Mozilla Firefox 2.0 Alpha Peeking Out (Or Not)

anadgouda writes "Mozilla Firefox 2.0 alpha is released. The links for download were not available directly on Mozilla.com website. Being Alpha, all features might not work and most of the plugins might not be compatible." Reading thru the comments, it appears there's some disparity as to whether or not this is actually just a naming scheme that they use; but let me reiterate that there has been no official announcement from Mozilla, so take with a giant grain of salt. Some good screenshots at OSdir.

I'd consider alpha if I knew new features.

Okay, seemingly little to no information about what comprises the new Firefox. For those who also might be curious, I have found these features [mozilla.org] described in a Firefox 2 Roadmap, but don't know if and how many of these made it to the new release.

Anyone else have any links to release notes?, what's new in FF 2?

Re:I'd consider alpha if I knew new features.

No it is NOT released.

See Asa Dotzler's blog post [mozillazine.org]

Re:I'd consider alpha if I knew new features.

Unless you're fairly deeply involved in QA (i.e. you have a Bugzilla account and plan to report bugs you find), just skip alpha versions and stick with a stable release. Wait until the beta or a release candidate is out much later this year.

NOT released.

Mozilla Firefox 2.0 alpha NOT released.

The nightlies are now branded 2.0 alpha because... well, for some odd reason they like to brand their CVS builds before things get released, to make sure the act of rebranding breaks nothing. IIRC that actually hit them way back and they got scared.

Firefox 2.0 will be considered released when you see it on www.mozilla.org / www.mozilla.com / irc.mozilla.org

Re:NOT released.

What's sad is the "article" links to tinderbox builds, not even the official nightly development builds!

People really should not submit articles if they have no clue what they're talking about.

Re:NOT released.

People are going to be idiots... you would hope to see better from the editors, though.

It's NOT released yet!

Quote from Asa Dotler's blog [mozillazine.org]:
 
  When we make a new release, we'll say so. Please don't report new releases because someone checks in a change to the user agent or similar. If we're actaully doing a release, we'll announce it. Thanks.

Re:But isn't this all open source?

Isn't this all a community written thing? Can't someone just take all the source-code and say "It's released"? This is my version of the released Firefox.

First off, the source code is there. But claiming it is a release (as in Mozilla.org's) when it is not is just misinformation. A minimum of honesty in advertising would say you've made your own fork of Firefox.

Secondly, you don't need to give out source unless you give out binaries. So you could (though this is only realistic on smaller projects or those controlled by one company) say "When we make a new release, we'll release the source". I think Apple did that with their Safari browser.

Third, the GPL doesn't change trademark law. You can take the code, but you can't release under the same trademarked name. You can make a clone like CentOS is of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, but you can't release under the name itself.

So when YOU make a release YOU'LL say so (presumably under another name, since Firefox is trademarked). It only gets stupid when other people is making release statements on behalf of someone else.

Re:But isn't this all open source?

So how can they say "When WE make a new release, WE'LL say so"? I mean, who are they to say anything on what happens to this open code?

You're welcome to make a release, but you can't call it Firefox. Firefox is a protected trademark [mozilla.org], as is Mozilla.

Besides, that's not what the article said.

Missing like Bueller

No undo close tab? Say it isn't so!

Re:Missing like Bueller

Tab Mix Plus [garyr.net] is an extension that has the "Undo Close Tab" feature, as well as many other useful ones. (The extension's page on the mozilla site is here [mozilla.org].)
If you want only Undo Close Tab, that feature is also available in an extension called (what else?) undoclosetab [mozilla.org].

Features and more from the status meeting

I was looking for the same thing as you, documentation about the features. You provided an interesting link, here's another one from the latest status meeting [mozilla.org] which includes the features, but a lot more :-)

Linux is a Minix clone

Where's the link?

Where would we be today if Linus came along and said, "Well guys, I'm working on a Minix clone and it's going to be totally k-rad, and I'll keep the development open to anyone who wants to help out, but you can't download it anywhere. Sry, kthxbye!" ?

Not that the Firefox team is all that willing to let anyone just start developing the core stuff, but note the nick and try not to concentrate on that.

Is this the present or the past?

"Mozilla Firefox 2.0 alpha is released. The links for download were not available directly on Mozilla.com website. Being Alpha, all features might not work and most of the plugins might not be compatible."

This is about half a step above gibberish.

Great job pushing out Bon Echo

I tried it on my computer. I didn't see any significant changes, and as others have pointed out, there was not much information on what exactly went into this release, but great job in making advancements.

Why?

Why does each version of Firefox break plug-in and theme compatibility? I can maybe forgive SOME plug-ins but all of them? and THEMES!?!? WTF? There are plug-ins I used to use that ar still not compatible with 1.5. This is a MAJOR flaw with Firefox in my opinion. If you're going to tout the expandibility of Firefox as a major feature then youneed to make sure there's going to be at the very leat backwards compatibility for most plug-ins.

having developed extensions for FF...

.. i can tell you that there is one thing that "breaks" most extensions: In the extension, you can specify a maximum version number under which the extension works. Normally, the extension developer sets it to a version he has personally tested (the actual release). Whit each version-bump, he retests and changes just the maximum version-number. If you want to do it yourself: get into the manifesto of the extension and search for this String "1.5" and replace 1.5 with a higher number.

Re:Why?

That would be the case... if Firefox extensions needed to be compiled. Which they don't.

Extensions are programmed in Javascript and XUL, and for some advanced ones, XBL. They don't need to be recompiled, because they don't need to be compiled in the first place. The fraction of a percent that have more demanding interaction with the host system don't even necessarily need to be recompiled, depending on how they hook in to the mozilla code.

You'd be right for other programs, but that's not how Mozilla works.

Opera alternatives...

Opera 8.5: http://www.opera.com/download/ [opera.com]

Opera 9 Technology Preview 2: http://labs.opera.com/ [opera.com]
Weekly builds of Opera 9 TP2: http://my.opera.com/desktopteam/ [opera.com]
Changelog for Opera 9 TP2: http://snapshot.opera.com/windows/w90p2.html [opera.com]

Please don't ruin tabbed browsing...

I can't believe that after Firefox actually implemented tabbed browsing *well*, people insist on ruining it in the name of "progress".

The fact that firefox has just one "x" button that closes the current tab, rather then a close button per tab, is a *feature*, not a bug. Users of Lotus Notes, like myself, are all too familiar with what happens when each tab has a close button: you often click on the wrong one, and destroy the wrong tab! With Firefox 1.5's single tab close button, you can never accidentally close any tab: you can only close the tab you are now seeing.

So I hope that if the "improvement" of having many close buttons makes it to FireFox 2, it will at least be configurable, so that users made miserable by the new feature could at least disable it.

Re:Please don't ruin tabbed browsing...

IE7 Beta 2 solves this by showing the close button in the tab, but only for the currently open tab - I'd say this is the second best solution after having the option on the preferences (which I haven't checked if IE has).

Advantages?

Are there any advantages to upgrading? On the down-side, I can see

1: Losing compatibility with extensions
2: Losing stability/higher memory usage (come to think of it, this isn't really a change)
3: Bugs galore - possible security issues?

So, is there any reason for anyone to use this until a release candidate comes out?

Portable Firefox 2.0 Alpha

There's a "portable" version available here:

http://www.cybernetnews.com/?p=411 [cybernetnews.com]

Definitely a plus b/c it let's you avoid dealing w/profile incompatibilites/conversion between the different versions of firefox and instead stores it in the directory with the portable firefox program

MNG, Javascript 2.0

What I would like to see in 2.x is some MNG support. It's about time people moved away from animated GIFs as the situation is rapidly getting out of hand. On some forums, animated sig images can be up to 500KB in size. There's demand for a better animated standard, and why MNG support was dropped from Firefox 1.5 is beyond me.

Also, Javascript needs an overhaul. If XUL is ever going to take off, it can't rely on a language that doesn't even have a "class" keyword or equivilent.

It would be nice if the Mozilla foundation took it upon itself once more, to drag the rest of teh industry, kicking and screaming, into the future.

Experimental build

So far the only distinctive feature of this is that it breaks extensions and will not load book marks.
As far as i can tell this gentleman went looking through the firefox ftp site and stumbled upon this. Its a Tinderbox build. meaning its increadably unstable and is just a starting point for further code development.

Editors, do your job!

You MUST wait for an official announcment before announcing all over the media (/.) than an alpha has been released when it really hasn't. I really suggest you change that announcment editors and say something like update "Not really released". You can't just go reading a blog and think that is news. People, DO YOUR RESEARCH!! Alpha 1 HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED!

No Quicktime plugin for Linux!

I got an opportunity to try the latest Firefox (1.5.0.1) with the Tomahawk Desktop [tomahawkcomputers.com]. For those who are wondering what is Tomahawk Desktop, it's an Apple like Multimedia Linux OS for desktops and laptops.

I have noted the Firefox is called Deer Park! Is there a name change again?

I further noted I cannot browse http://www.apple.com/aperture/ [apple.com] because there is no Quicktime plugin for Firefox on Linux. It seems Apple doesn't release a Quicktime plugin for Linux, like no iTunes for Linux. Can this issue be resolved at least with the Firefox 2.0? Is Quicktime a closed specification? Why doesn't Mozilla Foundation officially ask the specification from Apple rather than waiting forever? Is there a solution already under way to fix this issue?

Wow, quite the fuss...

Now, I'd expect this amount of excitement over, say, a BETA release, but for an Alpha? Why bother? I like checking out new things and having the latest and greatest, but I think I'll wait for one that the developers at least hope will be functional enough to release. I'm not a developer, I don't need to be digging out a Tinderbox version to satisfy my needs.

Oh, and for informational purpsoses:

Firefox = official public release

DeerPark = developer's copies, optimized and/or individualized bulids, and all those other builds that aren't the official issued-for-the-general-public builds. Which, it would stand to reason, would include all the alpha and beta builds.

Move along please

A news story about an Alpha version which doesn't even exist.

Cor, that's entertainment!

/Mad

Whoa Mozilla

I mean, this is an organization that used to offer product releases of .001 increments over the course of years, now they went from 1.0 to 1.5 and already talking about 2.0 versions of Firefox.

Is Mozilla looking to become Microsoft?

Slow and steady is what has founded Mozilla and Firefox, don't blow it by having version upgrades that coincide with the frequency of changing underwear.

Article should be removed.

Hey mods, can we get this removed from the FRONT PAGE and/or deleted? Thanks!

Thru?

So what, is slashdot like myspace now?

You could at least bother to change "thru" to "through."

Hopefully..

With a little luck, they'll finally get rid of the hugely irritating copy+paste bug that still seems to be lingering about...

Not much to see there. . .

Based on the screenshots, there isn't much new. While they readily admit the GUI isn't in place, I'd expect even an alpha build to reveal more of the functionality (otherwise it isn't alpha yet).

One thing in the GUI that really catches my eye is the History menu, and the search option in particular. While you can search History via the sidebar in FF 1.5, it's somewhat weak. I'd guess that if they devoted a menu to History, they've vastly improved it. :)

One thing I would LOVE to see is all of Tab Mix Plus to make it into the core functionality of Firefox. Actually there is a number of things Firefox (core application) sorely needs, natively out of the box:

  - a resizable search box (whose bright idea was it to make it a fixed width anyhow? Why should I have to download the Resize Search Box extension for such a basic thing?)
  - Session management - Opera does this out of the box, and I really like the session management extensions.
  - User agent switcher: Opera and Konqueror both do this natively. Firefox should as well, so that we can use coded-for-ie-and-only-ie web sites - again, without having to download and install an extension
  - Tab Mix Plus (mentioned above) - every other tabbed browser does natively what Tab Mix Plus adds. Firefox should do everything this extension provides, natively. Also, I should be able to "detach" a tab - this has really grown on me in Konqueror.

Acid2 test?

Any news on how much, if any, the news of Opera's latest success passing the Acid2 Test will affect the development of Firefox? For Mozilla to stay ahead of the game, it needs to continue to do more than just staying ahead of IE.

I wonder if it'll be closer to passing ACID2?

No biggie, as this isn't even pre-release software; it seems to be more like a CVS/nightly to me. Still, it'd be nice to know that the Mozilla foundation are working towards that greatly to be desired goal.

looks like 1.5

Is it only me or do the screenshots look like FF 1.5. I don't see any differences between what I'm currently using. I think the article should be renamed:
Mozilla Firefox 1.5 Alpha peeking out

Tell Me More of your Developer Tools, Usul

and we will share the fire of the fox.

Seriously, can anyone give us a brief overview of what they are and why we should be really excited about the new Firefox Developer Tools option that I saw in the screenshots of the installation?

Are we talking HTML, CSS, what?

I notice it imports settings/bookmarks from IE

but not from Opera.

Why?

The EULA is idiotic

Having an EULA pop up during the first run is idiotic for a free software project. There is no reason why the user must accept a license to run this program. EULA acceptance screens are needed for programs that add restrictions beyond regular copyright law (e.g. no reverse engineering). For programs with a free software license, which add additional rights (e.g. modify, but only if you distribute source to changes), it is not. The user either accepts or does not. If she does not, she has the rights granted by plain old copyright law, which means she can run it, but no copies or modifications. If she does, she has the additional rights under the EULA. The GPL has a nice clause and explanation about this.

As is, this is nust an unneccessary additional user hassle. Why do we copy stupid things from commercial software when it doesn't apply? If the trend continues, by FX3, we'll have to type in a 20 digit product code to make sure it's a valid copy...

The Official News Release from Mozilla News

In view of the following news released on the developers site, I think we can all take a deep breath and recognize that this was entirely overblown, and probably didn't really deserve to be mentioned on slashdot at all. Yet, anyway. If it actually was the newsworthy event originally claimed, then yes, deffinitly, but it's just alpha1, and not even a complete one, from the sounds of it.
Taken directly from mozillanews [mozilla.org]

BEGIN QUOTE HERE

Code Freeze for 2.0 Alpha1 this Thursday at 11:59PM PST

As discussed at the BonEcho status meeting today we will be doing a 1.8 branch code freeze on Thursday March 16, 2006 at 11:59PM PST in preparation for a Alpha 1 release next Tuesday.

If you are trying to get a bug landed for Alpha1 please be sure to set the target milestone as follows:

Firefox product: Firefox 2 alpha1
Toolkit/Core products: mozilla1.8.1alpha1

Ben G and Schrep will organize a quick triage session to stay on top of these bugs Weds/Thurs.

The Alpha1 is primarily designed to test the places backend. The UI is not anywhere near final and mind the standard disclaimers about how it's alpha software and is thus buggy - so use at your own risk.

END QUOTE HERE

download the portable 2.0 alpha instead..

http://www.cybernetnews.com/?p=411 [cybernetnews.com]

since the alpha appears to have unistall "Issues" i would strongly suggest using the portable build if you wanna try it out.

Re:Looking forward to it

Karma whore +99999

Re:idiiots?

I have in mind a word that begins with "in" and ends with "on" --- it's not "inon"; it's "information"
I also have in mind a word that begins with "informat" and ends with "formation" --- it's not "informatformation", it's "information".
I hope that illustrates what "begins" and "ends" mean.

Re:Looking forward to it

Who's idea do you think the Ping [rc3.org] attribute is ?

Re:Looking forward to it

The idea of people who actually write markup language specifications and know a heck of a lot more about the internet than you do [whatwg.org].

See also A blog post by someone who actually makes browsers and also knows a heck of a lot more about the internet than you do [mozillazine.org].

Re:Looking forward to it

At least with an open source project you know they're not going to go crazy adding features to please the marketing droids.



what about google and firefox being in same bed?

doesnt mozilla bend over backwards over googles millions? http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/11/053924 5 [slashdot.org]

oh and last i checked google are making billions from marketing :)

so to put the 2 together

THEY ARE going crazy adding features to please the marketing droids

Re:Looking forward to it

Well, if it's not stable for you, could you list the bugs and issues you're having?

Either here or in the Firefox Bugzilla would be great, and don't forget your TPS cover sheet!

Re:"all features might not work" !?!

That would be a pretty horrible alpha, if none of the features are working.

It would. But that's not what the sentence says. Read again:

Being Alpha, all features might not work

In other words, all features have a chance of not working. Or every feature has a chance of not working.

I'll agree that it's awkward wording, but you're trying to be pedantic to the point of being wrong.

Don't you mean to say that "SOME of the plugins might not be compatible"?

Hey, (s)he could have written "ALL of the plugins might not be compatible" and still been fine even if all plugins worked.

Re:"all features might not work" !?!

They obviously mean extensions (*.xpi, install.rdf) instead of plugins (NPAPI).

Unless they mean the already-broken superceded Adobe SVG viewer that used unfrozen interfaces... (Later versions of the SVG plugin are not scriptable becuase Adobe could not implement that without using those unfrozen interfaces and basically being horribly tangled in Mozilla internals that might crash in the Mozilla release after that)

And extensions will break - at least, any that deal with bookmarks and history. What with the coming of Places :p

Re:Looking forward to it

Just to add my .02, I switched to Opera and haven't looked back. They both are efficient browsers that do their job well. What sold me on Opera were the mouse gestures. I understand there are programs that will give you this functionality but I found them to be buggy and each program had different command strokes (pluse it's one more piece of software running in the background). Talk about intuitiveness and efficiency, gestures will really speed up your browsing. I can manipulate tabs with great ease now that I am familiar with all the different commands.

Branch numbers are becoming very confusing

If you look at the trunk [mozilla.org] directory, you see that the packages are still numbered as 1.6a1 even though the dragbar says Alpha 2. Even more confusing, the build id in the About dialog says: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9a1) Gecko/20060318 Firefox/1.6a1.

I get the impression that there are several main development branches running, not just the usual current branch/last branch/trunk trio.