New updates and releases: Firefox 90, Polypane 6.2, Deno 1.12, Node 16.5.0, V8 release v9.2, and more | Front End News #038
Tags: frontendnews, news
Published: 2021-07-21 12:22:13

> **NOTE:** This is issue #038 of my newsletter, which went live on Monday, July 19th. If you find this information useful and interesting and you want to receive future issues as they are published, ahead of everyone else, I invite you to join the subscriber list at [frontendnexus.com](https://frontendnexus.com/).

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This issue is full of updates and releases. Firefox rolled out the update to version 90. Polypane released version 6.2. JavaScript runtimes get updates too: version 1.12 for Deno and 16.5.0 for NodeJS. The V8 engine got a new release too, as well as many other software packages. And I'm wrapping up this issue with an announcement, so please stay tuned till the end.

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## Browser news

### Firefox

Firefox users can now update their browser to version 90. Developers can now use the `at()` function in JavaScript, enhance classes with private fields and methods and use conic gradients in Canvas.

There are many quality-of-life improvements as well. Firefox can now update itself in the background automatically. "Print to PDF" now has working hyperlinks. FTP support has been removed, and SmartBlock version 2 helps to increase your privacy.

- [Getting lively with Firefox 90](https://hacks.mozilla.org/2021/07/getting-lively-with-firefox-90/)

### Polypane

Polypane released version 6.2, and here are the highlights. Your HTML code is validated automatically in the Source panel, the Meta panel now displays info from your `robots.txt` file, and you can now switch easily between LTR and RTL modes. Last but not least, it includes integration with Toybox Systems, a third-party bug reporting tool.

- [Polypane 6.2: HTML validation, robots.txt support, RTL emulation and more](https://polypane.app/blog/polypane-6-2-html-validation-robots-txt-support-rtl-emulation-and-more/)

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## Software updates and releases

- **[Deno 1.12](https://deno.com/blog/v1.12)** - a secure runtime for JavaScript and TypeScript
- **[Ember 4.0 preview](https://blog.emberjs.com/the-road-to-ember-4-0/)** - a JavaScript framework for building modern web applications
- **[HTM v3.1.0](https://github.com/developit/htm/releases/tag/3.1.0)** - JSX alternative using standard tagged templates, with compiler support
- **[mem v9.0.0](https://github.com/sindresorhus/mem/releases/tag/v9.0.0)** - memoize functions - an optimization technique used to speed up consecutive function calls by caching the result of calls with identical input
- **[MongoDB NodeJS Driver v4.0.0](https://github.com/mongodb/node-mongodb-native/releases/tag/v4.0.0)** - the Official MongoDB Node.js Driver
- **[Node v16.5.0](https://nodejs.org/en/blog/release/v16.5.0/)** - a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine
- **[React DevTools v4.14.0](https://github.com/facebook/react/blob/main/packages/react-devtools/CHANGELOG.md#4140-july-17-2021)**
- **[React Virtual v2.8.0](https://github.com/tannerlinsley/react-virtual/releases/tag/v2.8.0)** - hooks for virtualizing scrollable elements in React
- **[turf v6.5.0](https://github.com/Turfjs/turf/releases/tag/v6.5.0)** - a modular geospatial engine written in JavaScript
- **[V8 release v9.2](https://v8.dev/blog/v8-release-92)** - Google’s open source high-performance JavaScript and WebAssembly engine
- **[vue-next 3.2.0-beta.1](https://github.com/vuejs/vue-next/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#320-beta1-2021-07-16)** - a JavaScript framework for building UI on the web

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## Wrapping things up

I was planning to reach at least 40 issues in this season of Front End News before taking a break. However, life had other plans, and some personal matters require all my available time for the next few weeks. Once things settle down a bit, I can start implementing the next set of updates and features I have planned for this newsletter.

I want to thank you for being with me, week after week, for almost a year. Have a great and productive summer, keep yourselves safe, and I will see you in several weeks!