Firefox to get separate processes, Direct2D acceleration

Mozilla has advanced fast in the browser segment and is found on almost every third computer, depending on source and survey. Never have so many expected so much from the company, but it has remained true to its focus on features and performance, where new competition from Google has raised the bar. Mozilla is said to have several important things on its agenda for coming versions of Firefox and this includes GPU acceleration and separate processes for extensions.

Introducing a system for separate processes is closest at hand where you for example will be able to run Adobe Flash as its own process and where extensions with stability problems will not affect the browser as a whole. Something Google Chrome has been offering for some time. This is a feature that is expected to be introduced by the end of Q2, I.e. June.

GPU acceleration is another hot topic and here Mozilla hopes to offer Direct2D support in an update for Gecko 1.9.3, slated for October launch. Unfortunately this release doesn’t include the Direct2D acceleration, but will be added later on, but hopefully not that much later.

The next step is Direct3D support, but this is not something it has even put up guidelines for.