Compared to Firefox 2, the newly released Firefox 3 offers faster page rendering, a vastly reduced use of system resources and clever new data-mining tools for your bookmarks and browser history.
Firefox 3 also includes many built-in security-related features, such as the best-of-breed antiphishing protection, making it the most secure browser on the market today.To find out more about Firefox 3 read our latest review – www.qbs-pchelp.co.uk/firefox.html
Microsoft has sent a letter to its customers telling them to expect Windows 7 in 2010.
The letter from senior vice president Bill Veghte says “our plan is to deliver Windows 7 approximately three years after the January 2007 general availability launch date of Windows Vista.”
The letter slightly contradicts Steve Ballmer’s declaration last month that Windows 7 would arrive in 2009, although Microsoft’s press office has steadfastly stuck to the “three years after Vista” line ever since Ballmer’s speech.
Veghte’s letter is the second indication in as many days that Microsoft is keen to clarify its roadmap. Yesterday, the company insisted that it would stick to its plans to withdraw Windows XP on 30 June, albeit with a series of notable exceptions and workarounds.
Source: PC Pro
A new video gives a first glimpse at Mozilla’s radical plans for the mobile version of Firefox.
Like Apple’s mobile version of Safari, Firefox Mobile concentrates on full web browsing. However, the manner in which users navigate the web is entirely different.
Firefox Mobile works on touch controls, with users scrolling around by dragging their finger across the screen, in a similar fashion to the iPhone browser.
However, none of the normal browser controls – back, forward, reload etc – are visible within the browser window. To locate these controls the user has to drag the page to the left, where the buttons are found in the margin to the side of the web page, and the URL bar fades into view. “By using horizontal panning to access the controls, we avoid the iPhone’s problem of needing to go to the very top of the page to enter
URLs,” says Aza Raskin, the son of interface expert Jef Raskin, who was recently hired by Mozilla to work on the project.
Take a look at Raskin’s video demonstration of the Firefox Mobile concept. www.vimeo.com
Source: PC Pro
Mozilla is on the verge of launching a third release candidate of Firefox 3 to mop up issues with Mac OS X.
The Windows and Linux versions of Firefox 3 RC2 are now believed to be stable and ready to launch. However, Apple’s 10.5.3 upgrade to Mac OS X is creating problems with Firefox plug-ins, causing the browser to crash.
“QA will re do tests on OSX builds,” according to meeting notes posted on the Mozilla website and “Windows and Linux RC2 builds will be copied over into RC3 folders.”
The website does, however, continue to list 11 “review issues that are blocking final ship,” although there’s nothing to suggest that Mozilla will miss its mid-June target launch date.
Source: PC Pro
The open-source browser entered Release Candidate 3 yesterday, but that was only to mop up some outstanding issues with the Mac OS X version of the browser.
Mozilla said the Windows and Linux versions were ready for launch after RC2.
“We have a lot of indicators that help us understand when the product is ready for release: feedback from our pre-release milestones, excitement in the community and the press, availability of compatible Add-Ons, and a large active beta community helping us ensure that the release is compatible with all the various sites on the internet,” Mozilla claims on its Developer News website.
Source: PC Pro
