Firefox browser for web 2.0 age
A new version of the Firefox browser makes its debut on 24 October.
Built in to the updated software is anti-phishing technology, to prevent fraud, as well as built-in spell checking and a search engine manager.
The browser is being released less than a week after Microsoft unveiled version seven of its rival program.
The Mozilla Corporation, which oversees the development of Firefox, says more than one million people helped refine the final release.
User testing
The first version of Firefox was released in November 2004 and since then has steadily been chipping away at the dominance of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser.
Now it is believed to enjoy a 12-15% market share of the net browsing market globally. But, said Mike Schroepfer, vice president of engineering at Mozilla, in some nations the share is far higher.
We live and die by whether each individual wants to download and run it
Mike Schroepfer, Mozilla
Mr Schroepfer said that there were about 12 big improvements in Firefox 2.0 along with thousands of minor tweaks and bug fixes.
Big changes include a phishing finder that alerts people when they stray on to a site that tries to trick them into handing over login details for a bank or other valuable service.
Another change was a spell checker that keeps an eye on every bit of text typed in almost any Firefox browser box be it in a web-based e-mail program or an add-on that lets people post blog updates directly.
Firefox 2.0 also has an improved session restoration system that will let users resurrect tabbed webpages they accidentally closed or will re-start a net session at the point before a crash.
Other changes include improvements to the web feed, search engine and add-ons manager.
The project to create Firefox 2.0 kicked off in June 2006, said Mr Schroepfer and the software was released once the work was finished. It was mere coincidence that the work was done so close to the release of IE 7, he said.
"We really didn't target a specific date," said Mr Schroepfer.
He said the browser had been developed with the demands for a rich web 2.0 age in mind.
As an open source software project, the development of Firefox is led by the non-profit Mozilla Corporation but most of the development work is done by keen volunteers.
"We live and die by whether each individual wants to download and run it," said Mr Schroepfer.
Many have contributed to the project by customising the software for their own language, said Mr Schroepfer. At launch the software will be available in 36 languages, by contrast IE 7 was available only in English.
Many users also create add-ons for the browser which add all kinds of functions that people see a need for. There were now more than 1,900 add-ons for Firefox, said Mr Schroepfer, which made it possible to keep the core software slim.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6078016.stm