{"id":62310,"date":"2017-04-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/foxtail\/2017\/04\/19\/first-big-bytes-project-quantum\/"},"modified":"2017-04-19T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-04-19T00:00:00","slug":"first-big-bytes-project-quantum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/first-big-bytes-project-quantum\/","title":{"rendered":"Firefox faster and more stable with the first big bytes of Project Quantum, simpler with compact themes and permissions redesign"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s release of Firefox includes the first significant piece of Project Quantum, as well as various visible and the under-the-hood improvements.<\/p>\n

The Quantum Compositor speeds up Firefox and prevents graphics crashes on Windows<\/b><\/p>\n

In case you missed our Project Quantum announcement<\/a>, we\u2019re building a next-generation browser engine that takes full advantage of modern hardware. Today we\u2019re shipping one of the first important pieces of this effort \u2013 what we\u2019ve referred to as the \u201cQuantum Compositor\u201d.<\/p>\n

Some technical details \u2013 we\u2019ve now extracted a core part of our browser engine (the graphics compositor) to run in a process separate from the main Firefox process. The compositor determines what you see on your screen by flattening into one image all the layers of graphics that the browser computes, kind of like how Photoshop combines layers. Because the Quantum Compositor runs on the GPU instead of the CPU, it\u2019s super fast. And, because of occasional bugs in underlying device drivers, the graphics compositor can sometimes crash. By running the Quantum Compositor in a separate process, if it crashes, it won\u2019t bring down all of Firefox, or even your current tab.<\/p>\n

In testing, the Quantum Compositor reduced browser crashes by about 10%. You can learn more about our findings here<\/a>. The Quantum Compositor will be enabled for about 70% of Firefox users \u2013 those on Windows 10, 8, and 7 with the Platform Update, on computers with graphics cards from Intel, NVidia, or AMD.<\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re wondering about the Mac \u2013 graphics compositing is already so stable on MacOS that a separate process for the compositor is not necessary.<\/p>\n

Save screen real estate \u2013 and your eyes \u2013 with compact themes and tabs<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a browser\u2019s job to get you where you want to go, and then get out of the way.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why today\u2019s release of Firefox for desktop<\/a> ships with two new themes: Compact Light and Compact Dark. Compact Light shrinks the size of the browser\u2019s user interface (the \u2018chrome\u2019) while maintaining Firefox\u2019s default light color scheme. The Compact Dark theme inverts colors so it won\u2019t strain your eyes, especially if you\u2019re browsing in the dark. To turn on one of these themes, click the menu button and choose Add-ons. Then select the Appearance panel, and the theme you’d like to activate.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Firefox for Android<\/span><\/a> also ships with a new setting for compact tabs. When you switch tabs, this new setting displays your tabs in two columns, instead of one, so it\u2019s easier to switch tabs when you have several open. To activate compact tabs, go to Settings > General.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Easily control a website\u2019s permission to access device sensors or send you notifications<\/b><\/p>\n

In order to fully function, many websites must first get your permission to access your hardware or alert you of information. For example, video conferencing apps need to use your camera and microphone, and maps request your location so you don\u2019t have to type it in. Similarly, news sites and social networks often ask to send you notifications of breaking stories or messages.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Firefox desktop release introduces a redesigned interface for granting and subsequently managing a website\u2019s permissions. Now, when you visit a website that wants to access sensitive hardware or send you a notification, you\u2019ll be prompted with a dialog box that explicitly highlights the permissions that site is requesting. If later on you would like to change a site\u2019s permissions, just click the \u2018i\u2019 icon in the Awesome Bar.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

You can learn more about the improvements to Firefox\u2019s permissions in this post<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lots more new<\/b><\/p>\n

Check out the Firefox 53 release notes<\/span><\/a> for a full list of what\u2019s new, but here are a few more noteworthy items:<\/p>\n