The new desktop version was available on the organization’s FTP servers on August 5, but that was just the initial release. Firefox 23 has now officially been released over on Firefox.com and all existing users should be able to automatically upgrade to it. As always, the Android version is edging out slowly on Google Play. The biggest addition is the new share button and panel for the browser’s Social API. Developers can now let users share content with anyone in one click (Facebook users, for example, can use it to share content directly from Firefox, regardless of where they are on the Web). Next is the mixed content blocker, which is designed to prevent non-secure (HTTP) content on a website from being read or modified by attackers by blocking the non-secure content from being compromised. If you didn’t know, mixed content occurs when a webpage containing a combination of both secure (HTTPS) and non-secure (HTTP) content is delivered over a secure data channel to the web browser. Additionally in this release, developers can finally use the new Network Monitor, this works by It breaks down individual website components, highlighting how long it takes for each to load. More details are located on the Mozilla website . There are other
Firefox 23 features worth noting, which are noted here taken from the official changelog:
NEW: Mixed content blocking enabled to protects users from man-in-the-middle attacks and eavesdroppers on HTTPS pages (learn more).
NEW: Options panel created for Web Developer Toolbox.
CHANGED: “Enable JavaScript” preference checkbox has been removed and user-set values will be reset to the default.
CHANGED: Updated Firefox Logo.
CHANGED: Improved about: memory’s functional UI.
CHANGED: Simplified interface for notifications of plugin installation.
CHANGED: Enabled DXVA2 on Windows Vista+ to accelerate H.264 video decoding.
CHANGED: Users can now switch to a new search provider across the entire browser.
CHANGED: CSP policies using the standard syntax and semantics will now be enforced.
CHANGED: input type=’file’ rendering improvements (see bug 838675).
CHANGED: Replace fixed-ratio audio re sampler in webrtc.org capture code with Speex re sampler and eliminate pseudo-44000Hz rate.
CHANGED: “Load images automatically” and Always show the tab bar” checkboxes removed from preferences and reset to defaults.
DEVELOPER: HTML5 input type=”range” form control implemented.
DEVELOPER: Write more accessible pages on touch interfaces with new ARIA role for key buttons.
DEVELOPER: Social share functionality.
DEVELOPER: Added unprefixed request Animation Frame.
DEVELOPER: Implemented a global browser console.
DEVELOPER: Dropped blink effect from text-decoration: blink; and completely removed element
DEVELOPER: New feature in toolbox: Network Monitor.
FIXED: Various security fixes.
If you are a Web developer, you should take a look at Firefox 23 for developers.
Android
Firefox for Android also includes the new logo, but it has a swing of its new features specific to Google’s mobile platform as well. The biggest addition is a new personalized page called the Awesome Screen, which also completes your URL as-you-type. The “Switch to Tab” option lets you find and switch to any open tab from your Awesome Screen without opening duplicated tabs. Like Chrome for Android, Firefox now hides its navigation bar when scrolling down (you can pull it down from the top of the screen when you need it). The new version also includes basic support for subscribing to RSS feeds with a long-tap in the address bar. Firefox for Android also now lets you change your default search provider from the Firefox add-ons manager.
The full Firefox 23 for Android changelog:
NEW: Dynamic toolbar hides navigation bar when scrolling down page content.
NEW: Basic support for subscribing to feeds (RSS/Atom) with long-tap in address bar.
NEW: Add pages to reading list on devices incapable of accessing Reader Mode.
NEW: Preliminary implementation of Firefox Health Report for Android (see FAQ).
NEW: Added a setting to let users display URLs in the title bar instead of page titles.
NEW: Users can now specify a default search engine.
NEW: Implemented switch-to-tab.
NEW: Added hu and tr to Android multi-locale builds.
NEW: Added Serif/Sans Serif font toggle to Reader Mode.
NEW: Long press Reader Mode icon to add article to Reading List (try it!).
CHANGED: Awesomescreen remembers user entered search terms.
CHANGED: CSP policies using the standard syntax and semantics will now be enforced.
DEVELOPER: Write more accessible pages on touch interfaces with new ARIA role for key buttons.
DEVELOPER: Added unprefixed requestAnimationFrame.
DEVELOPER: HTML5 input type=”range” form control implemented.
DEVELOPER: Dropped blink effect from text-decoration: blink; and completely removed element.
FIXED:Various security fixes.
If you are having some difficulty in keeping track of all of these updates, then you need not worry. Mozilla will be releasing Firefox 24 in September!
