Mozilla abandons 64-bit Firefox development

Mozilla has announced that it has put further development of an experimental 64-bit version of its Firefox web browser for Windows on hold in order to focus development on the regular 32-bit Windows version of the browser.

The 64-bit version, which was in development, was optimised for use on 64-bit processors and had numerous key features including support for a larger number of simultaneously open tabs than the regular 32-bit version.

However, according to H-Online, Firefox developers did not have the resources to respond to bug reports from users of the new experimental version, with diverted resources impacting of efforts to improve the quality of the regular Windows version.

The regular 32-bit version is, in most cases, compatible with PCs using 64-bit processors.

According to key developer Benjamin Smedberg, future development on a 64-bit version of Firefox is not likely before the middle of 2013.

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