On June 4, 2008 Mozilla made available for download Firefox 3.0 Released Candidate 2. RC2 has already been confirmed as the last development milestone ahead of the final version of Firefox 3.0. But the fact of the matter is that users running RC2, or even RC1, have already got a feel and taste for what the gold release of Firefox 3.0 will bring to the table in terms of features. RC1 was in fact the last development build of the open source browser with which Mozilla introduced new features to Firefox 3.0. Release Candidate 2 in this context is nothing more than an intermediary build on the way to Firefox 3.0 RTM, designed to address a collection of last hour bugs and nothing more.

"This second Firefox 3 Release Candidate is a public preview release intended for developer testing and community feedback. It includes new features as well as dramatic improvements to performance, memory usage and speed. Testers can download the Firefox 3 Release Candidate builds for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux in over 45 different languages", revealed Mike Beltzner, Mozilla's User Experience Lead.

Mozilla is gearing up for the final release of the next iteration of its open source browser. The underlying Gecko 1.9 rendering platform features in excess of 14,000 updates which have been introduced in Firefox 3.0 and will be available to end users in mid-June. Firefox 3.0 features advanced integration with the antivirus software running on computers enabling the scanning of downloading executable files. The open source browser also plays well with Windows Vista in terms of security when it comes down to Parental Control, but still lacks the added layer of security provided by Protect Mode of Internet Explorer 7 and 8.

Still, Firefox 3.0 does provide Malware Protection by default, as well as Web Forgery Protection, SSL error pages, Add-ons and Plugin version check and Secure add-on updates. The open source browser comes with a revamped Download Manager, the save open tabs capability, full page zoom, customizable location and search bar.

In addition, Firefox 3.0 will permit users to associate tags with bookmarks and enjoy the first version of the SuperBar, nothing more than the Location bar with auto-complete features. But perhaps the most relevant improvements are under the hood. Firefox 3.0 includes an overhauled JavaScript engine, memory usage enhancements and increased reliability.

Firefox 3.0 Release Candidate 2 (RC2) is available for download here.