Firefox 16 stable is out and here is what you need know

The Mozilla team has been working around the clock to deliver yet another version of the most popular open source web browser, Firefox 16. This version brings several enhancements and features that Windows and OS X users alike are going to enjoy. It is also worth noting that some expected features weren’t included in this latest build such as inline PDF viewer and a number of enhancements for Mac users.

What could be the biggest changes, are the addition of desktop support for web apps, new developer tools, and VoiceOver accessibility function for Mac OS X. Plus various performance improvements.

In the Firefox 16 final stable version users will find new support for web apps for all desktop platforms, that allows end-users to install apps directly into the desktop, which also means that they will run independently from the web browser. However, web apps will not be available until Mozilla launches their Marketplace.

Version 16 will make web browsing more responsive and faster, thanks to new enhancements and an improved garbage collector.

Lion and Mountain Lion users with accessibility needs will be happy to know that Firefox now offers support for VoiceOver, and it provides audio prompts for menus and the address bar among others prompts.

For developers

In the developer side, Firefox version 16 now includes various dev features such as Developer Toolbar, which provides access to the new graphical command line interface to debug or simply analyse a website or web app. And Mozilla has also included some other developer enhancements like stable CSS3 features, transforms, gradients, transitions, and namely animations. 

Long gone are the times where you needed to manually download and install Firefox, since version 15 updates are automatic, now all you need to do to get Firefox 16 is to close and reopen the browser. However, if you are a new user, you can always download the latest version of Firefox here.

Update Oct. 15, 2012

Mozilla has already patched the vulnerability with the release of version 16.0.1. Now updates are rolling out as usual. To read all the details about the update click here.

Source Betanews