Open source browser gains native OS X Intel version

The Mozilla Corporation has released a software update that repairs a number of bugs in its open source Firefox browser.

Firefox 1.5.0.2 introduces native support for OS X users running on Intel hardware, and addresses several bugs as well as security vulnerabilities.

"We’re identifying this as a critical release and we’re strongly recommending that everyone update as soon as possible," said Mike Schroepfer, vice president of Engineering with the Mozilla Corporation.

An overview of patched vulnerabilities was not available as of press time. A spokesperson for the Mozilla Foundation said that the updated information would be posted online shortly.

The update addresses several bugs that for instance could cause the application to crash when a users loads Gmail in another tab or when accessing the Yahoo Mail beta.

Windows users will no longer experience an application crash when trying to print pages with absolutely positioned images.

The new version allows Apple users to once again use the scroll wheel on their mousse when they visit a page containing java applets. The application also supports several keyboard shortcuts, which had stopped working after the release of Firefox 1.5.

Current Firefox users will receive an automatic update notification or can manually apply the patch through the "check for updates" function.

Users running OS X on Intel powered Mac systems have to manually download the new Firfox version because the auto update feature will provide them with the PowerPC edition.