Mozilla pushes back Firefox 3.6, 4.0 deadlines
Mozilla won't make a 2009 deadline for releasing Firefox 3.6 and is giving itself more time to complete a major update, version 4.0. — The organization behind the open-source Web browser had predicted a final release of Firefox 3.6 in December 2009 …
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the second time in 2009 that a Firefox release has outlived its announced date: back in January, Mozilla delayed the third Firefox 3.1 beta, and now the organization has let its own predicted December window for a final Firefox 3.6 lapse. The slip lands even though the release looked close — beta 5 shipped on December 18 with bug fixes and performance work, and maintenance builds like November's Firefox 3.5.5 kept patching stability holes rated critical.
The stakes sit in the 4.0 line rather than 3.6 itself: the trunk builds have been accumulating bigger changes such as WebGL support checked in during September, and Mozilla is choosing to give that major version more runway instead of forcing it out on schedule. With Firefox having posted a share surge in September per Net Applications, timing matters competitively.
First-order effects
- Firefox users waiting on 3.6 get nothing final before 2010 — testers on beta 5 carry the load while Mozilla extends both the 3.6 and 4.0 timelines.
- Mozilla's own published roadmap takes the credibility hit: two of its headline 2009 dates (3.1's beta cadence, 3.6's December final) did not hold.
Second-order effects
- Every quarter 4.0 slips, the gap between Firefox's stable branch and the feature work sitting in nightly builds widens, raising the size and risk of the eventual upgrade jump for users and extension developers.
- Rival browsers competing for the same usage share get a longer window to ship their own updates against an aging Firefox stable release.
Third-order effects
- If missed quarters keep recurring, Mozilla faces structural pressure to rethink how it sequences and announces releases — trading fixed calendar promises for a process built around when the code is actually ready.
The trend: Browser development is straining against fixed-date roadmaps, with Mozilla's repeated slips signaling a shift toward readiness-based shipping over calendar commitments.