Firefox 3 Hits Release Candidate 2

Barence noted that Firefox has announced release candidate 2 of their highly popular web browser. You can read the release notes while you download. And since my copy just finished downloading, I guess I'll go install it. I hope I don't have any

Comments

Actual Release Notes

[MankyD]

Anyone have the actual RC2 release notes instead of just the Ffx3 general release notes?

Re:Actual Release Notes

[Rhapsody Scarlet]

Argh. DISREGARD, that's the same bloody page that's in the article.

Well, it's a release candidate anyway so there's not going to be any new features. It'll be critical bugfixes only, which is probably why there's no dedicated release notes, they'll arrive for the final version. I'm guessing you could search Bugzilla to find recent fixes of critical or blocker bugs, but it's running pretty slowly now and I wouldn't know how to make such a search, so I'm leaving now.

Re:Actual Release Notes

[Victor Antolini]

You can always check out http://www.squarefree.com/burningedge/ It's not quite up to date right now but it's great for keeping track of development. He maintains this list which may be helpful: http://www.squarefree.com/burningedge/releases/trunk-for-firefox-3.html

Re:Actual Release Notes

[Cuga]

http://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox3/StatusMeetings/2008-05-27

Re:Actual Release Notes

[Anonymous Coward]

It's still the same as always (except some shoddy companies):
alpha - it's a mess, we know there are serious bugs, but at least it compiles
beta - it works, but there are some known bugs and probably more unknown ones, tell us what you think
rc - it working well, feature complete, very few bugs, please help find the remaining bugs
release - we think this is solid, it's safe to use

Re:Actual Release Notes

[dvice_null]

As in open source software anyone can usually get the latest snapshot of the application, I think the following describes better the different stages:

alpha - Doesn't have all the features the final version is expected to have.
beta - Feature complite but has bugs which must be fixed before release version.
release candidate - If nothing serious is found, this will be the same as final release

Re:Actual Release Notes

[Anonymous Coward]

It used to be:
Nightlies compile but don't necessarily work in a useful way, even just for general testing.
Alphas are working but not complete and have known show-stopper bugs.
Betas are working and feature complete, but have known bugs which are not acceptable in a release product.
Release candidates are working, feature complete and have no known show-stopper bugs. If none are found in further testing, the release candidate turns into a release: A tried and tested release candidate.

These days the distinction is coupled to the development and testing processes rather than the result of these processes:
Nightlies are rapidly changing with new feature additions and major changes. Testing mostly by developers.
Alphas are still changing a lot and features are still added, but testing is officially expanded to dedicated testers and/or adventurous users.
Betas are the result of closing the door to major changes. Only corrections and minor feature additions are allowed. Testing expands to include the target audience.
Release candidates are mostly done. Normal users are encouraged to test the release candidate to find remaining interoperability bugs "in the wild". Depending on the severity of these bugs, they are documented and the candidate turns into a release or the bugs are fixed and another candidate is produced.

The main difference is that now release candidates are not expected to be release-worthy from the get-go. There is also another nomenclature in which "beta" means "this is our final product, but because we rushed it and couldn't wait to start cashing in, we have to cover our asses and slap the beta tag on it. If that makes you feel special, because you are one of the first few hundred thousand people who get to test our software, even better for us."

Crash

[kj0rn]

I've been using the pre alpha nightlies, then the alpha then betas and finally tried RC1

This crashed as soon as it started up

RC2 shows a web page but crashes as soon as I click on anything...

I'm using XP which is up to date with all patches. I know most tricks on how to get FF working... but I am stumpted as to why both RCs are so fucked on my computer. I've had to revert back to FF2 and I miss the URL bar and tagging :-(

Re:Crash

[bunratty]

This link may help: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firefox_crashes

Re:Old Look?

[Brian Gordon]

Firefox 2.0 Classic theme works great but to use it you have to:
-Register and log in to Firefox Addons
-Attempt to override the version check and install the theme
-Go to your %appdata% just after it fails and look for the temp XPI that it downloaded
-Copy it to the desktop and extract it with winrar
-Change the RDF file's <maxversion> to * or 3.0RC2 or something
-Zip the files back up, normal compression, rename to xpi
-Drag the file off the desktop into your firefox window to install!

Works for me.

[linko47]

Just clicked help > check for updates in Debian. Upgraded just fine and is working as normal. :-)

Re:Momory Issues?

[bunratty]

Yes
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080317-firefox-3-goes-on-a-diet-eats-less-memory-than-ie-and-opera.html
http://www.thebrowserworld.com/2008/03/29/firefox-30-beta-4-vs-opera-950-beta-vs-safari-31-beta-multiple-sites-opening-test/
http://cybernetnews.com/2008/03/26/cybernotes-browser-performance-comparisons/

Re:Until they bother fixing critical bugs...

[binaryspiral]

Mozilla developers did try to fix it, but the patch failed a regression test and didn't make it for Gecko 1.9 (Firefox 3). I'm sure that for every release of Firefox, you can find some serious bug fix that didn't make the release. Likewise, I'm sure you can do the same for any major software project. Insert obligatory Vista joke here.

Re:Old Look?

[plover]

Here's another way to override the version that doesn't involve editing the XPI of everything you want to install:

http://lifehacker.com/355973/make-your-extensions-work-with-the-firefox-3-beta

I've done this and nothing complains about compatibility any more. Of course, there's a huge downside: nothing guarantees compatibility any more, either!

So far, I've found that old themes do not work very well (I miss Pinball!) In my case, they caused the scrollbar on the right side to disappear. On the positive side, all of my extensions seem to work fine, and I run a lot of them. (13 of my extensions claim to not be Firefox 3.0 compatible, but still work.)

Re:Old Look?

[anti-pop-frustration]

The quickest way to make your extensions work with the new versions (without having to edit anything) is to use the Nightly Tester Tools:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6543

Re:Firefox is starting to give me the shits

[tobiasly]

- New versions break older extensions. Until the extension is updated, bye bye extension. I don't enjoy that hassle and it makes me think twice about upgrading.

What's your solution here? Freeze the extension API forever? It's up to the extension developers, not Mozilla, to make sure they're compatible and mark them so. If you know what you're doing you can bypass this check, but at your own peril.

New versions force you to use new features without providing functionality to back it out even when the user wants it. Eg. The new supercoolsearchbar garbage. I don't want my browser looking though my bookmarks when I type a URL but I don't mind it searching history that clears itself regularly.

See, there's this great new search engine called Google.com, and if you go there and type "Firefox 3 disable awesomebar", the very first link describes exactly how to do that. But somehow I get the feeling you'd rather complain about it than actually take it upon yourself to do something about it.

Firefox is the one application i use regularly that I find myself killing using task manager regularly. It either hangs or hogs memory which is only released by restarting. Don't deny or try to explain in excruciating technical detail why the browser slowly saps all your memory if left on a page that refreshes itself regularly. It's a bug. Deal with it. Fix it. Even refuse to fix it. But stop denying there are memory management issues.

OK, now it's painfully obvious you're either a troll or haven't been paying attention at all. Every Firefox 3 article I've read since the betas started coming out gushed over how memory management was so much better than in 2, how faster it is, etc. The Mozilla devs publicly discussed in many locations all the work they went through to find and plug memory leaks, prevent circular references in Javascript and extensions from tying up memory, etc.

Again I'm pretty sure you'd rather just complain than actually read about it but your friend Google will help you find plenty of information on this.

There's no graceful way to exit that doesn't pop up a thousand confirmations if you do keep the close tab confirmation active.

I can't even parse this one. You leave the tab-close confirmation on, but don't want it to confirm when you close tabs? Whatever your issue here is, I'm sure there's a setting or extension for it if you'd take 2 minutes to research.

I can't download and keep my extensions for future install. I really don't like using up bandwidth downloading the same extensions each time I install Firefox.

Right-click, Save Link As...

Firefox USE to be a better user experience than IE. I can't say that anymore and it stinks that I can't. I want my Firefox browser back!

What exactly is it about IE you would like Firefox to emulate?

And how does drivel like this get modded "Insightful"?!

Re:But can it...

[frooddude]

Tab Mix Plus is your answer... Duplicate in New window and Move to New window are menu items that can be added to tab context, and main context menus.

Re:Acid3

[tobiasly]

Still only getting 71 on the Acid3 test (your mileage may vary). As this is the RC, that's probably where it'll stick for the foreseeable future.

Correct, it has been in feature freeze for quite a while and no more changes will be made to the rendering engine.

Re:Read this

[Darlo888]

And when you do that for the Mozilla page, "this website does not supply identification information", which proves that this feature is a complete waste of programming time. If the website doesn't supply the information then there's nothing to verify to make yourself more secure. That's because it only works for encrypted connections.

Re:Old Look?

[somersault]

I mostly use my Mac with the touchpad. I just Apple-Click to open a new tab.

Two fingers on the touchpad and a click simulates a right click, which was annoying at first, but now that I'm used to it I get pissed at having to find the right click button when I use another laptop, because I have to move my whole hand to place my thumb above the right button (which is sometimes smaller than the left so more awkward to reach), rather than just dropping down my middle finger then doing a normal click. For something designed for more than 2 buttons this system wouldn't work that well though, obviously. You'd have to move to using 3 finger clicks and maybe even 4 finger clicks, which could get confusing or simply inconvenient, especially if you don't have 5 fingers :P

If you put down 2 fingers on the pad and then move them around then it allows you to scroll - not just up and down either, it also does left and right :) Much better than a scroll wheel IMO, it's very natural feeling.

Obviously a mouse is still preferable for some tasks, but I just thought I'd point out how great Apple's trackpads are because of the multitouch thing. I hope more manufacturers copy (or license? :/ ) this.

Re:Firefox is starting to give me the shits

[tobiasly]

Are you thinking of Tools->Add-Ons->Extensions? Because that exists on my FF. Similar control of Plugins does not.

Firefox 3 added a new Plugins tab to the Add-Ons dialog. If it's not present for you, I'd suggest starting with a new profile; your old FF2 themes or extensions may be keeping it from showing for some reason...

Re:Old Look?

[drewness]

Yeah. Damn my Mac with its 4 button Mighty Mouse with vertical and horizontal scroll ball. It's so stone age!

Oh. Wait. It's at least as good as the 3 button plus scroll wheel Logitech mouse I have on my Linux box. I can use the middle button for new tabs on both computers.

Re:But can it...

[pablomme]

More GUI-oriented:

* View > Toolbars > Customise
* Drag the "Open new window" icon to your toolbar

Now you can drag a tab or the current page's favicon into the button to open it in a new window. Also works for text URLs. It shares some limitations with the keyboard trick though, in that it leaves the tab open.

Home page has RC link...

[rklrkl]

Remember the good-old days when Mozilla (and Firefox) release notes actually talked about bugs fixed, features introduced, and interesting things? When each version actually informed you about what had changed? http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/3.0rc2/releasenotes/ seems fairly reasonable to me. Granted, the differences between RC1 and RC2 aren't flagged (because virtually nothing but some blocker bugs were the changes between the two), but they *did* flag "Improved in Beta 5" in the equivalent Beta 5 release notes.

Going to mozilla.org (or .com) and trying to find betas is now impossible. No, really... there are no links to non-release versions. Oh come on! How hard did you bother reading the home page? What's New on the right hand side has a "Firefox 3 Sneak Peak" link for goodness' sake! And even if you drifted to mozilla.org's home page instead, guess what? Developer News on the right hand side announces the RC2 release as I speak. You sir, are either one lazy so-and-so or just a total troll!

I miss the time when Mozilla was a user-friendly organization, when everything was public and *easy to find*. I miss the time when people actually made the effort to check the current state of Web sites before slagging them off. Everything related to Mozilla (bar a few closed security bugs, which are opened once the fix is published) is very public and trivially easy to find. It's a shame that some people just don't think before they post.