Firefox 8 Official Edition: Adds Twitter Search, Improved Control of Add-ons

Version 8.0 is the latest in a rapid series of releases from Mozilla that has seen development accelerated to rival the likes of Google Chrome.

Whereas version 7, release six weeks ago, concentrated on behind-the-scenes improvements, version 8 does feature some noticeable changes, including an Add-ons Compatibility Assistant plus an option for speeding up startup.

The new Add-Ons Compatibility Assistant only appears whenever the browser has been updated. It lists all add-ons, making it clear which ones have been disabled for compatibility reasons and inviting the user to review all third-party add-ons, giving them the opportunity to disable any before the browser starts.

Another related new feature is that third-party add-ons can no longer install themselves silently – instead the user will be clearly warned what’s happening, provided more information about the add-on in question and allowed to block it if required.

The latest version adds following features: Add-ons installed by third party programs are now disabled by default; Added a one-time add-on selection dialog to manage previously installed add-ons; Added Twitter to the search bar; Added a preference to load tabs on demand, improving start-up time when windows are restored; Improved tab animations when moving, reordering, or detaching tabs; Improved performance and memory handling when using <audio> and <video> elements; Added CORS support for cross-domain textures in WebGL; Added support for HTML5 context menus; Added support for insertAdjacentHTML; Improved CSS hyphen support for many languages; Improved WebSocket support and Fixed several stability issues.

With the memory hole plugged, Firefox 8 Beta sees attention turn back again to implementing new features and tweaking the user interface. This is apparent from the moment you first upgrade to version 8 – a new Add-Ons compatibility assistant launches disabling incompatible add-ons and giving you the option to selectively disable others. Once complete, you won’t see this window again until the next time Firefox updates.

According to the blog post and release notes, the following new features has been added in Firefox 8 Beta 6: Twitter Search: Firefox Beta adds Twitter as a default search option to make searching #hashtags and @usernames easier. (Currently available in English, Portuguese and Slovenian. More languages will be added in future releases.) Restore tabs on demand: Users can choose to load tabs only when selected, resulting in faster start-up times when windows with lots of tabs are restored. Windows users can find this option in the Firefox Menu, under Options, on the General tab. Mac users can find this option in the Firefox Menu, under Preferences, in the General tab.

Enhanced control of add-ons: Users will receive a one-time notification to review and confirm third party add-ons they want to keep, disable or delete. When Firefox starts and finds that a third-party program has installed an add-on, Firefox will disable the add-on until the user has explicitly opted in, giving users better control over their Web experience. Tab animations: Firefox makes it easier to re-order and tear off tabs with animated tab movement. CORS for WebGL textures: Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) enables Web developers to load textures from other domains for WebGL in a secure way.  WebSockets updates: Firefox now prevents the use of plaintext WebSockets when created from an SSL page, which improves security for users.

HTML5 Native Right Click Menu: Web developers can now add items directly to the Firefox right click menu using simple HTML5 markup. HTML5 media elements: Developers can add a lot of video and audio elements to a website without impacting performance.

In addition, Twitter Search is also available in Android version, furthermore, the Android edition of the latest Firefox 8 Beta 1 has two more features: Master Password Support: This feature uses one master password to help users encrypt saved usernames and passwords for increased security. Home Screen Bookmarks: Users can add any bookmarked website to their Android Home Screen and launch it with one click.

Firefox 8 Beta will install over the top of any existing stable release, so while it’s undergone a lot of testing to this point, is still not stable enough to be considered safe for less experienced users, although it’s likely to be robust enough for most day-to-day browsing needs. If installing the beta, take a backup using a tool like MozBackup before you begin.