{"id":7701,"date":"2015-03-03T11:13:36","date_gmt":"2015-03-03T16:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=7701"},"modified":"2015-03-03T11:13:36","modified_gmt":"2015-03-03T16:13:36","slug":"first-64-bit-firefox-build-released-promising-speed-boost-and-beefier-web-gaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/03\/03\/first-64-bit-firefox-build-released-promising-speed-boost-and-beefier-web-gaming\/","title":{"rendered":"First 64-bit Firefox build released, promising speed boost and beefier web gaming"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

Mozilla has joined the 64-bit browsing party with Firefox for Windows, but only in the Developer Edition for now.<\/p>\n

The Developer Edition is a special version of Firefox with built-in tools for creating websites and web apps. While OS X and Linux already have a 64-bit version, Mozilla is just adding a Windows build with 64-bit support now.<\/p>\n

The main advantage of 64-bit browsing is the ability to address more than 4 GB of RAM, allowing for beefier web apps. As an example, Mozilla points to games that run on Epic’s Unreal Engine, noting that a 64-bit browser can store significantly more assets in memory. \u201cFor some of the largest of these apps, a 64-bit browser means the difference between whether or not a game will run,\u201d Mozilla wrote in a blog post.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

firefox64bit Mozilla<\/p>\n

An Unreal Engine game running inside 64-bit Firefox.<\/p>\n

Beyond the additional memory, Mozilla says the 64-bit browser is simply faster, speeding up JavaScript code through new hardware registers and instructions that aren’t available with the 32-bit version. In one test of certain JavaScript applications, throughput improved by 8 percent to 17 percent.<\/p>\n

It’s unclear when 64-bit browsing will make its way to the main version of Firefox for Windows. But given that the Developer Edition is on version number 38, and the stable version is on 36, a mainstream release is probably a few months out. If you’re running the Developer Edition now and want to switch to 64-bit, Mozilla recommends uninstalling the Win32 without deleting your profile, and then downloading the 64-bit version.<\/p>\n

Why this matters: Internet Explorer and Chrome already offer 64-bit browsers, so you might view Firefox as merely hopping on the trend. Still, it’s telling that Mozilla called out gaming as a potential application. The group has been a major proponent of gaming in the browser, collaborating with Unity on a tool to port games to the web without plug-ins, and working with Epic Games on a web version of Unreal Engine 4. Powerful web-based gaming has been a dream for years, and 64-bit browsing is a key piece of the puzzle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

via First 64-bit Firefox build released, promising speed boost and beefier web gaming | PCWorld<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mozilla has joined the 64-bit browsing party with Firefox for Windows, but only in the Developer Edition for now. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9,10],"tags":[369,809],"class_list":["post-7701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-software","category-technology","tag-firefox","tag-pc-gaming"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/papNkV-20d","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3220,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2013\/08\/20\/modern-ui-firefox-browser-for-windows-8-to-leave-beta-on-december-10th\/","url_meta":{"origin":7701,"position":0},"title":"Modern UI Firefox browser for Windows 8 to leave beta on December 10th","author":"NCCT","date":"August 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been a long wait for Windows 8 users of Mozilla's Firefox browser, but there is now light at the end of the tunnel for those people who have been waiting for the \"Modern\" UI version to be released as a non-beta build. This week, Mozilla's development calendar page was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Software"","block_context":{"text":"Software","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/software\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6821,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/11\/13\/mozilla-foundation-celebrates-a-decade-of-firefox-with-new-release\/","url_meta":{"origin":7701,"position":1},"title":"Mozilla Foundation celebrates a decade of Firefox with new release","author":"NCCT","date":"November 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Mozilla\u2019s Firefox web browser turned 10 years old on November 9 and to celebrate the occasion, the foundation is rolling out a handful of new products and programs. Mozilla has released a new version of Firefox that\u2019s said to be faster than ever. It includes the option to use DuckDuckGo\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Software"","block_context":{"text":"Software","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/software\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5780,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/06\/17\/preview-cutting-edge-internet-explorer-features-early-with-new-test-build-browser\/","url_meta":{"origin":7701,"position":2},"title":"Preview cutting-edge Internet Explorer features early with new test build browser","author":"NCCT","date":"June 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Developers can try out new features of the next version of Internet Explorer using a test edition Microsoft has released for their use. The Internet Explorer Developer Channel, which can be downloaded for Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1, runs independently of the user\u2019s copy of IE, allowing programmers to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8660,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/10\/09\/firefox-will-stop-supporting-plugins-by-end-of-2016-following-chromes-lead-pcworld\/","url_meta":{"origin":7701,"position":3},"title":"Firefox will stop supporting plugins by end of 2016, following Chrome’s lead","author":"NCCT","date":"October 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Google Chrome recently dumped support for plugins such as Java and Silverlight, and now it\u2019s Firefox\u2019s turn. Late Thursday, Mozilla announced on its blog that Firefox would stop supporting plugins based on the Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface (NPAPI) architecture by the end of 2016.For many years, NPAPI plugins helped\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Software"","block_context":{"text":"Software","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/software\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5750,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/06\/11\/one-click-test-finds-gameover-zeus-infections-on-pcs\/","url_meta":{"origin":7701,"position":4},"title":"One-click test finds Gameover Zeus infections on PCs","author":"NCCT","date":"June 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Users can test by simply visiting a Web page if their computers have been infected with Gameover Zeus, a sophisticated online banking Trojan that law enforcement officers temporarily disrupted last week. The one-click test was developed by security researchers from antivirus vendor F-Secure and takes advantage of the malware\u2019s aggressive\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Security"","block_context":{"text":"Security","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/security\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6642,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/10\/16\/firefox-33-brings-h-264-support-lets-you-send-videos-to-chromecast-and-roku-devices-from-android\/","url_meta":{"origin":7701,"position":5},"title":"Firefox 33 brings H.264 support, lets you send videos to Chromecast and Roku devices from Android","author":"NCCT","date":"October 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"More than a month after Mozilla came out with Firefox 32, the company has updated the web browser for Android, Windows, Linux, and Mac platforms, bumping it to version 33.0. Aside from bug fixes, the update also brings some new features as well as performance improvements. One of the notable\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Security"","block_context":{"text":"Security","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/security\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7701\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}