''New automatic update system makes Firefox an "install once and forget
it" application for all types of Web users''
__Mountain View, Calif.__ – Nov. 29, 2005 – One year after the debut of
Firefox 1.0, and more than 100 million downloads later, Mozilla Corp.
today released Firefox 1.5, the latest version of its acclaimed open
source Web browser, available now as a free download from
www.mozilla-europe.org. Firefox 1.5 builds upon the success of its
predecessor to deliver an improved browser with significant performance
and usability upgrades, security and privacy enhancements, best-in-class
support for Web standards, and greater customization options.
"With dozens of enhancements, Firefox 1.5 will draw many new users to
the improved Web experience it affords," said Mitchell Baker, CEO of
Mozilla Corporation. "Firefox is proof of our passion for promoting
choice and innovation on the Web and making the Internet accessible and
productive. Firefox 1.5 is the easiest browser to install, use,
customize, and keep up-to-date and secure."
__New and Improved Features__
Firefox 1.5 has been enhanced in several key areas:
''User Experience''
* New "drag and drop" feature for tabbed browsing helps to better
organize page viewing.
* Improved pop-up blocker screens users from more unwanted pop-up ads.
* New reference search engine Answers.com is now included in the
integrated Search box.
* Improved Live Bookmarks feature enables easier discovery of and
subscription to RSS feeds.
* Improved Options interface makes it easier to adjust browser settings.
''Security and Privacy''
* New Automatic Update system alerts users and prompts them to act when
security and functionality updates become available, allowing users to
have the most up-to-date browser at any time. With Automatic Updates,
Firefox 1.5 is ready for even the newest Web surfer or computer user,
because it essentially makes Firefox an "install once and forget it"
application. Firefox takes care of security updates for you.
* New Clear Private Data tool simplifies maintaining privacy. Users can
clear all private information, such as history and form entries, via one
easily accessible settings window.
''Performance and Accessibility''
* Improved performance with a next-generation rendering and layout
engine that speeds navigation between previously viewed Web pages
through intelligent caching and displays complex Web pages more accurately.
* New capabilities contributed by IBM that make it easier for the aged
or mobility and sight-impaired to navigate the Web. The browser can now
be used with technology that reads Web content aloud; allow users to
navigate with keystrokes rather than mouseclicks; and reduce the tabbing
required to navigate documents such as spreadsheets.
''Extensibility/Customization''
* The browser remains easy to use, in part by not loading it down with a
"jack of all trades, master of none" approach to features and
functionality. Instead, Firefox integrates the most used technologies
into the browser itself, while allowing users to add specific
functionality through third-party extensions to the browser.
* Developers have already created more than 700 extensions for Firefox,
with many more expected in the weeks following today's release.
__Support for Firefox 1.5 from Yahoo! and Google__
With Firefox 1.5, Mozilla continues its search partnership with Google
in the Americas and in Europe and begins a new search relationship with
Yahoo! in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
"Yahoo! is very pleased to enter into a strategic relationship with
Mozilla that enables us to offer Firefox to further extend our network
of products and services in four of the most rapidly-growing Internet
markets in the world," said Farzad Nazem, Executive Vice President and
Chief Technology Officer, Yahoo! Inc. "By combining Yahoo!'s global
Internet leadership with Mozilla's innovative, easy-to-use, open source
Firefox Web browser and our shared commitment to end users, we will
deliver an enhanced Web experience for millions of users worldwide,
beginning with China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan."
"Firefox has connected with the global community of Web users because it
delivers a fast, easy, modern browsing experience", said Sergey Brin,
co-founder of Google. "Google continues to support the growth of Firefox
because of the strong alignment between our mission to organize the
world's information and make it useful, and Mozilla's principled
approach to developing great software."
"Firefox 1.5 represents the tireless efforts of our global community of
developers and consumer advocates, who continue to work to make the Web
experience better for everyone," said Baker.
Firefox 1.5 is now available as a free download from
www.getfirefox.com
and
www.mozilla-europe.org (in local languages).
__About Mozilla Corporation__
Mozilla Corp. is charged with the development and deployment of Mozilla
technologies and products around the globe. The corporation is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation, and continues to
further the mission of the Mozilla project to preserve choice and
innovation on the Internet. For more information about Mozilla, please
visit:
www.mozilla.com.
__About Mozilla Europe__
Established in January 2004 by long-time Mozilla contributors from
several European countries, Mozilla Europe aims to promote, develop and
contribute to the Mozilla open source software project. Mozilla Europe
is based in Paris, France and is an international affiliate of the
Mozilla Foundation.
