Mark Evans

Firefox 2.0 Alpha

With Firefox 1.5.0.1 still relatively fresh, an alpha version of 2.0 is apparently ready to be unveiled. According to Tuaw.com, it apparently has an updated UI, better bookmark management and more security options. I'd also like to see an way to migrate extensions from one version to another (if anyone knows how to do it already, please let me know). While some people such as Om Malik and Michael Arrington have already tried Firefox 2.0, I'm leary about jumping in until I get a better idea whether my extensions will work (particularly Roboform, which is my lifeline to Web 2.0 applications). It is interesting that Asa Dotzler, who heads up Mozilla's QA and testing program, has publicly chided everyone for talking about a new Firefox release until it's officially launched, which is an odd - albeit pragmatic approach - in a world where everyone else seems so keen to unveil alphas and betas with so much fanfare.
   As much as a new version of Firefox is exciting, it's also encouraging to see different browsers based on Mozilla being created such as Songbird and SeaMonkey. At the same time, IE7 (beta 2) is receiving some kudos while Opera presses forward.