Firefox 4 offers silent add-on updates

Firefox 4 will automatically update the browser's extensions, a Mozilla interface designer said Sunday.

Add-ons, also called "extensions" by Mozilla, will update silently in the background, said Jenny Boriss, a Firefox user experience designer, in a blog post yesterday. Earlier versions of the open-source browser notified users of available add-on updates each time Firefox was launched.

Add-on developers can also revamp their wares to allow updates without a Firefox restart, which is currently required.

Firefox 4 Beta 7, the most recent preview of the browser that's slated to launch in early 2011, includes an option setting for each add-on that lets users switch auto-updating on or off.

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