Firefox 7 will use much less memory and can run "drastically" faster than earlier versions according to browser developer Mozilla.
While admitting that "Firefox has a reputation for being a memory hog," Mozilla programmer Nicholas Nethercote said that a new effort called MemShrink was aimed at reducing the RAM footprint of the popular free browser.
Nethercote added that the new rapid release strategy meant that Firefox would appear in as little as three month's time. Firefox 6 has yet to be released in a final version although the Aurora and Beta channels can be enabled by users desiring the latest features.
"We have had lots of feedback from early users that Firefox 7 feels faster, is more responsive, has fewer pauses, and is generally more pleasant to use than Firefox 4, 5 and 6," Nethercote said of beta versions of Firefox 7.
Mozilla is also aiming to improve testing capabilities so future versions of the browser don't "regress" back to memory hogging ways of the past.
While officially due for release tomorrow, the public release of Firefox 6 appeared on Mozilla's FTP servers for download.
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