Firefox browser for web 2.0 age

From news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6078016.stm

A new version of the Firefox browser for the web 2.0 age is to make its
debut on 24 October.

Built in to the updated software is anti-phishing technology, to
prevent fraud, as well as built-in spell checking and a search engine
manager.

It is released less than a week after Microsoft unveiled Internet
Explorer 7.

The Mozilla Corporation, which oversees the development of Firefox,
says more than one million people helped refine the final release.

Firefox 2 is released at 1700 PST (0100 BST).

User testing

The first version of Firefox was released in November 2004 and since
then has steadily been chipping away at the dominance of Microsoft's
Internet Explorer browser.

Now it is believed to enjoy a 12-15% market share of the net browsing
market globally. But, said Mike Schroepfer, vice president of
engineering at Mozilla, in some nations the share is far higher.

We live and die by whether each individual wants to download and run it
Mike Schroepfer, Mozilla
Mr Schroepfer said that there were about 12 big improvements in Firefox
2.0 along with thousands of minor tweaks and bug fixes.

Big changes include a phishing finder that alerts people when they
stray on to a site that tries to trick them into handing over login
details for a bank or other valuable service.

Another change was a spell checker that keeps an eye on every bit of
text typed in almost any Firefox browser box be it in a web-based
e-mail program or an add-on that lets people post blog updates
directly.

Firefox 2.0 also has an improved session restoration system that will
let users resurrect tabbed webpages they accidentally closed or will
re-start a net session at the point before a crash.

Other changes include improvements to the web feed, search engine and
add-ons manager.

The project to create Firefox 2.0 kicked off in June 2006, said Mr
Schroepfer and the software was released once the work was finished. It
was mere coincidence that the work was done so close to the release of
IE 7, he said.

"We really didn't target a specific date," said Mr Schroepfer.

He said the browser had been developed with the demands for a rich web
2.0 age in mind.

As an open source software project, the development of Firefox is led
by the non-profit Mozilla Corporation but most of the development work
is done by keen volunteers.

"We live and die by whether each individual wants to download and run
it," said Mr Schroepfer.

Many have contributed to the project by customising the software for
their own language, said Mr Schroepfer. At launch the software will be
available in 36 languages, by contrast IE 7 was available only in
English.

Many users also create add-ons for the browser which add all kinds of
functions that people see a need for. There were now more than 1,900
add-ons for Firefox, said Mr Schroepfer, which made it possible to keep
the core software slim.