IT and Society: Firefox 10 released

A non-profit organization Mozilla Foundation has rolled out Firefox 10 which is now available as a free download on Mozilla’s website.

There are a few features which distinguish Firefox 10 from earlier versions. Thus, the new version adopts another approach to managing add-on modules – extra modules which improve browser’s performance.

Firefox 10 improves add-on compatibility - most add-ons compatible with Firefox version 4 and later will now automatically be marked as compatible by the browser without any additional updates from the add-on's developer.

Along with the “traditional” Firefox 10 version Mozilla is rolling out browser’s version for enterprises. Known as ESR (Extended Support Release) the new special Firefox browser version will receive less frequent updates than traditional ones. The ESR version is for use by enterprises which have to adapt add-ons for this browser each time there is a new Firefox update. Major Firefox ESR updates will occur every 42 weeks, unlike the six-week release cycle.

Mozilla’s Firefox 13, which is due in June 2012, is expected to move to auto update.