Mozilla has launched version 14.0.1 of its Firefox browser. The notable changes include security fixes, bug fixes, and small feature optimizations all around.
The biggest change in this release is a new feature allowing Firefox add-ons to be loaded on-click. This could help reduce memory usage, make plugins that are only used occasionally much more tolerable, and make the browsing experience more secure. To enable this functionality, a change in the about:config is required. Enable the plugins.click_to_play flag to utilize this feature. For more information, see these pages:
- https://wiki.mozilla.org/Opt-in_activation_for_plugins
- http://msujaws.wordpress.com/2012/04/11/opting-in-to-plugins-in-firefox/
- https://msujaws.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/site-specific-permissions-for-firefox-opt-in-plugins/
When
plugins.click_to_playis enabled, plugins will require an extra click to activate and start “playing” content. This is an incremental step towards securing our users, reducing memory usage, and opening up the web.
Google searches through Firefox will now use HTTPS. Remember that addon I had developed a while ago until Mozilla disabled it, listing it as a duplicate of another plugin that many users complained did not work as well as mine? Now, Firefox operates that way by default. It’s a good change but it took a long while for them to implement something easy enough to change.
Mac OS X Lion can now utilize full screen browsing. The Awesome Bar auto-completes typed URLs. CSS:hover and GIF animation bugs have been fixed.
See the Firefox 14.0 Release Notes for details or the buglist for the complete list of changes in this version of the browser. The release notes also indicate security fixes have been implemented but the Security Advisories for Firefox list has not yet been updated for Firefox 14 changes.
Download the latest Firefox at http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/
Firefox for Android has also updated today. It’s a snappy browser that has actually become my preferred browser on my smartphone.