Firefox 6 Ready for August 16 Release

Mozilla states that it is on track to release Firefox 6 next week according to notes posted on the company's website. Developers have signed off on Firefox 6 and also anticipate no problems that could delay the release date of August 16 for the most recent upgrade to Mozilla's web browser according to meeting notes.



According to the notes, "On track with a few bugs still remaining. No concerns for Tuesday." Mozilla has used a new rapid-release schedule ever since the spring of this year. This new schedule delivers a new version of Firefox every six weeks, a move that many analysts and critics are comparing to the same one Google uses to update its Chrome browser for the last year.



Firefox 5 was released back on June 21, six weeks ago next Tuesday. Mozilla is already working on Firefox 7 and plans on releasing it on September 27. In addition to that, if the rapid-release schedule works like it is supposed to, Firefox 8 will become available on November 8 with Firefox 9 becoming available on December 20.



Firefox 6 includes multiple, noticeable changes to the browser, including highlighting domain names in the address bar. Both Google Chrome and Internet Explorer 9 do a similar thing by making domain names boldfaced. In addition to that, Firefox 6 also reduces start-up time when users rely on Panorama, the multi-tab organizer for Firefox.



Some users, however, are upset by the change of pace for Mozilla and Firefox including corporations like IBM, which have installed the open-source browser on tens of thousands of Windows PCs. However, that has not frightened Mozilla, who has not backed off of the rapid-release schedule at all. Though, in response to enterprise complaints and concerns, Mozilla has established a committee in order to take feedback from users.



As well as releasing Firefox 6 next week, Mozilla also plans on releasing Firefox 3.6.20, an update that will include security patches and other fixes to the 2010 edition retained by nearly 1 in 3 users of Firefox. When Firefox 6 ships, users running Firefox 4 or Firefox 5 will be offered the newest edition via the browser's update mechanism that is triggered when the "About Firefox" dialog is opened.



As of the end of July, only 11% of Firefox users were still running Firefox 4 and 48% were running Firefox 5. What do you think? Are you excited about the release of Firefox 6? What are your thoughts on Mozilla's new rapid-release schedule? Let me know in the comments section below.



Source: Computer World - Mozilla on track to ship Firefox 6 next week

New Finger and Stylus Gestures Could Be Coming to Windows 8

A lot of people are excited about the upcoming operating system from Microsoft known, as of right now, as Windows 8. Windows 8, or whatever it is named upon release, is the highly anticipated successor to the the immensely popular Windows 7 operating system currently out from Microsoft. However, some new developments are leaking their way onto the internet, including the fact that Microsoft has unveiled several patent filings that are pointing to new finger and stylus gestures that could be incorporated into Windows 8 tablets.

These patent filings were actually filed back in 2010 but Microsoft just published them last week. These new patents show that Microsoft believes finger and stylus gestures can work not only separately but together as well in order to offer a user-friendly means of input on new touch screen devices. This new method that would recognize both methods of input would recognize the first method as your finger and the second as your stylus. Using both your finger and your stylus could then create a variety of gestures, a lot of which seem to be geared more toward image editing though could be put to other uses as well.

For example, a copy gesture would allow you to tap on an object with your finger and then move it around with your stylus. A cut gesture would allow you to split an object in half using fingers, a stylus or both at the same time. A brush gesture would assist you in removing part of an image and then storing it somewhere else on the screen. A staple gesture may be used to stack multiple objects or images on top of each other and a stamp gesture would create duplicates of whatever you wanted.

The upcoming Windows 8 operating system for tablets was unveiled by Microsoft at the D9 Conference back in June. Microsoft is expected to release more information and details about the OS at the upcoming Build Conference in September, with a beta possibly ready for developers to test out at that time as well.

Source: CNET - Windows 8 could see new finger and stylus gestures