Mozilla has launched Firefox 59 for Windows, Mac, Linux, & Android. The release builds on Firefox Quantum, which the company calls “by far the biggest update since Firefox 1.0 in 2004.”
So what’s new in Version 59? Faster page load times, private browsing mode that strips path information, & Android Assist.
Performance enhancements:
– Faster load times for Content on the Firefox Home page
– Faster page load times by loading either from the networked cache or the cache on the user’s hard drive (Race Cache With Network)
– Improved graphics rendering using Off-Main-Thread Painting (OMTP) for Mac users (OMTP for Windows was released in Firefox 58)
Drag-and-drop to rearrange ‘Top Sites’ on the Firefox Home page, & customize new windows & tabs in other ways
Added features for Firefox Screenshots:
– Basic annotation lets the user draw on and highlight saved screenshots
– Recropping to change the viewable area of saved screenshots
Enhanced WebExtensions API including better support for decentralized protocols & the ability to dynamically register content scripts
Improved Real-Time Communications (RTC) capabilities.
– Implemented RTP Transceiver to give pages more fine grained control over calls
– Implemented features to support large scale conferences
Added support for W3C specs for pointer events & improved platform integration with added device support for mouse, pen, & touch screen pointer input
Added the Ecosia search engine as an option for German Firefox
Added the Qwant search engine as an option for French Firefox
Added settings in about preferences to stop Websites from asking to send notifications or access your device’s camera, microphone, & location, while still allowing trusted Websites to use these features.
