Mozilla knows it caters to some pretty hardcore fans. Folks who want the latest Firefox browser before it's officially launched - bugs and glitches be damned. Keeping with tradition, the company has posted an early version of Firefox 8 ahead of its official November 8 release.
Tech news blog ghacks confirmed the new version was published on November 5. Firefox 8's beta release notes covered some of its new features.
Firefox 8 features a Twitter search engine right built into the address bar. New security tweaks will better protect users from cyber threats; third-party add-on software needs to be turned on manually now.
Greater flexibility with enabling (and disabling) add-on content may not allay critics who constantly find their favorite ones blocked with each new browser update, but it doesn't hurt. Upon firing up Firefox 8, users will need to turn on their previously downloaded add-on software.
Mozilla made Firefox 7 leaner and more memory efficient, calling previous iterations "memory hogs." The browser is still on a diet. Firefox 8 should reduce the speed of start-ups and window restores.
Thanks to a new quick release schedule, the next Firefox was well underway weeks ago. Mozilla added Firefox 9 to its developer-focused Aurora channel in October. The finished version could launch before the end of the year.
If you're one of those hardcore fans mentioned earlier, Firefox 8 for Windows can be downloaded here. Mac users can find it here. (via ghacks)
If you install Firefox 8 today, let us know what you think in the comment section.
