Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Friday, 13 June 2008 12:02
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 2
After a last minute RC3 for Mac users, the final version of Firefox 3
is set to launch on June 17, following almost three years of
development, with the latest version set to be a sure fire hit with the
web browsing world.
If you’re a Firefox fan, it will have been hard to miss the news that a new version of Firefox has been in development for almost three years, and hardcore Firefox fans will have already been running the various beta and release candidate versions of the browser for months.
But in four days, the wait will be over, as Firefox 3 leaves the lab and its test status to become available to the general public – and likely to Firefox 2 users who will get a notification that the long-awaited upgrade is finally available.
Firefox HQ will, on the day, be renamed “Camp Firefox” and a remarkable attempt to become “the most downloaded piece of software in a 24-hour period” will begin, with the attempt called "Download Day" and the results expected to be recognised as a
Guinness World Record.
The effort will be spearheaded through the
Spread Firefox website (which as we write this article isn’t loading), with more than 800,000 people reported to have pledged they will download the software on launch day.
Of course it will be interesting to see exactly how the Guinness people define a piece of software, and whether or not Microsoft might say that some of its updates (which are also pieces of software) may also “qualify” – but we’ll have to wait until after the record is set to see if anyone is willing to challenge it.
Mike Beltzner, the “chief phenomenologist for Mozilla” said in the Mozilla Developer Centre Beta
blog that: “Whenever we’re asked “when is Firefox going to be released” we endeavor to answer to the best of our abilities, but the truth of the matter is that we’ll only ever ship “when it’s ready”.”
Beltzner continued: “We have a lot of indicators that help us understand when the product is ready for release: feedback from our pre-release milestones, excitement in the community and the press, availability of compatible Add-Ons, and a large active beta community helping us ensure that the release is compatible with all the various sites on the Internet.”
Beltzner concluded: “After more than 34 months of active development, and with the contributions of thousands, we’re proud to announce that we’re ready. It is our expectation to ship Firefox 3 this upcoming Tuesday, June 17th. Put on your party hats and get ready to download Firefox 3 — the best web browser, period.”
But could the launch date of June 17 still be postponed? Apparently so. Please read on to page 2.
