It seems like only yesterday that the last iteration of Mozilla's Firefox web browser - 5.0 - was released. In reality, it was around 60 days ago. And on Tuesday, the company will officially release Firefox 6 to the public.
Mozilla promises both behind-the-scenes tweaks and subtle visual changes will be present in Firefox 6.0, including quicker browser boot-up for Panorama users and a new "streamlined" appearance for the site identity block. Bugs reported in the beta (which was launched in early July) such as slow Gmail scrolling, PDF viewing instability with Adobe Reader X and crashes related to locked profile browsing should also be ironed out soon.
Firefox 5.0 boasted mostly back-end improvements - from improved JavaScript to enhanced HTML5 support. Firefox 4.0, however, featured a notable cosmetic alteration: switching tabs from below the address bar to above it. Firefox 6.0 seemingly has more in common with the former in that respect. Long-time users might be grateful that they won't need to adjust to a revamped interface. On the other hand, there's no denying fresh and new equals exciting.
As of press time, the official Firefox site does not offer 6.0 - just 5.0.1. However, PCWorld claimed earlier today that those who lack patience can actually download it early via Firefox's FTP servers. The company is reminding people that pending the official release, Firefox 6.0 is "still going through QA testing." So, download at your own risk.
Firefox 7.0 is slated for release this September, with Firefox 8 due just two months later. In April, the company announced its plan to shorten its software release schedule. This relatively quick turnaround for new browser versions is the result.
