Mozilla has released the version 49 of its Firefox browser. The new update expands multiprocess support on the web browser to deliver better performance and enhance responsiveness.
Codenamed “Electrolysis”, the practice of multiprocess was started back in August for some initial testers. It was originally aimed to resist Firefox from crashes if a website fails to load. But now, the Mozilla team is on a move to expand the initial support to a small set of compatible add-ons to ultimately deliver an advanced experience in 2017.
“Our first phase of the rollout included users without add-ons. In this release, we’re expanding support for a small initial set of compatible add-ons as we move toward a multiprocess experience for all Firefox users in 2017,” said Nick Nguyen, vice president of Firefox product, Mozilla, in a blog post.
Nguyen mentioned that the initial tests of the new multiprocess support showed 400 percent improvement in overall responsiveness. This appears to be the reason behind the new expansion.
Interestingly, Mozilla’s Firefox is not the only web browser to feature multiprocess capabilities. Many other models, including Safari and Chrome, are already supporting multiple processes.
Apart from the multiprocess support, Firefox 49 for desktops now comes with an improved reader mode. The browser will now remove clutter like buttons, ads and background images on the webpage as well as change the preset text size, contrast and layout to deliver better readability. Also, users can now use the option to read aloud the text to narrate the story appeared on the screen.
The Ubuntu version of the updated Firefox additionally comes with updated HTML5 video and audio technologies to enable looping of audio-visual content. There is also by default implementation of the Graphite2 engine to render fonts with better visibility.
