Mozilla, a global, non-profit organization dedicated to making the Web better, today released an update to Firefox for Windows, Mac and Linux. Mozilla Firefox provides a speedy Web browsing experience for users and new tools to help developers create faster websites and Web apps.

Firefox manages memory more efficiently to deliver a nimble Web browsing experience. Users will notice Firefox is faster at opening new tabs, clicking on menu items and buttons on websites. Heavy Internet users will enjoy enhanced performance when lots of tabs are open and during long Web browsing sessions that last hours or even days.

New tools in Firefox make it easier for developers to build snappy Web experiences for users. A new version of hardware-accelerated Canvas speeds up HTML5 animations and games in Firefox. This allows developers to build more compelling and interactive Web experiences like Angry Birds or Runfield.

Firefox now supports the W3C navigation timing spec API so developers can measure page load time and website navigation against bandwidth speed, website traffic and other factors. This API allows developers to test user experiences remotely and easily and quickly optimize websites and Web apps for different types of users.

To help improve future versions of Firefox, users can opt in to Telemetry. Telemetry is a tool built on Mozilla Privacy Principles that allows users to provide anonymous browser performance data in a private and secure way that they control.

For more information:

• FAQ
• Long, technical release notes
• Firefox for Android
• Find out more about the Future of Firefox

Mozilla, a global, non-profit organization dedicated to making the Web better, today released an update to Firefox for Android. This release allows developers to create seamless Web experiences and adds popular features that save time when browsing the mobile Web.

Firefox for Android includes support for APIs that help developers build rich and compelling websites and Web apps. The WebSockets API creates faster communication between Firefox and Web servers, making it easier for developers to build more responsive Web applications like instant messaging and interactive HTML5 games like Angry Birds or Runfield.

Firefox gives developers the power to create continuous Web experiences that work across devices and platforms. With tools like WebSockets supported in Firefox across desktop and mobile platforms, developers can create faster, seamless Web applications. Imagine a multi-player Web game that you can play simultaneously with your friends and family on different mobile phones, tablets and computers.

Firefox now supports the W3C navigation timing spec API across desktop and mobile platforms so developers can measure page load time and website navigation against bandwidth speed, website traffic and other factors. This API allows developers to remotely test user experiences and easily and quickly optimize websites and Web apps for different types of users, devices, platforms and networks.

Firefox for Android adds popular features that save time browsing the mobile Web. Users now have the ability to copy any website text and paste it into emails, website forms and device applications that go beyond the browser, like SMS messages. Firefox for Android automatically detects device language settings upon setup so users can immediately browse the Web in their language of choice.

Visit the Android Market to get the latest Firefox update on your Android device. Users with Firefox for Android already installed will receive a notification to update to the latest version.

For more information:

• FAQ
• Long, technical release notes
• Firefox for Windows, Mac and Linux
• Find out more about the Future of Firefox

Mozilla recently re-established the Mozilla Enterprise User Working Group as a place for enterprise developers, IT staff and Firefox developers to discuss the challenges, ideas and best practices for deploying Firefox in the enterprise. We want to share an update after just a few weeks of the Mozilla Enterprise User Working Group being been back in action.

Following initial discussions with the group about the Firefox release cycle and how enterprises can use Firefox with individual testing and release cycles, members of the group incorporated the input into a proposal to share. The proposal for extended support incorporates ideas and feedback to address the pain points of enterprise Firefox users. We would like to gather additional feedback from enterprises in the coming weeks to turn this proposal into a plan.

We look forward to hearing from enterprise users and IT managers from organizations of all sizes. If you have any feedback, questions, or are interested in participating, please email us.

Today we announced Mozilla’s Open Badge Infrastructure project, an effort to make it easy to issue and share digital learning badges across the web.

More and more people are looking at badges to show skills and achievements online. Mozilla is currently developing its own badges for things like Javascript courses at the School of Webcraft. We’ve also talked to groups as diverse as 4H, NASA, PBS, P2PU, Intel and the US Department of Education, all of whom plan to develop digital badges.

Open Badges is a response to this trend: an open specification and APIs that provide any organization the basic building blocks they need to offer badges in a standard, interoperable manner.

If we’re successful, the benefits to learners will be tremendous. Open Badges will let you gather badges from any site on the internet, combining them into a story about what you know and what you’ve achieved. There is a real chance to create learning that works more like the web.

Also, this sort of badge collection may eventually become a central part of online reputation, helping you get a job, find collaborators and build prestige. This is another reason Mozilla wants to build an open badge format: it can show the real potential of open identity tools on the web.

Released today, the first Open Badges beta was developed by Brian Brennan and Erin Knight, with support from Dan Mills and Ben Adida in Mozilla Labs. It includes a badge format spec, APIs and reference implementation for ‘badge backpack’ software. It also builds on other Mozilla open identity technology like Browser ID. Our first implementation will be as part of School of Webcraft, an initiative Mozilla runs jointly with P2PU.

Today’s announcement coincides with the launch of a $2 million badges for learning competition funded by MacArthur Foundation and run by HASTAC. Earlier this week, MacArthur approved a $1 million grant to Mozilla to work on the Open Badges Infrastructure, a platform that will be used by all winners of the competition.

US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, MacArthur Foundation VP Programs Julia Stasch and Mozilla Executive Director Mark Surman spoke at the competition launch in Washington DC earlier today. Here is the MacArthur Foundation press release.

Editor’s note: Today, Mozilla published a Do Not Track Field Guide and shared DNT adoption numbers to date. The full post is available on the Mozilla Privacy Blog. Excepted below.

Today we’re publishing our first edition of the The Do Not Track Field Guide. Based on interactions with developers from leading companies that support DNT today, The Do Not Track Field Guide contains case studies, tutorials and sample code. We’ve also included a background section on our view of what the debate over DNT is all about. We hope that the Guide inspires developers around the world to embrace the technology and also leads to subsequent editions with new tutorials and sample code.