A new version of Mozilla's popular Firefox Web browser
is ready for download with improved security and memory
use as the tiny company takes a stab at dominant Internet Explorer.
The program's creators told Reuters on Thursday that the
company's trial version of Firefox 3
browser is ready for the masses to use after months of
development.
A
fourth beta version of the browser came out earlier this month, and a beta 5 release is expected in a the following weeks. This will involve "tuning the visual look and feel of the program" and further improving its stability,"
Engineers at Mozilla are still putting the finishing
touches on the software and hope to release the final
version of Firefox 3 by the end of June, Mozilla Vice President of Engineering Mike Schroepfer
said.
Additions boost security and allow users to run Web
sites when they are not connected to the Internet.
Mozilla also says Firefox 3 uses less computer memory
than Firefox 2.
Mozilla is in a battle with Microsoft, which unveiled an
experimental version of its
Internet Explorer 8 in Las
Vegas earlier this month.
Until now Mozilla has discouraged the typical computer
user from downloading these BETA releases and exploring the new features. But its
developers said on Thursday that the situation has
changed and that they will be revising their Web site.
A fifth round of changes, due to begin within the next
few weeks, Schroepfer said.