Firefox 64 released with a Windows-like task manager

December 12, 2018 TH Author

Mozilla released earlier today Firefox version 64, the latest version of its much-beloved browser. This release comes packed with a lot of features, such as a system for recommending appropriate extensions to users based on their web activity and support for multi-tab selections.

However, a big update is Mozilla’s revamping of the about:performance page, which has now been reshaped and remodeled to look more like the Windows Task Manager.

“The new Task Manager page found at about:performance lets you see how much energy each open tab consumes and provides access to close tabs to conserve power,” Mozilla said today.

With the addition of this Task Manager utility, Firefox joins the ranks of all Chromium-based browsers that already feature one –such as Chrome, Opera, Vivaldi, and Brave.

Unfortunately, the new Firefox Task Manager isn’t all that helpful, compared to the Task Manager featured in Chromium browsers, which break down RAM and CPU usage per tab, allowing the user to identify tabs performing poorly, or websites that feature cryptojacking scripts. Fortunately, early versions of Mozilla’s about:performance design mockups show those features, meaning users will most likely get them in the upcoming future.

But this wasn’t the only big thing included in today’s release. Firefox 64 also shipped with support for multi-tab selections. Users can now hold down CTRL or CTRL+SHIFT and then click multiple tabs to select them. A video demonstrating of the feature is available below.

Another change, as explained in a Mozilla blog post, is a feature called Contextual Feature Recommender (CFR).

According to Mozilla, this feature works by showing “extension suggestions” in the form of a popup that drops down from the address bar.

“For example, if you open multiple tabs and repeatedly use these tabs, we may offer a feature called “Pinned Tabs” and explain how it works,” said Nick Nguyen, Vice President at Mozilla.

Nguyen says CFR is currently being rolled out to US users only, and initially it would recommend only three extensions: Facebook Container, Enhancer for YouTube, and To Google Translate.

Other smaller changes included in Firefox 64 include:

For more details on today’s changes, ZDNet readers can access the Firefox 64 changelog here, the list of security fixes here, and a list of Web API and developer-related changes here.

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