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Mozilla plugs more memory leaks in updated Firefox
Users of Mozilla's Firefox may notice a welcome change in the latest version of the browser: it no longer hogs computer memory as much as previous versions.
Mozilla, in a blog post, said the newest Firefox - version 15 - also plugs the main cause of memory leaks in Firefox's add-ons as well.
"In the newest Firefox release, we developed a mechanism to prevent this form of leak from happening in the first place. Firefox will now detect this pattern, recapture the leaked memory, and free it up. This means that Firefox stays responsive and stable even if an add-on is making this mistake," it said.
Add-ons are extensions that make Firefox more customizable for the user. The customization they offer gives Firefox an advantage over other browsers.
Mozilla said it also continued to improve Firefox such that it does not hog memory even if it loads not just pages of text, but also we run high-performance Web apps.
Having fixed the memory issues in Firefox itself, Mozilla added the next step was to tackle the next big source of memory leak: "poorly written" add-ons.
"(W)e began to test popular add-ons and work with their authors to plug leaks and use memory more efficiently. Add-ons aren’t intrinsically leaky, but the memory team identified dozens of add-ons that were causing huge memory leaks and made significant process improving the experience for Firefox users," Mozilla said.
It found the most common cause of these leaks is when an add-on accidentally holds on to extra copies of a web site in memory after a user has closed the tab.
As such, these pages pile up, and can eat massive amounts of memory for no user benefit.
Meanwhile, a separate article on CNET said Firefox 15 also offers built-in support for PDFs, a feature rival Google Chrome has had for quite some time.
Firefox 15 also has native support for the open-source Opus audio codec, and complaince with Google’s SPDY networking protocol.
CNET said Firefox 15 also offers support for compressed textures for better video memory.
It added Firefox 15 for Android will also work on tablets and will feature a new “Awesome Screen” start page, faster page-load times, and Flash support on Honeycomb.
“Firefox for Android autodetects your device and will install the proper interface without any additional input required,” it said. — TJD, GMA News
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