Firefox 3.6 beta set to ship next week.

Mozilla tentatively plans to release the first beta of Firefox 3.6 on 13 October.
The open source browser maker is expected to spin out the next iteration of Firefox in November, and next week’s upcoming beta is understood to be the only test build released by Mozilla before 3.6 - codenamed Namoroka and based on Gecko 1.9.2 - lands.

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Read further -
Firefox 3.6 beta set to ship next week • The Register

"Fans of the browser will have to wait until Firefox 4.0 to ship, which isn’t expected to happen until October 2010 at the earliest, to see big Google Chrome-like changes to the surfing tool."

I have used Firefox for quite some time now. This should be a great update, unfortunately it's year away!

Patience is a virtue.

I just installed 3.6 Beta RC1 or whatever they are calling it. I've been using the 3.6Pre Minefield builds for quite a while. The Aug05(one day before the official Alpha) seemed best to me. I used it as my default browser until today. This FF 3.6 beta feels just the same, if not a bit snappier(seems like when you first install they run snappier.. maybe there's a timer like when a fast food joint churns out the "A Menu" stuff the first 3 months in a new location?)

In any case, my Addons that I was using with the Aug05 build all seem to work. Seems stable so far.

I can't wait for the 3.7 aero design. I was tempted to try the 64-bit compilation, but thought better of it.

JMH said:

Patience is a virtue.

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Not one I have Goggle Chrome is so lite / fast but how secure is it or is it like K-meleon ? By this I mean lack of plugins and such actually keeps it lean and mean.

We should do our own browser test!

Browser Speed Tests: The Compiled, Up-to-Date Results - Performance - Lifehacker

lemur said:

I can't wait for the 3.7 aero design. I was tempted to try the 64-bit compilation, but thought better of it.

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I've been using Gradient iCool Blue. The only difference may by some glass on the tabs or something. But I really like this theme for desktops with bright wallpaper. For dark wallpapers it's not so hot. For dark background desktops I use Aero Silver Fox basic.

One thing I like about those themes is the small folder icons for Toolbar. I have so many bookmarks on the toolbar that I have all but 2 bookmarklets in folders. By using the small icons I don't need a multi-row toolbar. Every one I've tried has had some problem. Not smooth like Opera.

But I can't live without AutoCopy and my other AddOns. I use Opera for the built-in audio player and for the Wand or Form filler thingy.

btw I tried 3.7Pre nightly builds a few times but it just won't work with my AddOns. I see some AddOns catching up though. Some will work with 3.7. Give it a few weeks.

A hack i sometimes do is to tell FF to ignore version OR change the max ver for the add-on.

https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Extension_Versioning,_Update_and_Compatibility

I use Mr Tech to do that, but even so many will not work with 3.7. That's how I got most of them to work with 3.6Pre. At this point I don't see anything in 3.7 that I need, unless I'm forgetting something.

lemur said:

We should do our own browser test!

Browser Speed Tests: The Compiled, Up-to-Date Results - Performance - Lifehacker

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Nice I wish they would update though.I think Safari is fastest last time I looked with Chrome close behind "they both use the same engine" if I remember right.Safari uses a ridiculous amount of resources though.I'm using a combo of Chrome and Opera.I dont really use any plugins so I'm really stuck on Chrome the last few days its so lite and fast.

I saw all this news yesterday that 3.6 beta would be avail. for download today(Oct. 28) but I see it nowheres. Talk about generating confusion! Anyway, on W7 I'm using 3.7Pre but it has none of the promised bells and whistles. All it is afaics is 3.6 but uses more memory(oh the only "extra" is W7 Jump Lists work.)

MilesAhead said:

I saw all this news yesterday that 3.6 beta would be avail. for download today(Oct. 28) but I see it nowheres. Talk about generating confusion! Anyway, on W7 I'm using 3.7Pre but it has none of the promised bells and whistles. All it is afaics is 3.6 but uses more memory(oh the only "extra" is W7 Jump Lists work.)

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Well its not even considered an alpha yet, 3.7pre that is. So you cannot expect them to have any have-decent features/changes until the Beta.

Just reporting the state of things, expectations notwithstanding.

MilesAhead said:

Just reporting the state of things, expectations notwithstanding.

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Just to add to things, the reason the official beta for Firefox 3.6 was delayed, again, was due to a bug with the Windows 7 Aero Peek feature. They stated in the meeting notes that if it cannot be solved within 2-3 days they will remove the feature for now.

So expect to see 3.6 Beta around November 1st or 2nd.

Thanks for the info.

Hmmmmm, 3.6 beta build Oct. 29 is out there. It's still called "3.6 Beta 1" for some reason or other. It shows Oct. 29 in the build string and has a different CRC so something must have changed. Not sure what though.