Mozilla launches new Firefox today

Fudzilla ^ | 11/15/2017 | Nick Farrell

[Elderberry]

Quantum it is rather good

Mozilla today launched Firefox 57, branded Firefox Quantum, for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS. We have been running it for a month or so and it is rather good.

Mozilla calls Quantum “by far the biggest update since Firefox 1.0 in 2004”, but even ignoring the hyperbole it does bring much needed performance improvements and a visual redesign to the Firefox stable.

Firefox 57 for the desktop is available for download now on Firefox.com, and all existing users should be able to upgrade to it automatically. The Android version is trickling out slowly on Google Play, and the iOS version - which is usually updated separately from the other platforms - should eventually arrive on Apple’s App Store.

Mozilla says that Firefox Quantum is twice as fast as Firefox was six months ago, and according to the still in development) Speedometer 2.0 benchmark, it also uses 30 percent less memory than Chrome.

While Firefox has historically run mostly on just one CPU core, Firefox Quantum finally takes advantage of multiple CPU cores on desktop and mobile. Firefox Quantum features a faster CSS engine written in Rust that runs quickly, in parallel across multiple CPU cores, instead of running in one slower sequence on a single core.

Firefox Quantum prioritizes the tab being used before other tabs you have open in the background. It includes a new CSS engine called Stylo, which takes better advantage of multiple CPU cores that are optimised for low power consumption.

[minnesota_bound]

#5 I have been using NoSquint Plus by Baris Derin but in Firefox version 56 and a few earlier versions it has not been remembering my settings.

Read the reviews for complaints:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/nosquint-plus/?src=api

I do not want to update to 57 as several of my add-ons like Tab Mix Plus have not updated yet or “Classic Theme Restorer” which brings back the old look of Firefox before Google bribed Mozilla ($100 million) to make Firefox look like Chrome.
I have installed the Waterfox browser and may switch over if need be but for now I have Firefox set to not update.

Not compatible with Firefox Quantum
Read the links “About this extension”
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/classicthemerestorer/

‘Classic’ css tweaks for Firefox 57+ v1.2.9
https://github.com/Aris-t2/CustomCSSforFx/releases/

Waterfox browser is based on Firefox and will keep legacy add-on support, so CTR will work even after Firefox 57 release. https://www.waterfoxproject.org

Tab Mix Plus
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tab-mix-plus/?src=userprofile

[minnesota_bound]

#6 Older versions.
Backup the bookmarks Ctrl + Shift + B
Import and Backup> Backup and save to your desktop.
If Firefox did not import then you can manually by clicking on Restore> Choose File and browse to the desktop file.

Uninstall the new version and install the older version.
All your extensions may or may not show up.
http://mozilla_firefox.en.downloadastro.com/old_versions/

[CedarDave]

You might want to PING your Windows list for this thread.

[uncbob]

So far running great

[Blue Highway]

Thanks to this thread and your post I just tried the Brave browser. I like it a lot but one thing that I can do with every browser is when I press the backspace key it should do the same thing as hitting the back arrow on the browser itself. Is there a setting to change hotkeys in the settings somewhere I may have missed when I looked?

[Blue Highway]

Is Waterfox abandoned still, or have they made updates? IIRC when I was using it they stopped updates in 2014 or earlier? Then I switched to Palemoon, and recently Opera Mini Portable, and today I am using Brave.

[Blue Highway]

Please tell me what extensions for HTML for use in FR. THis would save me a lot of time. Thanks in advance.

[dayglored]

Firefox 57 -- Quantum... PING!

You can find all the Windows Ping list threads with FR search: just search on keyword "windowspinglist".

Thanks to CedarDave for the ping!!

[dayglored]

I just now downloaded and installed 57/Quantum and it's MUCH faster than my existing 52.

This is on both a Win7 Pro VM, and in the VM's host, a Mac Mini. I'll check it out on my Linux machine later.

Wow. Much better.

[Dalberg-Acton]

From a cursory look in Synaptic, it is not available in the Linux Mint repositories yet.

[Bob434]

thanks- Not sure though why there is no option to upgrade it? Seems a bit odd- should be an option to turn it off or on-

[Right Wing Assault]

Mozilla is a non-profit group that wrote and regularly modifies, upgrades, occasionally screws up, Firefox. It isn't always as user friendly as products developed by some for-profit companies.

If you have a question about Firefox, there are two solutions. First, you can do a internet search such as "prevent Firefox updates"

Second, you should have near the top of your bookmarks, a folder called "Mozilla Firefox." Click on it an you will see several choices. One of those is "Help and Tutorials." Click on it and you will see "Search Mozilla Support" and "Ask a question." Under Search, type "prevent Firefox updates."

Or if you want to learn how to go back to an older version type "older versions"

Could this have been made more obvious and simple? Yes, but that can be said about many things.

Once you know these "tricks" you can get answers to your Firefox questions.

One question a lot of us have is, "Why can we modify some things in its layout, but you won't let us change some other things."

BTW, there are add-ons available to change the layout of the controls found at the top of Firefox if you want.

Hope this is helpful now and in the future!

[matthew fuller]

Thanks profusely! The Auto-upgrade totally trashed my windows 7 professional. I couldn’t do anything without my machine locking up, had to power off and restart. Changed over to IE 11 so I could run, but all shortcuts were invalid. Just followed your URL to go back and everything seems ok. Thanks again!

[Bob434]

[[Once you know these “tricks” you can get answers to your Firefox questions.]]

Sorry- just figured that freerepublic would have knowledgeable people who have used firefox for many years- Be the same really as asking in mozilla forums- unless folks here really don’t know why the option is missing-

I have done Internet search and All I’m finding on the net is the same thing that was suggested to me previously, but i have no option to disable firefox updates specifically- just to disable search engine updates only-

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

The previous iteration of Firefox would gobble up memory as browsing progressed, making the browser’s performance slow or stuttery. I will see, since it updated at work, if this new version does the same.

[knarf]

Apparently that was what was happening.

I'm obviously no geek, so I rely on those that actually go in and follow electrons.

I'd like to, but this ol' brain jes' don't learn new stuff very easily.

[JockoManning]

Does the new FF Quantum automatically configure a 64bit version for a 64 bit CPU?

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

About NoScript: now that is good news. Thanks!

[central_va]

I installed FireFox yesterday and it is now already running clunky slow. It picked up a virus that fast. I ran spybot and a totalAV scan and it did not help. I am back to using Chrome. I am sick of reinstalling my browser daily.

[JoeProBono]

Mine did