Fresh from Mozilla: Fennec 1.0 Alpha 2 for WinMo and Beta 2 for Nokia, Snowl 0.3pre2, Ubiquity 0.5, Weave 0.4
While we wait for Mozilla to roll out the final version of Firefox 3.5, codename Shiretoko, to the masses (release planned for June 30th), here are some other software applications the Mozilla Foundation rolled out recently: Fennec 1.0 Alpha for Windows Mobile and Fennec 1.0 Beta 2 for Maemo (the software and development platform used by Nokia), Snowl 0.3pre2, Ubiquity 0.5 preview release and Weave 0.4.
The list is quite long, just as our anticipation of Firefox 3.5 is, so let’s get cracking.
Fennec 1.0 Alpha 2 for Windows Mobile
What’s new in Fennec 1.0 Alpha 2 for Windows Mobile?
Improved panning performance
Newly designed theme
JavaScript error console is now built in
Improved add-on support
Numerous bug fixes
Improved UI polish
Where can I get it?
You can download Fennec 1.0 Alpha 2 for Windows Mobile here.
Fennec 1.0 Beta 2 for Maemo
What’s new in Fennec 1.0 Beta 2 for Maemo?
Newly designed theme
JavaScript error console is now built in
Improved add-on support
Numerous bug fixes
Improved UI polish
Where can I get it?
You can download Fennec 1.0 Beta 2 for Maemo here.
Official word on these Fennec releases provided by Mobile Team Technical Lead with Mozilla, Stuart Parmenter: “For these releases we have worked on improving the user experience, replacing our old theme with a much nicer looking one and fixing numerous usability issues. We’ve continued to increase performance and responsiveness. We’ve revamped how you install Add-ons, improved our download manager and the whole look of the application. We’ve started work on making forms on web pages easier to use, providing a nicer combo box UI than before.”
Snowl 0.3pre2
What’s new in Snowl 0.3pre2?
- Several bugs have been fixed.
- Enhanced river view: messages are once again grouped into time periods, you can once again view all subscriptions at once.
Where can I get it?
You can download Snowl 0.3pre2 here.
Official word on Snowl 0.3pre2 is provided by Myk Melez on behalf of the Snowl team: “Snowl 0.3pre2, the second preview release of the next version of Snowl (the messaging-in-the-browser experiment), is now available. This version includes a number of bug fixes and spruces up the river view with two improvements. Try out Snowl 0.3pre2 and let us know what you think! But don’t forget that this is a preview release of a labs experiment, not a stable release of a finished product, and there are bound to be bugs and other issues.”
Ubiquity 0.5 Preview Release
What’s new in Ubiquity 0.5?
New language options in the Ubiquity settings page
New input parser that was rewritten from scratch so as to be able to provide support for more languages
New parser localization tutorial
Support for the localization of commands bundled with Ubiquity
New interactive tutorial
No more hyphens in command names
Suggestions are fully asynchronous
Where can I get it?
You can download Ubiquity 0.5 preview release here.
Official word on Ubiquity 0.5 is provided by Jono DiCarlo, on behalf of the Ubiquity team: “Ubiquity 0.5 brings a slew of new features like localization and more natural command names (along with the inevitable new bugs). Before we release Ubiquity 0.5 proper, we first need your feedback on the new features and your help with testing and finding bugs.
Weave 0.4
What’s new in Weave 0.4?
Synchronize preferences, including Firefox Personas
Automatic login support (OpenID login support included)
Added support for Fennec 1.0 Beta 2 on Maemo Linux.
Enhanced startup performance.
Where can I get it?
You can download Weave 0.4 here (Firefox 3.5 RC required).
Official word on Weave 0.4 is provided by Mike Connor, on behalf of the Weave development team: “Weave Sync lets you securely take your Firefox experience with you to all your Firefox browsers — including our mobile browser, codenamed Fennec. It currently supports continuous synchronization of your bookmarks, browsing history, saved passwords and tabs. If you have not looked at Weave recently, now is a great time to jump in and try it out! This release includes a major rewrite of many of Weave’s key components.”
The list is quite long, just as our anticipation of Firefox 3.5 is, so let’s get cracking.
Fennec 1.0 Alpha 2 for Windows Mobile
What’s new in Fennec 1.0 Alpha 2 for Windows Mobile?
Improved panning performance
Newly designed theme
JavaScript error console is now built in
Improved add-on support
Numerous bug fixes
Improved UI polish
Where can I get it?
You can download Fennec 1.0 Alpha 2 for Windows Mobile here.
Fennec 1.0 Beta 2 for Maemo
What’s new in Fennec 1.0 Beta 2 for Maemo?
Newly designed theme
JavaScript error console is now built in
Improved add-on support
Numerous bug fixes
Improved UI polish
Where can I get it?
You can download Fennec 1.0 Beta 2 for Maemo here.
Official word on these Fennec releases provided by Mobile Team Technical Lead with Mozilla, Stuart Parmenter: “For these releases we have worked on improving the user experience, replacing our old theme with a much nicer looking one and fixing numerous usability issues. We’ve continued to increase performance and responsiveness. We’ve revamped how you install Add-ons, improved our download manager and the whole look of the application. We’ve started work on making forms on web pages easier to use, providing a nicer combo box UI than before.”
Snowl 0.3pre2
What’s new in Snowl 0.3pre2?
- Several bugs have been fixed.
- Enhanced river view: messages are once again grouped into time periods, you can once again view all subscriptions at once.
Where can I get it?
You can download Snowl 0.3pre2 here.
Official word on Snowl 0.3pre2 is provided by Myk Melez on behalf of the Snowl team: “Snowl 0.3pre2, the second preview release of the next version of Snowl (the messaging-in-the-browser experiment), is now available. This version includes a number of bug fixes and spruces up the river view with two improvements. Try out Snowl 0.3pre2 and let us know what you think! But don’t forget that this is a preview release of a labs experiment, not a stable release of a finished product, and there are bound to be bugs and other issues.”
Ubiquity 0.5 Preview Release
What’s new in Ubiquity 0.5?
New language options in the Ubiquity settings page
New input parser that was rewritten from scratch so as to be able to provide support for more languages
New parser localization tutorial
Support for the localization of commands bundled with Ubiquity
New interactive tutorial
No more hyphens in command names
Suggestions are fully asynchronous
Where can I get it?
You can download Ubiquity 0.5 preview release here.
Official word on Ubiquity 0.5 is provided by Jono DiCarlo, on behalf of the Ubiquity team: “Ubiquity 0.5 brings a slew of new features like localization and more natural command names (along with the inevitable new bugs). Before we release Ubiquity 0.5 proper, we first need your feedback on the new features and your help with testing and finding bugs.
Weave 0.4
What’s new in Weave 0.4?
Synchronize preferences, including Firefox Personas
Automatic login support (OpenID login support included)
Added support for Fennec 1.0 Beta 2 on Maemo Linux.
Enhanced startup performance.
Where can I get it?
You can download Weave 0.4 here (Firefox 3.5 RC required).
Official word on Weave 0.4 is provided by Mike Connor, on behalf of the Weave development team: “Weave Sync lets you securely take your Firefox experience with you to all your Firefox browsers — including our mobile browser, codenamed Fennec. It currently supports continuous synchronization of your bookmarks, browsing history, saved passwords and tabs. If you have not looked at Weave recently, now is a great time to jump in and try it out! This release includes a major rewrite of many of Weave’s key components.”
