Firefox Adds Long-Anticipated Feature
Firefox 103 has arrived and it now includes a feature users have long awaited…sort of.
With the release of Firefox 103, a few new additions are aimed at greatly improving the experience of some users. One of the biggest additions to the open-source web browser is two-finger horizontal swipe gesture support for navigating back and forward with a trackpad. This feature has been in the works for some time and is now seeing the light of day. However, there is a caveat to the new addition. The goal of the developers was to have the feature fully supported with version 103, however, upon release, the only way to use the two-finger swipe gesture is to first press and hold the Alt key on your keyboard. Hopefully, somewhere in the next few updates, that requirement will be removed and the feature will work exactly as expected.
Other goodies added to Firefox 103 include highlighted required fields on PDFs, significant performance improvements for monitors with 120Hz+ refresh rates, improved Picture-in-Picture subtitles, and buttons in the Tabs toolbar can now be accessed with [Tab], [Tab]+[Shift], and keyboard arrow keys.
Several issues have also been fixed, such as non-breaking spaces perseverance, WebGL performance issues, and start-up time slowdowns due to processing Web content local storage.
To find out more about what’s new with Firefox 103, check out the official release notes. As of now, this new version has yet to hit the official repositories for most distributions, but you can download it from the official Mozilla site.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Photoshop on Linux?
A developer has patched Wine so that it'll run specific versions of Photoshop that depend on Adobe Creative Cloud.
-
Linux Mint 22.3 Now Available with New Tools
Linux Mint 22.3 has been released with a pair of new tools for system admins and some pretty cool new features.
-
New Linux Malware Targets Cloud-Based Linux Installations
VoidLink, a new Linux malware, should be of real concern because of its stealth and customization.
-
Say Goodbye to Middle-Mouse Paste
Both Gnome and Firefox have proposed getting rid of a long-time favorite Linux feature.
-
Manjaro 26.0 Primary Desktop Environments Default to Wayland
If you want to stick with X.Org, you'll be limited to the desktop environments you can choose.
-
Mozilla Plans to AI-ify Firefox
With a new CEO in control, Mozilla is doubling down on a strategy of trust, all the while leaning into AI.
-
Gnome Says No to AI-Generated Extensions
If you're a developer wanting to create a new Gnome extension, you'd best set aside that AI code generator, because the extension team will have none of that.
-
Parrot OS Switches to KDE Plasma Desktop
Yet another distro is making the move to the KDE Plasma desktop.
-
TUXEDO Announces Gemini 17
TUXEDO Computers has released the fourth generation of its Gemini laptop with plenty of updates.
-
Two New Distros Adopt Enlightenment
MX Moksha and AV Linux 25 join ranks with Bodhi Linux and embrace the Enlightenment desktop.