Posted 10/23/09 at 11:00:00 AM by Paul Lilly

On October 29, which is now less than a week away, Linux users will have a new Ubuntu release to play with. But if you just can't wait that long, especially with all the hoopla surrounding the launch of Windows 7 making you jones for a new OS, consider downloading the Ubuntu 9.10 Release Candidate that was just made available.

"We consider this release candidate to be complete, stable, and suitable for testing by any user," the Ubuntu team wrote on its blog.

Several new features have been added to the open source OS since the release of Ubuntu 9.04. For example, 9.10 makes the transition to Upstart native jobs for faster boot times, Empathy has replaced Pidgin as the default messaging client, the latest release ships with Ubuntu One, a personal cloud computing app allowing you to backup, store, sync, and share data with other Ubuntu One users, Canonical claims the inclusion of new Intel video driver architecture solves "major performance problems," the new ext4 file system is now used by default, and a whole bunch more.

See the full list of changes (and known problems) here, and if you're itching to try out the RC, you can download your copy here.

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Posted 08/25/09 at 02:54:33 PM by Paul Lilly

Mozilla (Firefox), Microsoft (Internet Explorer), Apple (Safari), and Google (Chrome) have all recently released new browser versions for the next-gen browser wars, and soon Opera will join the pack. In the meantime, Opera Software today announced the first release candidate for Opera 10.

"The release candidate pushes us closer to the final launch of Opera 10," said Jan Standal, VP of Desktop Products, Opera. "We paid special attention to the mail client, which is one of our most enduring and popular features."

According to Opera Software, the RC is feature complete and sports a fresh look, a new application icon, and of course improved speed and performance over previous versions, up to 40 percent faster than Opera 9.6, the software maker claims. Other new features include an inline spell-checker, automated crash reporting, Web integration for email, a resizable search field, RSS Feed previews, and more.

Interested in giving Opera 10 a spin? Grab your copy here, or chill out until September 1st when the final version is expected to launch.

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Posted 06/28/09 at 11:52:46 AM by Justin Kerr

Betanews claims to have confirmed the official release date of Firefox 3.5, and if correct, it could be as early as Tuesday June 30th. Once out of beta, everyone will have the opportunity to test out a stable version of Firefox’s new TraceMonkey JavaScript engine. Early tests of the public beta have been impressive, and have pegged TraceMonkey performance at over 200 per cent faster than the previous version, Firefox 3.0.11. These same tests showed both Safari 4 and the Chrome 3 leaving Firefox 3.5 in the dust, but it’s a bit early to jump to conclusions until we can compare the released version of all three browsers side by side. Until then, check out our in-depth preview of the Firefox 3.5 RC.

Mozilla is also hoping that Firefox 3.5 will help them champion the open HTML5 standard, and start putting a dent in proprietary video technologies such as Adobe Flash or Windows Media. HTML5 has seen a lot of support from third party browser developers lately, and could prove to be a very capable and flexible alternative. “Somebody has to take a stand” said Mozilla senior platform engineer Damon Sicore. "Somebody has to put open video on the Web. It's important that these formats are unencumbered. We feel that it's something that's in our mission that we have to do to keep them moving forward, in keeping the Web open."

Have you been playing with the Beta or RC version of Firefox 3.5, or do you like to wait for the final release? 

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Posted 06/22/09 at 04:30:07 PM by Paul Lilly

Mozilla, who still plans to release Firefox 3.5 by the end of the month, took one step closer to that goal on Friday by finally making available the first Firefox 3.5 Release Candidate (RC). Prior to Friday, lingering bugs had forced Mozilla to delay the RC rollout on more than one occasion.

According to Mozilla, Firefox 3.5 RC sports improved tools for controlling private data, better performance and stability thanks to the new Tracemonkey JavaScript engine, support for native JSON and web worker threads, improvements to the Gecko layout engine for faster content rendering, and more.

If you've already installed Firefox 3.5 Beta 4, you should receive an offer to update to the RC automatically. If not, try using the "Check for Updates" option under the "Help" menu.

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Posted 06/17/09 at 02:40:41 PM by Paul Lilly

In just a couple of days, Mozilla will make available a release candidate (RC) for its upcoming Firefox 3.5 browser, and according to Pocket-Lint.com, a final version is expected by the end of the month.

Firefox 3.5 -- which trails in release behind Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 and Apple's Safari 4 --  sports a number of improvements, over 5,000 according to Mozilla. Some of the more notable features include private browsing, a faster rendering engine, geolocation functionality, and better tab management.

Already looking ahead, Mozilla's next browser, currently codenamed Namoroka, will take a page from Google's Chrome and utilize process isolation features. There will also be a 64-bit version of Firefox for OSX users.

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Posted 05/01/09 at 02:18:50 PM by Paul Lilly

Starting yesterday, MSDN and TechNet subscribers have been able to download the Release Candidate (RC) for Windows 7, Microsoft's upcoming operating system. This latest version represents the final phases of development and is geared towards giving hardware and software partners a headstart in coding device drivers and services.

"Listening to our partners and customers has been fundamental to the development of Windows 7," said Bill Veghte, senior VP for the Windows business at Microsoft. "We heard them and worked hard to deliver the highest quality Release Candidate in the history of Windows. We have more partner support than we've ever had for an RC and are pleased to say that the Windows 7 RC has hit the quality and compatibility bar for enterprises to start putting it through its paces and testing in earnest."

That should come as good news to everyone who plans on upgrading once Windows 7 starts shipping. By contrast, Vista's release was the polar opposite to what Microsoft is claiming we can expect out of Windows 7. Driver issues, particularly with Nvidia hardware, plagued Vista's release, as did several performance hampering bugs.

If you're not an MSDN or TechNet subscriber, you still won't have to wait long to get your hands on the RC. Microsoft says it will make Windows 7 RC available to the general public on May 5, which is next Tuesday.

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Posted 04/30/09 at 05:01:23 PM by Andy Salisbury

According to Mozilla, beta 4 will be the last beta before the final version of Firefox 3.5 is released.

As stated by Mike Beltzner, Mozilla’s Director of Firefox, all of the remaining beta issues in Firefox 3.5 have been worked out. And, while they don’t rule out the possibility of beta 4 uncovering additional issues, they fully believe that they’re on track for a release sometime in late Q2.

Mozilla is estimating that nearly 900,000 people are currently using the beta versions of Firefox 3.1/3.5, and they hope that all of this support will allow them to release full versions more regularly. While it took them about two years to release 3.0, it’s only taken them one to develop 3.5.

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Posted 04/23/09 at 05:14:02 PM by Mark Edward Soper

Recent postings on the Microsoft Partners website suggest that Redmond's about to pour a refreshing glass of Win7 RC the first full week of May.

Although the Microsoft Partner Program page that Neowin.com posted last week has since been updated to remove the Download Windows 7 RC button, the newest version of the page now notes that May 7 (two days after the reported public release of Windows 7 RC noted in the earlier version) will be Windows 7 Virtual Partner Readiness Day.

Does this indicate that Microsoft is delaying the public release of Windows 7 RC by a couple of days? We won't know until later, but early May continues to look like RC time.

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