For Firefox 4, You'll Need To Wait Until 2011 238
An anonymous reader writes "Mozilla said that it will not be releasing Firefox 4 RC, or the final version, before early 2011. Apparently, the bugfixes in the current beta take up much more time than anticipated. Mozilla is working on the feature freeze release Beta 7, which has 14 bugs left. The beta 7 is about six weeks behind schedule and will be released 'when it is ready,' according to Mozilla. It seems as if the original schedule, which estimated that Firefox 4 RC would be released in the second half of October was a bit too optimistic. Microsoft, by the way, released a new IE9 platform preview (PP6) at PDC 20910 today."
When it's done (Score:5, Interesting)
Anybody remember if... (Score:3, Interesting)
Depends on what "beta" means... (Score:5, Interesting)
You could have predicted this lateness because the Firefox folks seem to think "beta" means "Let's add new features every couple of days". I've been using Minefield on and off for several months and it got a lot less stable once it hit the "beta" stage, about the same time that they started changing a bunch of things and adding a bunch of features. Before it went to "beta" it had been fine for a long time, but several times since the beta stage I've had to revert to 3.6.
Yes, I realize I'm using nightlies and should expect bugs, etc, but the traditional definition (not that it is relevant any more) of "beta test" is that the software is basically complete and is being tested for stability and regression, _not_ that it is in a mode where new features are being added on a weekly basis.
I'm looking forward to Firefox 4 and am sure it will be good overall when it's finally done, but the progress in this period of development has not filled me with a lot of confidence that this will be any time soon.
Re:Anybody remember if... (Score:3, Interesting)
Java integration: if you want to run a 64 bit JVM for your plugins then you want a 64-bit browser.
Better Flash support: 64-bit flash plugin runs better than the 32-bit version on a 64-bit platform.
WebGL / Canvas is really exciting! (Score:5, Interesting)
I've wanted a way to draw in a browser - I mean really draw, not just use divs as pixels - for a long time now. Finally it's here! WebGL is really smooth now, I've been watching it in the latest minefield builds. Some guy in IRC posted a demo city drawing that had 24k faces and still rendered smooth as silk. 2d drawing on a canvas is also very nice - very easy to use.
This is the dawn of a new era of killer web content. My guess - within two years, WebGL will be the highest paying job in web dev.
A few more months is nothing, I've been waiting years for this ;-)
Re:Depends on what "beta" means... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:When it's done (Score:5, Interesting)
>>>Unless we're talking about Microsoft, in which any delay is castigated.
The delay of Vista was one of the best things for users. It's allowed me (and others too) to use the same XP computer for nearly ten years. Plus the occasional RAM upgrade (from 128 to 512K). What a great bargain that allowed me to save tons of money, and it reminds me of how I was able to use my Commodore Amiga for ten years without needing to upgrade.
Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to get 10 years out of my Windows 7 or OS10.6 machine, which is a shame because I'm used to driving things until they die. My TV is twenty years - my VCR 15 years - the cars are 25 years and 13 years respectively. I like to get my money out of the things I buy.
Re:IE6 Exclusively (Score:1, Interesting)
That's because you lack vision.
As a web developer, I LOVE IE 6. If my clients want IE 6 compatibility I gladly give it to them - at a 50% premium.
Re:WebGL / Canvas is really exciting! (Score:5, Interesting)
If it's exploits you're looking for, I doubt WebGL is a good vector for attack. It's a relatively small finite API. Where are you going to attack? Vertex and fragment data is only handled at all inside a shader - which you must supply. Good luck breaking out of that box. Any obvious attacks like resource over-allocation will likely be squashed quickly.
Compare this with the video spec, which has a huge abstraction right in the middle of it. This opens up any attack vectors that are already in the supported codecs.
Re:Use nightlies (Score:3, Interesting)
No kidding (Score:3, Interesting)
And we need the move to happen sooner rather than later if we want a hope of ditching the compatibility any time soon. Even if every app went 64-bit today, it would be years and years before an OS could realistically jettison the 32-bit layer, because people would need to keep running older apps. So it would be good to get on this shit now rather than later so maybe in a decade or two we can get rid of the 32-bit layers.
As an example of how long this shit can stay around if you don't work at it, look at the 16-bit issues. 64-bit Windows doesn't have a 16-bit compatibility layer. There is good reason for this because the one that is in 32-bit Windows wouldn't work, you can't access the processor mode needed from long mode. So they'd have to redo the whole thing in a much more complex emulation manner which is not even remotely worth it.
Well should be no problem right? I mean 32-bit has been around for a long time, and everyone really went 32-bit in 1995-1996 with Win95. You'd have to have amazingly old apps to have a problem...
Ya not so much. People were still using 16-bit installers because "It still worked," and shit like that. You can find stuff from not that long ago that will fail to work completely on 64-bit Windows because it has 16-bit parts. Usually just the installer (and MS has some workarounds for that) but sometimes it'll be something like the main app is 32-bit but it has a 16-bit helper or whatever.
This same shit will go on with 64-bit as well, but a major step to making it easier and faster is for companies to stop being retarded and start putting out 64-bit versions of their stuff. Nobody is saying stop with 32-bit versions, there are still lots of 32-bit systems, just put out 64-bit versions as well. Yes, there may be problems with things like plugins. Guess what? Gotta have the 64-bit versions before 64-bit plugins are useful!
The audio industry has been dealing with this since there more memory IS needed. Yes, it has been a pain and no the process isn't complete yet, but these days most software ca be had 32 or 64-bit, including plugins, and you use the ones you need.