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Mozilla flips, will let 64-bit Firefox live

Last month, Mozilla Engineering Manager Benjamin Smedberg announced that the company was killing off 64-bit nightly builds of the popular Firefox browser.

At the time, the engineer said there was "significant negative feedback," but it appears that has been revised as Mozilla is re-instating the builds.



A new post, called 'Update on turning off 64-bit Windows builds,' the engineer said the builds are back due to the limitations of 32-bit, with 4GB RAM limits that can kill a computer that is trying to keep hundreds of tabs open.

Smedberg now says we will "continue to build win64 Nightly builds and updates on the nightly channel. Users who need the 64-bit builds will have to download it after the migration point (date TBD)."

More information here: Mozilla Firefox 64-bit discussion

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 25 Dec 2012 14:24

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• 9 comments

• SomeBozo

  Is Mozilla that out of touch? I really liked older version of Firefox, but really can't stand the newer updated style of the browser they chose in newer versions. To hear a company say they won't support 64-bit really makes me think they are even more out of touch. What will they do now, pull 32-bit to only support 16-bit, and then 8-bit only. This is ludicrous if Mozilla continues down this path.
  
  

  25.12.2012 14:49 #1

• xnonsuchx

  "can kill a computer that is trying to keep hundreds of tabs open."
  
  Oh no! I wouldn't be able to have my USUAL hundreds of sites opened at once??? ;-)

  25.12.2012 16:19 #2

• DVDBack23

  Originally posted by xnonsuchx: "can kill a computer that is trying to keep hundreds of tabs open."
  
  Oh no! I wouldn't be able to have my USUAL hundreds of sites opened at once??? ;-) In response to devs (the people who test nightlies), not for average Internet user.
  

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  25.12.2012 16:57 #3

• SomeBozo

  Originally posted by DVDBack23: Originally posted by xnonsuchx: "can kill a computer that is trying to keep hundreds of tabs open."
  
  Oh no! I wouldn't be able to have my USUAL hundreds of sites opened at once??? ;-) In response to devs (the people who test nightlies), not for average Internet user. Ya i can't remember ever getting more then 15 windows/tabs opened at once, after that I find i'll trash too much looking for what I might need, after then i start closing them all and then restart for the windows i really need at the time.
  
  While opening 100's windows/tabs might be a valid test for stress/perf it doesn't seem practical for ordinary use cases, again sure sounds like Mozilla is seriously out of touch of reality?
  
  I wonder where other browsers would tip over, 20, 50, 100 windows/tabs...
  
  
  

  25.12.2012 17:11 #4

• hikaricor

  I've got about 45 tabs open right now, most of them pinned. I'll let you know when I get to 100.

  25.12.2012 18:59 #5

• A5J4DX

  welcome back?
  

  25.12.2012 20:51 #6

• juventini

  Originally posted by hikaricor: I've got about 45 tabs open right now, most of them pinned. I'll let you know when I get to 100. jaja, me too.
  

  Forza Juve!!

  26.12.2012 09:27 #7

• hearme0

  Who cares...............www.waterfoxproject.org
  
  
  Just "Better"

  26.12.2012 14:16 #8

• Mozilla77 (unverified)

  Mozilla is the most fu... up Internet shercher I ever have becasuse 4 times this and last year brok in my laptop. in first time work completly right than donn't want to opend I don't know what the .... is worng with this thing. I reallly like it firstly but now I think is pice of ... swer down who ... up this program was such good program now is just getting werst and werst. :(

  5.2.2013 20:27 #9