Mozilla Releases Firefox 3.0 Beta

Close to 15,000 developers have been testing the 'alpha' version of Firefox 3.0, and today, Mozilla has released the first beta version. The release of the beta is tad delayed than originally expected, but from the early looks of the Firefox 3 beta 1 browser it was worth the wait


Firefox 3 Adds More Security

Mozilla has released a beta version of Firefox 3.0 today, and said they one-step closer into releasing their next-generation web browser to the public.

Close to 15,000 developers have been testing the early 'alpha' versions of Firefox code for several months now, but the first beta release of the code should open up the software to a broader public.

"The move from alpha to beta typically means that we've hit a point of quality where we believe the browser is useable as a daily browser," said Mike Schroepfer, Mozilla's vice president of engineering. "For us, it's a step up in terms of getting closer toward the final release." Schroepfer expects a second beta to follow by year's end followed by a final beta 3 update in early 2008.

One of the big changes with Firefox 3.0 is an overhaul of the way the browser bookmarks and keeps track of browsing history. With this new feature, called Places, browsing history will now be stored in a database, meaning that it will be much easier for Firefox users to search for sites they've visited. "Because of the new Places infrastructure we're able to store a much larger component of your history," Schroepfer said.

Another addition is the browser's ability to search what is being typed into the address bar to see it it's relevant to your browsing history.

Security has also taken a front seat with Firefox 3.0. The browser is now integrated with Google's database of known malicious Web sites and will warn users before they visit sites that are considered to be dangerous.

The Download Manager works better with antivirus software, giving users extra security by spotting malicious files before they are placed on the computer. Also, Firefox will no longer permit add-ons to be downloaded from insecure sites.

A lot of the work has been done under the hood. Firefox has a new overhauled HTML rendering engine, known as Gecko 1.9. They promised that the new engine will perform better in the graphically rich Web 2.0 world, where developers are trying to find new ways of running software whether the PC is connected to the Internet or not. "You won't see those as a user right away," Schroepfer said. "But you'll see Web applications do more interesting things and run more quickly in Firefox over time."

Don't use Firefox with Yahoo! Mail and Gmail yet - errors occur on some website that heavily depend on Ajax technology. There is no planned release date for Firefox 3.0 final release. The release of the beta is tad delayed than originally expected, but from the early looks of the Firefox 3 beta 1 browser it was worth the wait.