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.