Mozilla Updates: Fennec 1.0 Alpha 3, Snowl 0.3, Jetpack 0.5 Bootstrap Edition, Weave 0.6
While we’ve been busy with other things, the software developers over at Mozilla have been keeping busy as well. As such, Mozilla has released updates for several of its products: Fennec, the web browser for Windows Mobile-powered devices; Snowl, the messaging-in-the-browser experiment; Jetpack, Mozilla’s experiment in using open web technologies to enhance the Firefox browser; and Weave, the add-on that is meant to encrypt and synchronize your Firefox experience across multiple browsers.
Here is what you can expect to get from all these updates:
Fennec 1.0 Alpha 3 for Windows Mobile
- Improved startup time (you must reboot your phone for this to take effect).
- Improved panning. A tile cache rendering system has been implemented and it allows previously rendered content to be cached; it also allows switching to native scrolling surfaces which as you may already know, has greatly better panning performances.
- Support for a wider range of screen resolutions has been implemented.
- Support for touch sensitive directional pad for the HTC Touch Pro.
- Revised theme.
If you would like to get Fennec 1.0 Alpha 3 for Windows Mobile, a download location is available here.
Make sure to check out the Release Notes for a detailed list of all the improvements made in this Alpha.
Snowl 0.3
- Closer integration with Firefox’s existing feed functionality
- The list view has been improved; it is now easier to subscribe to feeds as well as follow feeds.
If you would like to get Snowl 0.3, a download location is available here.
Jetpack 0.5 Bootstrap Edition
- Streamlined installation. Developers can provide a single install link which will install the Jetpack add-on and the developers jetpack at the same time. In the past the user had to install the Jetpack add-on first, then come back to the developer’s site and install the dev’s jetpack.
- Jetpack music: allows the browser to interact with the locally stored music, tunes you already have on your computer.
- Updated Twitter library
- Several new APIs have been added.
If you would like to get Jetpack 0.5, a download location is available here.
If you would like to see what new bits and pieces were included in previous Jetpack versions, click here.
Weave 0.6
- Single streamlined UI for set-up, configuration and status
- Upload and download performance improvements.
- Better error handling and reporting.
If you would like to get Weave 0.6, a download location is available here.
Here is what you can expect to get from all these updates:
Fennec 1.0 Alpha 3 for Windows Mobile
- Improved startup time (you must reboot your phone for this to take effect).
- Improved panning. A tile cache rendering system has been implemented and it allows previously rendered content to be cached; it also allows switching to native scrolling surfaces which as you may already know, has greatly better panning performances.
- Support for a wider range of screen resolutions has been implemented.
- Support for touch sensitive directional pad for the HTC Touch Pro.
- Revised theme.
If you would like to get Fennec 1.0 Alpha 3 for Windows Mobile, a download location is available here.
Make sure to check out the Release Notes for a detailed list of all the improvements made in this Alpha.
Snowl 0.3
- Closer integration with Firefox’s existing feed functionality
- The list view has been improved; it is now easier to subscribe to feeds as well as follow feeds.
If you would like to get Snowl 0.3, a download location is available here.
Jetpack 0.5 Bootstrap Edition
- Streamlined installation. Developers can provide a single install link which will install the Jetpack add-on and the developers jetpack at the same time. In the past the user had to install the Jetpack add-on first, then come back to the developer’s site and install the dev’s jetpack.
- Jetpack music: allows the browser to interact with the locally stored music, tunes you already have on your computer.
- Updated Twitter library
- Several new APIs have been added.
If you would like to get Jetpack 0.5, a download location is available here.
If you would like to see what new bits and pieces were included in previous Jetpack versions, click here.
Weave 0.6
- Single streamlined UI for set-up, configuration and status
- Upload and download performance improvements.
- Better error handling and reporting.
If you would like to get Weave 0.6, a download location is available here.
