I guarantee that there will be more than a couple) will leave x64 users out in the cold.