5 ms·

They still haven't released a 64-bit Firefox for Windows. Compound that with all tabs running in the same process and the demands of modern web and it's easy to

They still haven't released a 64-bit Firefox for Windows. Compound that with all tabs running in the same process and the demands of modern web and it's easy to run out of memory in Firefox on Windows these days. Their neglect of the vast majority of their users is baffling.

detaro 11y ago
> neglect of the vast majority of their users You are aware that both issues are being worked on? Beta versions are available as 64-bit. Release 64bit builds are available on ftp.mozilla.org, but not offered on the main download page yet because of unresolved bugs. > Compound that with all tabs running in the same process That's something a lot of development effort is going into right now. Available in the nightlies if you want to help test.
- spooningtamarin 11y ago
  There's definitely something wrong if it's so hard to go to 64-bit. This has been their problem for almost a decade.
  - pcwalton 11y ago
    It's not hard to go to 64 bit. It's hard to go to 64 bit without any performance regressions. (This holds for most performance-critical, memory-access-bound software.)
    - cwzwarich 11y ago
      Hasn't it been 64-bit on OS X and Linux for a while? Presumedly those releases had acceptable performance, so what are the Windows-specific problems?
      - bzbarsky 11y ago
        A few relevant notes: 1) The OS X and Linux versions of Firefox have generally been slower than the Windows version all along, even before switching to 64-bit. Largely because gcc (and later clang/llvm on Mac) generated slower code at least for this particular codebase than MSVC did. This is also why the Windows release versions of Firefox are in fact compiled with MSVC, not gcc. 2) Most benchmarking done by the press is done on Windows, and most of the users are on Windows. Performance regressions on Windows do in fact matter more, both in terms of actual user experience and marketing/perception than performance regressions on other platforms. I wish that were not so, but it is.
        zurn 11y ago
        Anyone have a link for a bugzilla tracking bug for win64/win32 performance parity? I lucked out with a web search. It would be interesting to see what kind of things are being done for this.
  - detaro 11y ago
    not surprisingly, plugins seem to have been a big issue.
- ckozlowski 11y ago
  I think the issue here is that while Microsoft and Google have pushed forward with 64bit and multi-process browsers, Mozilla lags behind. There's no doubt reasons for this that Mozilla can't fully control, but users have nonetheless voted with their feet. It would be ideal of Mozilla was able to keep up, but the issue of Mozilla's declining share seems to have less to do with what Google is doing and more about what Mozilla is not doing. Edit: I certainly don't mind if my opinion is in the minority, but please don't down vote simply because you disagree. That tool is supposed to discourage off-topic and "ad hominem" attacks, not differences of opinion. If I'm incorrect in my assessment, tell me why. =)
- cpeterso 11y ago
  Here is a link to 64-bit Firefox 42 release: https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/42.0/win64/ https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/42.0/win64/
vetinari 11y ago
They did release win64 version actually, starting with v42, both DRM-crippled and EME-free versions. You have to do full install (it will pick up your profile), your existing win32 installation will not be changed to win64. Exactly like when Chrome started doing win64 builds.

detaro 11y ago

> neglect of the vast majority of their users You are aware that both issues are being worked on? Beta versions are available as 64-bit. Release 64bit builds are available on ftp.mozilla.org, but not offered on the main download page yet because of unresolved bugs. > Compound that with all tabs running in the same process That's something a lot of development effort is going into right now. Available in the nightlies if you want to help test.

spooningtamarin 11y ago
There's definitely something wrong if it's so hard to go to 64-bit. This has been their problem for almost a decade.
- pcwalton 11y ago
  It's not hard to go to 64 bit. It's hard to go to 64 bit without any performance regressions. (This holds for most performance-critical, memory-access-bound software.)
  - cwzwarich 11y ago
    Hasn't it been 64-bit on OS X and Linux for a while? Presumedly those releases had acceptable performance, so what are the Windows-specific problems?
    - bzbarsky 11y ago
      A few relevant notes: 1) The OS X and Linux versions of Firefox have generally been slower than the Windows version all along, even before switching to 64-bit. Largely because gcc (and later clang/llvm on Mac) generated slower code at least for this particular codebase than MSVC did. This is also why the Windows release versions of Firefox are in fact compiled with MSVC, not gcc. 2) Most benchmarking done by the press is done on Windows, and most of the users are on Windows. Performance regressions on Windows do in fact matter more, both in terms of actual user experience and marketing/perception than performance regressions on other platforms. I wish that were not so, but it is.
      - zurn 11y ago
        Anyone have a link for a bugzilla tracking bug for win64/win32 performance parity? I lucked out with a web search. It would be interesting to see what kind of things are being done for this.
- detaro 11y ago
  not surprisingly, plugins seem to have been a big issue.
ckozlowski 11y ago
I think the issue here is that while Microsoft and Google have pushed forward with 64bit and multi-process browsers, Mozilla lags behind. There's no doubt reasons for this that Mozilla can't fully control, but users have nonetheless voted with their feet. It would be ideal of Mozilla was able to keep up, but the issue of Mozilla's declining share seems to have less to do with what Google is doing and more about what Mozilla is not doing. Edit: I certainly don't mind if my opinion is in the minority, but please don't down vote simply because you disagree. That tool is supposed to discourage off-topic and "ad hominem" attacks, not differences of opinion. If I'm incorrect in my assessment, tell me why. =)
cpeterso 11y ago
Here is a link to 64-bit Firefox 42 release: https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/42.0/win64/ https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/42.0/win64/

vetinari 11y ago

They did release win64 version actually, starting with v42, both DRM-crippled and EME-free versions. You have to do full install (it will pick up your profile), your existing win32 installation will not be changed to win64. Exactly like when Chrome started doing win64 builds.