A Tour of Bon Echo Alpha 2

Another one of the nifty changes for Firefox v2.0 Alpha 2 is improved support for previewing and subscribing to web feeds. When tuning directly into a Really Simple Syndication URL, Bon Echo manages to recognize the file as a feed and it then allows the user to subscribe to the feed by choosing a feed reader. In addition, the RSS XML content is then parsed and formatted into a relatively nice looking template for web viewing.

Another groundbreaking feature in this Mozilla release is the microsummaries features for bookmarks. Mozilla microsummeries are defined as regularly-updated succinct compilations of the most important information on web pages. Mozilla developers believe microsummaries are better than using page titles, as they will provide the user with much more information quickly as to the content behind that page. An example of a microsummary on an auction site would be showing the product, bidding price, and time left for auction, rather than simply displaying the name of the auction house. For those web developers, the Mozilla Wiki has a great deal of information on microsummaries.

While not too prominent, web links now default to opening in new tabs, rather than opening in a new window every time. In addition, close buttons are position inside of every tab -- rather than having to right click the tab or hitting the previous close button on the right hand side. The close behavior has also been slightly modified from Bon Echo Alpha 1 and Deep Park Firefox v1.5.x.

One helpful feature also implemented in this release is the automatic restoration of your browsing session in the event of a crash. Another implementation in this release is updates to the extension system in order to provide enhanced security and allow for easier localization of extensions. A new search service has also been implemented that supports Sherlock and OpenSearch. Finally, there is now support for Scalable Vector Graphics text using svg:textPath. Below are a few other views of Mozilla Firefox Bon Echo v2.0 Alpha 2.

Anticipated at this time for Bon Echo Alpha 3 are the SafeBrowsing and DOMStorage features; Mozilla Firefox v2.0 Alpha 3 is expected to be released on May 26. The following release in the Bon Echo development series is the first Beta candidate, which is due out in June. Bon Echo Beta 1 will consist of a feature freeze, and is then intended for use by Beta testers. The final release for Mozilla Firefox v2.0 (Bon Echo) is tentatively scheduled for an August 2006 launch.

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