| Firefox 1.5 RC3 available for download |
Nov. 19, 2005
[Updated Nov. 21, 2005] -- The open-source Mozilla Foundation last week released the latest iteration of its Firefox Web browsing software, promising faster navigation, increased customization and improved security in the third beta version of its upcoming application.
Labelled Firefox 1.5 Release Candidate 3, the new installment of the Web browsing software claims many of the same types of improvements as the last several test versions of the application.
Those additions include faster navigation, with upgrades to back and forward button performance, as well as drag-and-drop reordering for browser tabs, and improvements in general usability, such as more descriptive error pages, a further redesigned options menu, RSS feed discovery capabilities and a "safe mode" for enhanced protection against potential threats.
In addition to launching the new beta, Mozilla representatives confirmed that the group hopes to introduce the final version of Firefox 1.5 sometime during the last week of November, or within the first several days of December.
The second beta version of the browser was released during the first week of October. Mozilla said previously that it plans to adopt a more aggressive product introduction cycle in 2006, with Firefox 2 launching by mid-year, and Firefox 3 expected out some time during the first quarter of 2007.
As part of the Release Candidate 3 introduction, Mozilla also added new automated updating features for the software in an effort to streamline transitions to future editions of the browser.
Mozilla said that update notifications have also been made more prominent in the software, including the addition of pop-ups that inform users of new features.
Mozilla has said that it plans to begin releasing regularly scheduled security and stability updates for Firefox 1.5 every six to eight weeks after the final version of the application is introduced.
Other improvements promised in Release Candidate 3 include improved pop-up ad blocking tools, the addition of the Answers.com site to the browser's search engine listings, extended capabilities for reporting Web sites that do not work with the software and new support for Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X operating system, including profile migration from the Safari and Mac Internet Explorer browsers.
For more technical users, Firefox 1.5 Beta 3 pledges improved accessibility support, which includes DHTML accessibility, security enhancements and new support for Web standards—including SVG, CSS 2 and CSS 3, and JavaScript 1.6, Mozilla said.
Since launching just over one year ago, Firefox has garnered significant attention for attracting over 100 million downloads and siphoning market share away from Microsoft Corp.'s dominant Explorer browser.
According to Onestat.com, which analyzes Internet traffic, Firefox's slice of the worldwide browser market is currently holding at 11 percent, compared to Internet Explorer's 85 percent market share.
Once a hotly contended market with well-known players such as Netscape and America Online Inc. challenging Microsoft for dominance, competition for Explorer had tailed off noticeably over the last five years before the introduction of Firefox in 2004.
Mozilla representatives said that customers are responding to the notion of again having a choice in which browsers they may use to go online.
"We've had a year to collect feedback from our users, and we've seen that people are really responding to having a choice again," said Paul Kim, director of product marketing for Mozilla.
"We're really focusing on improving the overall user experience; you won't see a lot of changes in the user interface as we don't want to add features just for the sake of doing so, but we want to make sure that we integrate the best of the user feedback we receive, and refine other areas of the product."
Despite the browser's success, at least one expert said that adoption of Firefox may actually be slowing down based on the recent rash of security vulnerabilities discovered in the product.
A majority of consumers also appear indifferent regarding which specific applications they use to view Web sites, said Nate Root, analyst with Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research.
Root said that businesses in particular have become increasingly disinterested in Firefox, as the browser has been proven to have many of the same types of security issues as Explorer.
While the open-source community has long argued that applications produced by its developers are safer than proprietary programs such as Explorer—based on their readily available source code and the legions of programmers willing to lend a hand to fix problems—several serious vulnerabilities have been identified in Firefox over the past few months.
It's worth noting that the security issues attached to Firefox have been related to holes found in the software, and not to actual attacks crafted to take advantage of those weaknesses.
"Firefox had a great opportunity upfront to go after the corporate crowd and people made a lot of noise about it having better security than Explorer and faster deployment speeds," said Root.
"But it's since been proven to have many of the same holes as IE, and some of the adaptations of the browser created by the developer community may have actually made it seem less appealing; so some of that credibility has been lost."
Root said that "cutting-edge Linux heads" would likely be interested with the new beta version, in a nod toward users of the open source operating system, but the analyst believes that most consumers remain fairly apathetic about just which browsers they use to surf the Internet.
With Windows' placement of Explorer as the default Web browser on most new computers, and with IE holding a tight grip on the business market, he said the chances for Firefox to steal more market share from Explorer may be slim.
In other Firefox-related matters, Microsoft has made available for download a plug-in that will allow Firefox and other Mozilla-based browser users to validate their Microsoft software via the Windows Genuine process.
WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage) is a Microsoft anti-piracy program that requires Windows users to validate the authenticity of their Windows operating system before being able to download key technologies from the company's various download sites.
Microsoft officials declined to comment on whether the company was considering developing similar Firefox plug-ins for the company's Windows Update and Office Update services.
A number of Firefox users have expressed interest in the availability of such plug-ins via postings on Web sites such as Slashdot.org and Neowin.Net.
The first Firefox v1.5 test version was released on Sept. 9. The final 1.5 version will be released later this month or in early December, Mozilla products manager Chris Beard told Ziff Davis Internet.
Growing market share
Firefox, which marked its 100 millionth download on Oct. 19, continues to gain market share slowly but steadily.
OneStat.com, an Internet traffic analyst and consultant, recently reported that Firefox's piece of the worldwide browser market has now topped the 11 percent mark -- up more than 3 percent from six months ago. Microsoft's Internet Explorer still dominates, however, at 85 percent. Netscape, Opera, Safari (for Macintosh), and several others make up the remainder of the market.
Worldwide and US web browser market share
(Source: OneStat.com)
"The global usage share of Mozilla's browsers is still growing, and it seems that Netscape users and some Internet Explorer users are switching to the Firefox version," OneStat.com reported.
RC3 download
You can pick up your update for Linux, Mac OS X, or Windows here.
If you found this eWEEK.com article by Matt Hines and Mary Jo Foley informative, be sure to check out eWEEK.com's Linux & Open Source Center for the latest open-source news, reviews, and analysis.
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