When it comes to web browsers, Firefox has long been my #1 pick because I love the usability of the built-in features and the versatility and functionality of the numerous add-ons available. However, the one issue which has always irked me about my favorite Internet browser is the abundance (overabundance, in my opinion) of system memory that the application regularly consumes.
The good news is that Firefox developers have admitted that they have a problem, and are actively taking steps to fix it.
"It's become increasingly clear over the last several months that we have a pretty pressing need to deal with increases in memory usage in Firefox," said Finnish Mozilla developer Johnny Stenback in a message on one of the company’s Google Groups last Thursday. "Since we released [Firefox] 4 (and before, too), we've seen lots of reports about Firefox memory usage being higher than in older versions, and that Firefox memory usage is growing over time."
Stenback’s post announced the company’s “MemShrink” effort, which will immediately consist of weekly meetings to identify where memory leaks are occurring, brainstorm solutions, and task developers with getting the issues resolved.
The benefits the company has listed for this project are better browser operating speed, greater stability, and a better public perception of their product.
As ComputerWorld points out, Firefox has long been criticized by the public over memory consumption issues, and this is not the first time the company has tried to deal with them. In 2008, Firefox 3 developers touted improved memory handling over previous versions of the browser, but Firefox 4 has once again begun to feel bloated.
Frankly, I think that this initiative should’ve been launched by Mozilla long before now, but I’m going to take what I can get.
