Mozilla foundation has released the next version of the popular Firefox Browser, Firefox 17.0. This new version brings some new features including a Social API and support for Facebook Messenger, click-to-play blocklisting. Other changes include tweaked Awesome Bar with large icons and under the hood changes for developers.
Firefox is on rapid release cycle recently and they are pushing an update every six weeks or so. The new Social API is an open API and it allows social sites to add elements to the browser toolbar, like notifications, chats etc. The API is a work in progress and Mozilla is adding one feature at a time since it moved to Firefox development repository in July. Sandbox attribute is implemented for iframes for increased security.
Click-to-play blocklisting is introduced in this version of Firefox. Outdated or vulnerable plugins blocked with click-to-play will not load by default, and can be activated by users manually. If you have any older plugins like Flash, Adobe Reader or Silverlight you will see the click-to-play block when you visit a site that has these plugins.
Developer oriented changes include, Iterable JavaScript Maps and sets, implementation of SVG FillPaint and StrokePaint, Improvements that make the Web Console, Debugger and Developer Toolbar faster and easier to use.
Another change in this version of the browser is that Mac OS X 10.5 is no longer supported, you have to stick to the previous version of the browser.
Download Firefox 17
