Note: Users of Ubuntu 11.04 no longer need to do the steps mentioned here. Please refer to this article for details if you are using Ubuntu 11.04.

A couple of days back, we reported that Firefox 5.0 was available ahead of its scheduled release date in Mozilla’s FTP server. Well, today it has landed in the firefox-next PPA that Mozilla maintains for early adopters. The firefox-next PPA was created by Mozilla recently for the beta releases of Firefox.

Those who have been using Firefox 5 Beta from the PPA can simply update their system to get the final version of Firefox 5.0. Unlike the version of Firefox available from Mozilla directly, the one from the PPA does not have auto-update. So, you have to do it manually from the Terminal.

$ sudo apt-get update

$ sudo apt-get upgrade

If you are still using Firefox 4, you need to add the firefox-next PPA first.

Note: With the following steps you will be adding a PPA generally used for unstable builds of Firefox. Remove the PPA after installation or wait for Firefox 5 to arrive at the main PPA if you do want to face any potential problems.

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mozillateam/firefox-next

$ sudo apt-get update

$ sudo apt-get upgrade

Although, Firefox 5.0 for Linux is also available from the Mozilla FTP server, it is recommended that you install it from the PPA if you are on Ubuntu. The version available in the PPA has been built for Ubuntu and supports Ubuntu specific features such as the application menu.

Firefox 5.0 looks pretty much the same as Firefox 4. Most of the changes are under the hood and performance related improvements. One important addition to Firefox 5.0 is the Do-Not-Track feature. In the Ubuntu build, you can activate it from Edit > Preferences > Privacy.

Here is a screenshot of Firefox 5 in Ubuntu: