Firefox 2.0 released?
I haven’t seen an official announcement yet, but I was reading the release notes for Firefox 2 RC 3 when I noticed a link to the mozilla FTP site at the very bottom of the page. Curious as I am I started poking around and came across this directory:
http://releases.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/2.0/
The directory seems to contain the full set of binaries for all platforms, as well as plenty of (all?) localised builds. So from the looks of it Firefox 2.0 will be released very shortly.
I downloaded and installed the Mac version, and it works great so far. The release notes still say Firefox 2 Release Candidate 3 though. Guess they haven’t had time to update that just yet.
Forget about Internet Explorer 7. Get Firefox 2 instead! :-)
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Roger Johansson is a Swedish web professional specialising in web standards, accessibility, and usability. More about me and this site.
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Comments
Hi Roger, Word is that it's being released officially on the website tomorrow, Tuesday. All the best, Ian.
If only everybody's computer would have this included in their automatic updates (like I.E.7 - which incindentally breaks layout that is strict valid and works on I.E.6 and FF!!)
I'm really impressed with the release. Really love the built in spell check feature. It's easy to use and has already helped me with spelling (including this post).
Forget about Firefox 2. Use Opera 9 instead! ;-)
Hi Roger,
I downloaded it earlier today by changing the URL string for the 1.5.0.7 version.
Here's the link to download Firefox 2.0
I also blogged on it earlier
Firefox rocks!
Here is a tip on one change from the earlier versions of Firefox 1.5 and the latest 2.0. It relates to removing the URL GO button.
If you don't want the URL GO (green arrow) button, the way to remove it is type about:config in the URL bar and find browser.urlbar.hideGoButton. The default setting is false. Simply toggle this to true to remove the GO button. It cannot be dragged from the browser as in previous versions. Cheers
Firefox 1.5 is still a lot better than IE7, so FF 2.0 is probably going to rock. There's something telling about these numbers: 7 versus 2, 2 versus 7... Firefox is miles ahead of IE in this regard.
Yep, 2.0 is available. Seems solid so far.
While I think Firefox 2.0 is great and I recommend it to anyone that still haven't tried it but the new version have very few really new features. They have redone the preferences, addons and the tabs but it's a shame that they haven't done any improvements to the gecko engine. It still doesn't pass the ACID2 test for instance. Maybe they include all the BIG improvements (database driven bookmarks, improved gecko engine) with the 3.0 release next year.
Its also avalible over at the Sunet FTP. :)
Works like a charm, but as Rob E. pointed out: no really big changes. I'm going to run some quick CSS3 selector-tests before going to bed. I'm curious if there will be some new support. :)
The rendering engine is the same as in Firefox 1.5, so 2.0 will not break any layouts.
Also, I've heard that the 2.0 you linked to is the same as RC3 (which may or may not end up being the final version of 2.0).
I downloaded it and tested. I agree it doesn't have big changes, it has some nice ones though.
Form syntax checking and the feed features are very handy.
I think Opera is also a very nice browser, arguably faster (http://www.javascriptsearch.com/guides/Advanced/articles/0608JSSpeedTest.html) and more standard compliant (http://www.webstandards.org/action/acid2/).
One of the features I like the most in Opera and I would like to see in Firefox and other browsers is page-zooming instead of text resizing.
Don't want to sound harsh, but as stated in many mozilla blogs you are doing them a big unfavor by posting links to their ftp-servers... (even if i think digg and slashdot are making a bigger impact)
http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/preed/2006/10/the_antirelease.html
Henrik: I don't read any Mozilla blogs, so I had no idea. At least I didn't post a link to a mirror or a direct link to a specific binary.
@Mike:
Hmm, that must mean that a Volvo 950 is a better car than for example a Porsche 911 :) You can't compare versionnumbering for the product here or for browsers. I just tested 2.0 and ... well, I don't know. Still can't see a real reason for changing from IE. The installation added a couple of extra Firefox-shortcuts to the same location on my desktop. Why?
Didn't mean to sound like you should, just wanted to cite the sources... :)
Read some stories on comparisons of Firefox 2.0 and IE 7 - they're quite interesting! Try this in Google: http://www.google.com/search?q=comparison+firefox+2+and+ie+7.
I think, they first of all will copy FF 2.0 to all of their ftp servers, then write a great article about this event, and only after that will make an official announcement.
I currently use version Mozilla 1.08 and would love to upgrade to Mozilla 2.0, but I'm worried that I'll miss a lot of rendering bugs that have been fixed in the later version.
How do you guys get around this problem?
JP, I find I didn't really miss them after a while. Sure, for a while there were nights when, after a bottle of wine or two, I'd find myself sobbing over old screenshots but eventually, you know, you get strong, you move on.
Opera-style page zooming is available in IE7 as well as the text resizing from before.
To all who are still wondering which browser to get, here is exactly what you should do:
If you are a web developer, get all 3 (Opera 9, Firefox 2, IE7). Test all your CSS in all 3.
If you are not a web developer, get all 3, use them for 6 months, and then decide which you like best.
As soon as the auto-update function doesn't tell me to update I won't update.. The RC3 is running fine and there must be a reason the final is on the server without an official notice (can't the read the blog, the page doesn't load). :-)
@ChristianD:
Nah, it was more tongue-in-cheek than anything else. IE's been around a lot longer than FF -- more major edition releases over a greater period of time -- yet FF is still so much better due to a simple adherence to standards. The car reference doesn't equate because those are model numbers and don't necessarily relate to newer versions like software does. BMW, for example, still produces a 3-series and 7-series; those signify upgraded features in relation to one another. :-)
I tried it out earlier, the only problem I had was that all but 2 of my extensions/add-ons were not compatible with Firefox 2.
I don't think I'll keep the update until at least the session saver is compatible.
If you don't like the close buttons on each tab in Firefox 2, just open about:config and search for browser.tabs.closeButtons property. Set it to 2 if you want to see no close button at all (because you can always close tabs with middle mouse button clicks - at least on Windows) or to 3 if you want to have just one close button at the end of the tab bar.
I got this from the local www.mozilla.sk people.
I love the new look of the Firefox tabs.
Opera rules ;-)
And for the list of extensions updated for and compatible with Firefox 2, check out www.extensionhunter.com.
Emma: There is no need for SessionSaver anymore, that functionality is built into Firefox 2.0. And, for any other extensions you want, just use the Nightly Tester Tools extension available from addons.mozilla.org to override the max version compatibility :), it should work with ~95% of extensions.
Of course :)
Roger, you will certainly forgive me for posting this here - to whom it may concern, please train your CSS muscles and be inspired by the brand-new World's Highest Website ;)
Regardless, It is now official. Firefox has been released.
http://www.mozilla.com/
Emma: I noticed the same problem with extensions not being 2.0-ready yet (particularly the HTML Validator extension). I'll have to try the Nightly Tester Tools extension that Wulf mentions.
Jens: ROTFLMAO! Forgive me if I'm not going to use my mousewheel to scroll down that site ;-).
Mau: Ah, nice.
For the lucky ones with a Mac: you can horizontally scroll your tabs when they exceed your window width :D
Normally I'm a Safari-fan, but FF2.0 totally blew that away!!
I got it last night and I'm happy. No huge changes (good: if it ain't broke...) but some nice improvements. A lot of my plugins weren't compatible or update-able, but a quick search on Google and I found them anyway, just not from Mozilla. I had to do the same thing when I upgraded to v.1.5. I couldn't find an updated session-saver plugin, though, but I suspect I'll get one in a couple of weeks when I look again. The web dev toolbar was updated so for that I'm happy.
HTML Validator plugin is compatible, mine updated a few days ago automatically :) That's what I love about Firefox.
The spellchecker is excellent as well!
I agree about the spell checker. Awesome feature -- one that I really need not because of my spelling ability, but because of my terrible typing skills; I make lots of mistakes.
One thing, though, does anyone know how to add words? You know, a custom dictionary type thing. That would be really useful.
Ha, I learned you can add words and create a custom dictionary by simply right-clicking on the red-underlined word and selecting from the menu, yep, "Add to Dictionary" :-)
Paul: I take it you're using Windows? For us Mac users there is no update for HTML Validator yet.
How do remove the session pop-up when starting Firefox 2.0?
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