The latest version of Firefox improves in areas that should help it fit in better on several categories of hardware.
You’re most likely to notice the improvements in Firefox version 124 if you use Macs or Android devices. In this release, the Android version now allows you to refresh the page by pulling down from the top of the screen – the standard gesture for most fondleslabs.
On Macs, there are improvements to the way that the program works in full-screen mode. Firefox has had a full-screen mode for many years, but for a long time, it wasn’t implemented using the official macOS API. That became available via an optional setting about four years ago, closing bug #1403085, but now it’s on by default.
(The Reg FOSS desk has been working with Macs since the era of System 6, but in recent years has discovered that some youngsters use MacBooks like some sort of iPad-with-a-keyboard, running all apps full-screen all the time and switching between virtual screens with trackpad gestures, which baffles and bewilders this crotchety graybeard. Presumably such folk will be gratified by this change. Around here, we disable the green window control’s full-screen behavior with the very handy RightZoom utility.)
Caret browsing lets you navigate around a web page using the keyboard, including following links or opening them in background tabs. This now works inside Firefox’s built-in PDF viewer, which will be handy for users with visual disabilities, as well as hardcore keyboard jockeys who eschew pointing devices from preference.
Firefox can now inhibit screen-savers and screen-dimming using the Screen Wake Lock API. This is useful if you’re in the habit of watching movies within Firefox, but also for navigation apps, reading ebooks, and so on.
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There’s more info in the release notes for developers, but this is a bit more niche. We hope that web developers will delight in the fact that the AbortSignal interface now accepts AbortSignal.any, and that WebSockets can now use HTTPS and relative URLs, although we must confess ourselves unmoved by these changes.
Sadly, a feature of the beta that’s missing from the final release is the Cookie Banner Blocker, although users in some regions may get to enjoy this when browsing in Private mode. On the other hand, if you don’t care for the annoyance, you could just use the I don’t care about cookies extension, or add the EasyList cookie list to uBlock Origin.
At the time of writing, program downloads are already available, such as the macOS version and the native Debian Linux packages, which debuted with Firefox 122. ®
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