Mozilla has officially rolled out Firefox 8 for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. The update boasts new features designed to facilitate easier web browsing, while offering users more control over their online experience.
For example, Twitter is now included as a search option, while tabs can be loaded on demand via the FF menu under Options/Preferences, in the General tab.
FireFox 8 also introduces a default security crackdown against third-party apps, some of which are notorious for installing/embedding themselves in the browser without permission.
As such, third-party add-ons are automatically disabled in FF8; however, users can choose to enable the ones they want to keep.
As expected, the latest iteration of Firefox boasts a host of goodies for devs, such as support for Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS), which lets developers load WebGL textures from other domains in a secure way.
In addition, simple HTML5 markup helps Firefox Web devs customize the options users have in the right click menu – and saves them from having to build their own.
Finally, Mozilla debuted a new version of Firefox for Android, which allows users to add icons for any bookmarked website or Web app to the home screen – which can then be launched with a single touch.
The most recent Firefox browser for Android also includes a master password feature to protect saved usernames and passwords stored on a lost or stolen smartphone.
