Sunday, April 29, 2018

TenFourFox FPR7b3 available

TenFourFox Feature Parity Release 7 beta 3 is now available (downloads, hashes, release notes). This version includes some last-minute tuning to garbage and cycle collection frequency, a couple more hosts for basic adblock, and (the big change) a major fix to DOM keyboard events which caused some sites to fail to respond to keyboard input (like this Applesoft BASIC implementation in JavaScript -- thanks Martin Kukač for the more easily debugged test case). There are also some additional security fixes and there will be a few more prior to release on or about May 8.

For FPR8 the original plan was to get a decent implementation of CSS grid support working, but same-site cookies have risen in priority as they are now being required as a security measure on many sites including one I personally use frequently. If there is time left once that particular major upgrade is functional, I will then work on CSS grid and (as it slowly progresses) native date-time pickers. The FAQ is also dreadfully out of date, so I'll be spending some time on that too.

The Raptor Talos II (check it out if you haven't seen the Talos' unboxing) is now under my desk with the DEC Alpha 164LX, Silicon Graphics Fuel, MDD G4 and of course the Quad G5. Unfortunately to make room for the Talos in the KVM, a system had to be sacrificed: my old and now largely unused Core2Duo Mac mini running 10.6. It has been relegated to the server-storage room while I think about what to do with it. I got Fedora 28/kernel 4.16 booting on the Talos, but there are still issues with the discrete GPU, and the fans still roar like a SpaceX launch. (Also, Firefox 59 crashes on bootup on POWER9, but that's not Raptor's fault. Guess I have my work cut out for me.) Fortunately, Raptor's technical support team has come through with new firmware for the Radeon card and it looks like there is a BMC update on the way to address the ventilation issues, so we'll see how far we get with those. A full review will follow once I have the system in daily-driver condition.

Yes, dear reader, this is what it feels like to live on the bleeding edge of technology.

3 comments:

  1. Hi Cameron,

    Thanks for FPR7b3 version.

    I tried this version this morning and loaded up my banking online website and others. FPR7b2 seemed to provide less hanging of each open website and cleared easier when choosing a new URL. FPR7b3 seemed a bit clunky after a few minutes of use too. (This was even after a system reboot).

    My testing is by no means thorough - I though you might like some initial feedback even though TFF is still in beta.

    Best,

    Kevin

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have a feeling that Talos might be a perfect link-up to the PowerPC Laptop Project. They have been scouting for new PPC Linux Devs for nearly 5 years, and while it still sounds 'Theoretical' there's a big op there to network with some base-coders, at a similar level. You'll likely have some Power9 Optimizations they won't but their folks have been playing with PPC64 for quite a while. Also, the synergy of their project and Talos might get over the threshold for both projects to become workable. Q&D ports lead to crappy platforms. If PPC Linux is going anywhere it needs some unique killer apps.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for your work. Classilla needs some love.

    ReplyDelete

Due to an increased frequency of spam, comments are now subject to moderation.