Topic: Firefox 2.0 Beta 1 Available for Download

[Reno]

http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/002405.html

Mozilla released Firefox 2.0 Beta 1 today. According to developer docs, all the new features for version 2.0 should be in this version. But it's by no means finished: Mozilla says you shouldn't expect your 1.x extensions and plugins to work properly, and there are certainly bugs. I had problems installing and running it on a computer with other beta software, for example.

In a nutshell, if you've spent time customizing Firefox like I have, and you value a relatively bug-free browsing experience, you probably don't want to install this just yet. Like I mentioned, I installed it on a separate test computer so as to preserve my lovingly customized 1.5 installation.

If you do decide to become a beta tester, this version will install separately from version 1.5. So you'll have both at once - but installing 2.0 will likely muck with extensions installed in previous versions. Here's Mozilla's download page.

On to the new features! Right away, I noticed that there really wasn't much to notice. For the user interface, at least: This version looks very much like version 1.5. Changes are mostly under-the-hood.

Those changes are welcome, though. One new thing is that tabs get their own close button on each tab. There's also a new option to re-open a closed tab. Both features are part of one of my favorite current extensions, Tab Mix Plus.

newtab.jpg

RSS feed support gets an upgrade, too. When you bring up a feed in the browser, there's now a "Choose a Feed Reader" button that lets you choose between adding the feed as a Live Bookmark; to the Bloglines, iGoogle, or My Yahoo Web readers; or to a standalone feed reader. Once you select a reader the button defaults to adding the feed to that reader. You can change your preference in the Options menu.

feedreader.jpg

And like the new IE 7, version 2.0 has anti-phishing. Amazingly enough, I don't have a phishing e-mail in my inbox right now to give me a link to test, so I can't tell you what the feature looks like. But it sounds like a basic blacklist feature, where you have the option of choosing to compare sites you visit against a locally stored list of known phishing sites or against one maintained by Google. You'll get a privacy notification pop-up if you choose Google that says the option will mean telling Google about all the sites you visit.

anti-phishing.jpg

Bloggers should welcome a new spell-checker for text boxes. Incorrectly spelled words get a red underline; you can then right-click and choose from suggested spellings. Also, extension and theme management are now combined into one window, with a new option to disable extensions instead of just uninstalling them.

add-ons.jpg

Here's a full list of changes from Mozilla's site:

    * Built in Phishing Protection.
    * Search suggestions now appear with search history in the search box for Google, Yahoo! and Answers.com
    * Changes to tabbed browsing behavior
    * Ability to re-open accidentally closed tabs
    * Better support for previewing and subscribing to web feeds
    * Inline spell checking in text boxes
    * Search plugin manager for removing and re-ordering search engines
    * New microsummaries feature for bookmarks
    * Automatic restoration of your browsing session if there is a crash
    * New combined and improved Add-Ons manager for extensions and themes
    * New Windows installer based on NullSoft Scriptable Install System
    * Support for JavaScript 1.7
    * Support for client-side session and persistent storage
    * Extended search plugin format
    * Updates to the extension system to provide enhanced security and to allow for easier localization of extensions
    * Support for SVG text using svg:textPath