by Martin Brinkmann on March 15, 2019 in Internet – 12 comments
Waterfox users who waited for a new version of the web browser to come out patiently can now upgrade the browser to version 56.2.8.
Waterfox 56.8.2 was released on March 14, 2019 to the public. The new release is already available via the browser’s update checking functionality but also as a standalone download for new users and users who prefer to download the full installer.
Existing Waterfox users may select Menu > Help > About Watefox to run a manual check for update. The new version should be picked up and installed when the about page is opened.
Waterfox 56.2.8
The new Waterfox logo is the first thing that users of the browser may notice. User reactions seem split on the new logo; some users like it, others dislike it and would like to see the old logo being added as an option so that they may switch to it.
More important than the logo are web compatibility improvements. Waterfox identifies as Firefox 60 ESR now in the latest release. The developer notes that many web compatibility issues should be a thing of the past because of this.
Services and sites such as WhatsApp Web, Chase, and others should work fine now in the latest version of Waterfox. Waterfox users who had issues solving captchas will benefit from the new release as well as captcha issues, especially issues with Google’s recaptcha system, should be resolved in the new version.
Windows users who use Waterfox to access Gmail on the web should no longer run into issues using the service either. The developer of Waterfox turned off Service Workers by default and that appears to have resolved the issues that users experienced on the Gmail website.
The method Element.scrollIntoView should work as expected now as well in the new Waterfox release. The fix improves compatibility with websites that rely on the method.
Waterfox 58.2.8 is a security release next to that. The developer incorporated the latest Firefox security fixes in the release.
Now You: Do you use Waterfox? What is your take on the overall development?