Firefox 5.0 set for imminent release

Stephen Withers
Monday, 20 June 2011 14:49

Business IT - Open Source

What's in a number? If Firefox 5.0 was called Firefox 4.1, would you be more or less likely to use it?

Those who still follow the old saw about never using the x.0 version of an application - preferring to wait for the supposed stability and reliability of x.1 and later releases - may be about to come unstuck. Apparently spurred by Google's rapid iteration practices and swiftly-changing major version numbers, Mozilla is about to release Firefox 5.0.

Firefox 4.0 was only released in late March, but 5.0 is scheduled for official release on June 21. What appears to be the final build of 5.0 - in that the version number is not qualified in any way - is already available from Mozilla's FTP server, so it seems that target will be met. In the interests of Mozilla's distribution mechanisms, we'd suggest waiting until 5.0 is available via the Mozilla home page.

It's arguable whether the changes in Firefox 5.0 (which include support for CSS animations, improved standards support and performance in various areas, and some security changes) would warrant incrementing the major version number. But that's the way Mozilla has decided to go, with a total of four major versions planned over the course of 2011.