Mozilla is transitioning Firefox to a monthly release cycle

[Polycount]

Firefox is already one of the most compelling browsers in the industry, but Mozilla has never been content to leave well-enough alone. The company rolls out regular updates for the browser and experiments with interesting new features via its "Test Pilot" program. However, even Mozilla's relatively-fast two-month update pace doesn't seem to be enough for the company's leadership team.

Starting in Q1 2020, Mozilla will move Firefox over to a 4-week release cycle, meaning users should expect bug fixes, fresh features, or other changes on a monthly basis. This is a significantly speedier timeframe than Mozilla is used to, so it remains to be seen whether or not the company will be able to adapt to it seamlessly. With that said, the team does seem fairly confident in their abilities -- apparently, this faster release cycle will pave the way for "more agile" feature shipment; without compromising on update stability.

Mozilla says it won't be able to accomplish this task without the help of its users. Moving forward, feedback provided by Firefox Beta or Developer testers will be "essential." As a result, these users can expect to see much more frequent Beta builds.

Another important aspect of Mozilla's new four-week release cycle will be slower rollouts for "high-risk" feature updates. This means that if such an update is scheduled for release on a specific day, its actual launch may be staggered quite a bit -- some users may receive it right away, others might receive it over several days. This allows Mozilla to quickly halt the update's rollout if critical issues are discovered, with only a minimal impact to its wider userbase.

The first update set to be part of this monthly release cycle is version 72, which we can expect to see on January 7. Version 73 will release on February 11, and updates will continue at a similar pace well into late 2020.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/81979-mozilla-transitioning-firefox-monthly-release-cycle.html

 

[Kashim]

Oh good, so now they can break all their addons every month! Mozilla is a joke now. First they switched to a faster update cycle and version system to try and keep up with Google. Then they switched out their rendering engine to basically use the same thing as Google Chrome and broke every single extension and mod for Firefox. And they expect people to keep using their product? Yeah, good luck with that.

Oh and my favorite is the recent certificate debacle that caused most extensions to be disabled and it prevented the update or installation of ALL extensions. Their solution for older versions of Firefox was to install an extension that fixes the certificate issue. How do you install an extension that is meant to fix the issue of Firefox not letting you install or update extensions?? The whole thing was just so comical that every time I think of Mozilla HQ, I imagine a bunch of *****s running around, tripping over each other while the music form Benny Hill plays in the background.

 

[Evernessince]

Oh and my favorite is the recent certificate debacle that caused most extensions to be disabled and it prevented the update or installation of ALL extensions. Their solution for older versions of Firefox was to install an extension that fixes the certificate issue. How do you install an extension that is meant to fix the issue of Firefox not letting you install or update extensions?? The whole thing was just so comical that every time I think of Mozilla HQ, I imagine a bunch of *****s running around, tripping over each other while the music form Benny Hill plays in the background.

That was fixed in 4 hours assuming you updated to the latest version as it came out. You certainly do like to make a mountain of a molehill.

I'm not going to say Mozilla is perfect but you definitely overblow their issues here. I'm going to say they are far preferable to handing all your personal data to google.

 

[Ludak021]

As to oppose to what?

 

[psycros]

"Firefox is already was one of the most compelling browsers in the industry, but Mozilla has never been content to leave well-enough alone."

Fixed.

 

[retsxel]

This is tiresome. Seriously Mozilla? We users want rock-solid stability over bleeding edge. Yearly updates(with occasional update for security and bug fixes) are fine.

 

[retsxel]

"Firefox is already was one of the most compelling browsers in the industry, but Mozilla has never been content to leave well-enough alone."

Fixed.

It's still better than everything else out there. Chrome is a joke, Edge(preChromium Source port) is a waste and everything else isn't worth anyone's time..

 

[JaredTheDragon]

It certainly seems like anyone complaining about Firefox isn't using it - or isn't using it very well. It's rock-solid and blazing fast here, even with a few nice extensions. Sure, the transition to Quantum hurt a bit - but not nearly as bad as even looking at the terrible, paltry Chrome UI ever even once. Just terrifying.

 

[Kashim]

Oh and my favorite is the recent certificate debacle that caused most extensions to be disabled and it prevented the update or installation of ALL extensions. Their solution for older versions of Firefox was to install an extension that fixes the certificate issue. How do you install an extension that is meant to fix the issue of Firefox not letting you install or update extensions?? The whole thing was just so comical that every time I think of Mozilla HQ, I imagine a bunch of *****s running around, tripping over each other while the music form Benny Hill plays in the background.

That was fixed in 4 hours assuming you updated to the latest version as it came out. You certainly do like to make a mountain of a molehill.

I'm not going to say Mozilla is perfect but you definitely overblow their issues here. I'm going to say they are far preferable to handing all your personal data to google.

No, they did NOT fix it in four hours. It took several days for every version of Firefox except the latest version. And yes, I was on an older version of Firefox because they already broke every extension a while back. I have extensions that I need for everyday use, so I couldn't simply upgrade to the latest version.

Mozilla breaking EVERY SINGLE EXTENSION multiple times is not a molehill. And now that they've switched to the same rendering engine as Google all the customization options that made Firefox attractive are gone. One example of this is the ability to move the tabs from the top of the browser to the bottom. This cannot be done now. I could write a novel about all the things Mozilla has broken or fudged over the years. Things that people got used to after being loyal Firefox users for YEARS, then suddenly Mozilla decided to pull the rug out from under us. All in the name of progress I suppose.

Why would anyone want to use Firefox over Chrome now? They both use the same rendering engine and have the same limitations, except the Firefox version is half baked. Might as well use Microsoft Edge while you're at it (which also uses the same engine.) Some of the things that got removed or changes in Firefox may not matter to you, but there are millions of users out there who were loyal to Firefox BECAUSE of those features.

 

[Kashim]

"Firefox is already was one of the most compelling browsers in the industry, but Mozilla has never been content to leave well-enough alone."

Fixed.

It's still better than everything else out there. Chrome is a joke, Edge(preChromium Source port) is a waste and everything else isn't worth anyone's time..

How is Firefox better than Chrome or Edge? All three use the same rendering engine now, written by Google.

Chrome has NEVER broken any extension I ever used, whereas Firefox broke them MULTIPLE times.

 

[Evernessince]

No, they did NOT fix it in four hours. It took several days for every version of Firefox except the latest version. And yes, I was on an older version of Firefox because they already broke every extension a while back. I have extensions that I need for everyday use, so I couldn't simply upgrade to the latest version.

Mozilla breaking EVERY SINGLE EXTENSION multiple times is not a molehill. And now that they've switched to the same rendering engine as Google all the customization options that made Firefox attractive are gone. One example of this is the ability to move the tabs from the top of the browser to the bottom. This cannot be done now. I could write a novel about all the things Mozilla has broken or fudged over the years. Things that people got used to after being loyal Firefox users for YEARS, then suddenly Mozilla decided to pull the rug out from under us. All in the name of progress I suppose.

Why would anyone want to use Firefox over Chrome now? They both use the same rendering engine and have the same limitations, except the Firefox version is half baked. Might as well use Microsoft Edge while you're at it (which also uses the same engine.) Some of the things that got removed or changes in Firefox may not matter to you, but there are millions of users out there who were loyal to Firefox BECAUSE of those features.

Oh please, it was a security certificate issue. Once again, making a mountain out of a molehill.

"And yes, I was on an older version of Firefox because they already broke every extension a while back."

So you were on an older version, case closed. You aren't exactly qualified to comment on the topic of how long it took them to fix it because you were never using the latest version to begin with.

"They both use the same rendering engine and have the same limitations"

Completely false.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blink_(browser_engine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gecko_(software

You might as well stop right there. You clearly are mad at Mozilla for some reason and are making some wildly inaccurate statements.

 

[retsxel]

How is Firefox better than Chrome or Edge? All three use the same rendering engine now, written by Google.

Chrome has NEVER broken any extension I ever used, whereas Firefox broke them MULTIPLE times.

I was going to respond to you, but Evernessince above said everything I was going to say. So can you please stop with the misinformed nonsense?

 

[yeeeeman]

That should be read as monthly bug release cycle.

 

[Puiu]

"Firefox is already was one of the most compelling browsers in the industry, but Mozilla has never been content to leave well-enough alone."

Fixed.

It's still better than everything else out there. Chrome is a joke, Edge(preChromium Source port) is a waste and everything else isn't worth anyone's time..

How is Firefox better than Chrome or Edge? All three use the same rendering engine now, written by Google.

Chrome has NEVER broken any extension I ever used, whereas Firefox broke them MULTIPLE times.

Wow, this is the perfect example of someone looking through rose coloured glasses at one thing he likes.
You seem to have forgotten the API change debacle that was breaking extensions or this little gem:
"starting with Chrome 69, whenever a Chrome user would access a Google-owned site, the browser would take that user's Google identity and log the user into the Chrome in-browser account system --also known as Sync"

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

How is Firefox better than Chrome or Edge? All three use the same rendering engine now, written by Google.

Chrome has NEVER broken any extension I ever used, whereas Firefox broke them MULTIPLE times.

Firefox’s rendering engine is completely written by Mozilla and Google does not use it. Not only that but Firefox’s rendering engine is being rewritten as we speak, currently released for Windows 10 on Nvidia. Its goal is to wholly run all rendering on the GPU with a minimum framerate of 60fps regardless of screen size (not possible on a CPU which Chrome is reliant on). The immediate goal is to ship the engine on all desktop configurations without regressions in stability/correctness or speed. Once it’s fully released, there will be continuous improvements on the platform with big improvements to performance. This is a good blog to get an overview of the project: https://mozillagfx.wordpress.com/2019/05/21/graphics-team-ships-webrender-mvp/

 

[DelJo63]

Hmm; FF has never broken anything for me -- see I run totally w/o extensions and have a responsive/reliable browser as a consequence.

All those extensions are totally unnecessary.

 

[LeroN]

Only FF lets to block autoplaying video and audio on such websites like Gamespot or Youtube. Also FF doesn't have such service as Chrome has that is scanning your computer for your "security". Chrome likes to switch system color profiles if you connect to a computer remotly through RDP and doesn't restore it back after. In my case because of some reason it's not possible to log in the Google marketing platform with Chrome that FF does smoothly. And the Firefox Send is just a great free feature.

 

[retsxel]

Hmm; FF has never broken anything for me -- see I run totally w/o extensions and have a responsive/reliable browser as a consequence.

All those extensions are totally unnecessary.

Did you not use any XUL extensions? Most of them broke when Mozilla transitioned to the new engine. The most useful and frequently updated got updates or replacements. But they most definitely broke. It was a needed change and everyone complained then adapted.

Firefox is all about extensions, it's part of what makes it so great! You're really doing yourself a disservice.