14 DAY TRIAL // Mozilla is currently joggling around with three versions of Firefox. Having released Firefox 3.0 in mid-2008, Mozilla is also focusing on the evolution of versions 2.0 and 3.1, codename Shiretoko. Initially scheduled for delivery this week, Firefox 3.0.2 and Firefox 2.0.0.17 have been postponed and will not be available by September 21. At the same time, the initial plans for Firefox 3.1 have been altered in order to accommodate an Alpha 2 release before the next iteration of the open source browser will be moved onward to Beta stage.
"A regression discovered late in our Firefox 3.0.2 / 2.0.0.17 beta period has required that we rebuild Firefox 3.0.2, which will delay our ship date by about a week. We've also taken three opportunistic ride along patches which have demonstrated value and low risk profiles: removed EULA from Open Source version of FF; patched a binary which was causing crashes at startup with RoboForm; and updated the eTLD list," revealed Mike Beltzner, Mozilla's User Experience lead.
In this context, Firefox 3.0.2 and Firefox 2.0.0.17 will only be made available for download next week. According to Mozilla, September 23 is targeted as the release deadline for versions 3.0.2 and 2.0.017. Even as early as v3.0.1 and 2.0.0.16, Mozilla has debuted the migration from Firefox 2.0 to Firefox 3.0, indicating that support for v2.0 will be cut come mid-December 2008.
Having revamped the roadmap for Shiretoko once, Mozilla is currently sticking to the overhauled schedule. Alpha 2 of Firefox 3.1 was dropped in the first half of September, and Mozilla is gearing up for the Beta 1 release in October. All current indications point to the availability of Firefox 3.1 Beta 2 in November 2008, the same month Microsoft is reportedly set to unleash the gold build of Internet Explorer 8.
Firefox 3.1 Alpha 1, 2.0.0.16 and 3.0.1 for Windows are available for download here.
Firefox 3.1 Alpha 1, 2.0.0.16 and 3.0.1 for Linux are available for download here.
Firefox 3.1 Alpha 1, 2.0.0.16 and 3.0.1 for Mac OS X are available for download here.