It may not be the most feature-packed update that has ever been released, but Mozilla has kept in line with their relatively recent tradition of pushing out prompt updates to their software by making the final build of Firefox 16 web browser available for download. Once upon a time, we found ourselves having to wait an extremely long time before any new browser update was pushed out, especially major revisions like this, but the new rapid revision approach is definitely beneficial to those who user the software.
The latest version of Firefox brings the initial rumored support for web-based apps, as well as adding VoiceOver options for those users who are taking advantage of the web browser on OS X. Mozilla has also taken the opportunity to bundle in additional stability tools into the new browser that is intended to dramatically enhance the user-experience by preventing software freeze-ups and stop the browser from suffering from performance based lagging.
Web developers have also been given some additional developer tools that add to the already extensive set of available options for web professionals in Firefox. Mozilla has paid a lot of attention to adding the initial support for web apps into their browser, more than likely taking inspiration from Google due to the fact that the world’s most popular browser has already had this kind of attention paid to it. Although Mozilla has taken the initial steps for supporting these separate apps, users won’t fully be able to benefit from this until the Marketplace is launched.
For those who are web professionals and rely on the development tools within browsers; things just got a little bit better with Firefox 16. The new developer toolbar that ships with the software makes it a whole lot easier for users to access individual tools. As mentioned earlier, VoiceOver accessibility options are now included in OS X installations and will be turned on by default, but unfortunately, Mozilla has overlooked a certain set of OS X features.
Firefox 16 is available to download now for OS X, Windows and Linux. The more adventurous users among us can also check out the early builds of future versions of the popular web browser.
(Source: Firefox 16.0.1 for Windows, Mac, Linux)
You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.