Just a month after launching Firefox 16, Mozilla has now rolled out
another update of its popular browser. Firefox 17 comes with a Social
API and support for Facebook Messenger integration.
With the help of
the Facebook Messenger Integration, the users will get a permanent side
panel on your browser, even if they don't have Facebook.com open in any
of the tabs or window. With the help of this side bar, the users will be
able to update their Facebook status, communicate via chats, check
notifications and even tag photos/videos.
The Social API of
Mozilla Firefox 17 can support other social networking sites as well but
so far only Facebook is making most of the same.
The other significant addition in Firefox 17 is the blocking of Click-to-play plugin.
Plugins that are blocked with the click-to-play flag will not load by
default, but can be easily activated by users. This gives us a more
user-friendly way to warn about plugins that should be updated, that
give users better control over their browsing experience.
In
this new update, Mozilla has added more than 20 promised performance
improvements and has given a face lift to its bar experience, which now
has larger icons. However, now Mozilla Firefox is no longer supporting
Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). One can check out the complete list of
improvements here.
Mozilla has also been going bullish on its
plans for smartphones. There have been reports, that the company is
mulling to launch its first Firefox OS smartphone with ZTE.
Several telecom operators including Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom,
Etisalat, Smart, Sprint, and Telecom Italia have already pledged their
support to the operating system. The first Firefox OS-powered devices
are expected to launch commercially in Brazil in early 2013 through
Telefonica's commercial brand, Vivo.