Codename Namoroka from Firefox

With Firefox 3.1 evolved into Firefox 3.5 in the move from Beta 3 to Beta 4, Mozilla is also looking ahead beyond Shiretoko, to the next iteration of its open-source browser. Firefox Next will be codenamed Namoroka and the version number for the project will be 3.6, although this will only be valid for the initial stages. Mozilla in fact refers to what will be the successor of Firefox 3.5 as Firefox.next. Namoroka will be based on the Gecko 1.9.2 rendering engine, and is currently planned for availability in the first half of 2010.

“In contrast to previous product planning exercises, which were declarative and relatively inflexible, we hope to develop this project in a highly iterative manner by which we initially declare project goals and prioritized areas of interest for investigation, and then spend time determining the exact shape and scope of feature development tasks. The outcome of these investigations will be a set of feature design documents (using a common template) which will be prioritized and constitute the final product development plan,” revealed Mike Beltzner, Director of Firefox at Mozilla Corporation.

The codename for Firefox.next has been borrowed from the Namoroka National Park (the Tsingy de Namoroka National Park) in Madagascar. According to Mozilla, there will be a total of four focus areas with the development of Namoroka, namely Performance, Personalization & Customization, Task Based Navigation, and Web Application Support. At the same time, Mozilla plans to integrate the browser seamlessly into the underlying operating system, also in terms of the graphical user interface, including Windows Vista’s and Windows 7′s Aero Glass.

Firefox Namoroka should deliver “observable improvements in user-perceptible performance metrics such as startup, time to open a new tab, and responsiveness when interacting with the user interface. Common user tasks should feel faster and more responsive,” Mozilla explained. In addition, Firefox codename Namoroka will be designed to deliver streamlined browser customization and to kick extensions to the next level. This will be valid for a variety of developer and user tasks including the building, discovery, deployment and management of personalization components and add-ons.

Furthermore, Mozilla aims to “allow users to organize their tabs, history, downloaded files, and other resources according to the task they were attempting to accomplish. Provide support for executing common web-based tasks, mash-up style, without having to visit a website. [But also to] Blur the distinction between web and desktop applications, providing web developers with the tools required to create rich application experiences for a user who is connected or disconnected from the Internet. Act as the intermediary between web applications and the user’s OS desktop.”

Firefox codename Namoroka will get kicked off with an exploration and prototyping phase that is scheduled to last some two months. The next iteration of the Mozilla open-source browser, or should I say the next next iteration, since Firefox 3.5 is the upcoming version, will spend no less than five months in actual development, which includes all the alpha versions, and the first Beta build. In the next three months, Firefox Namoroka should be taken out of the Beta testing process.

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