The latest move on the Firefox 3.0 front came from Mozilla following the release of Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1. Firefox 3.0 Beta 4, the 12th developer milestone in the building process of the next iteration of the open source browser, was served on March 10, with Mozilla pointing out that the upcoming Beta will be delivered by the end of the month. As of March 19, Firefox 3.0 is in code freeze, and Mozilla estimates that it will deliver the bits next week, on March 27. However, the date is but an estimation at this point in time, with the possibility that Firefox 3.0 Beta 5 could slip a few days.

"After the code freeze on Wednesday, March 19, 2008, we’ll be using the same process we used for the last beta. As we drive the number of Beta 5 blockers to zero, the tree will be closed to bake. Your help in regression spotting and fixing is, as always, appreciated. The only bugs that can land during this baking period are those marked with the 'approval1.9b5+' flag. If you believe a bug should block the release of Firefox 3 Beta 5, please make sure it is either marked or nominated as a P1 blocker or set the target milestone to 'Firefox 3 beta 5' or 'mozilla1.9beta5'," Mozilla stated.

The code freeze for Firefox 3.0 Beta 5 was initially planned for March 18. Mozilla revealed that the remaining bugs blocking the next stage of the open source browser, in combination with an unexpected service outage contributed to a 24-hour delay. According to the Release Tracking & Schedule for Firefox 3.0 Beta 5, Mozilla expects to have the first Release Candidate of the beta available just two days from now, on March 21, with the full beta planned for delivery at the end of the past week.

For now, Firefox 3.0 Beta 4 is up for grabs here.