Firefox 2.0 Released

[Andre]

Press Release
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. – Oct. 24, 2006 – - Mozilla today released Firefox® 2, a major update to its popular and acclaimed free, open source Web browser. Firefox is developed by an international community of contributors working together under the umbrella of the Mozilla Foundation, a non-profit, public-benefit organization dedicated to improving the Internet experience for people everywhere.

In less than two years, tens of millions of people worldwide have discovered the easier, faster and safer online experience that Firefox provides. Translated into more than 35 languages at its release, Firefox 2 is available in a native language version for more people around the world than any other Web browser.

Firefox 2 is immediately available for Windows, Mac or Linux operating systems as a free download from www.getfirefox.com.

“Firefox 2 delivers the best possible online experience for people today,” said Mitchell Baker, CEO, Mozilla. “The improvements Mozilla has made to the ease of use, performance, and security in Firefox 2 reflect our ongoing, singular focus on meeting the needs of Web users all over the world.”

What's New?
Improved Tabbed Browsing
We love tabs as much as you do, so Firefox 2 will open new web pages in tabs by default. Each of those tabs has its own close button, but don’t worry - if you accidentally close a tab, just go to the History menu to bring it back from the list of “Recently Closed Tabs.” You’ll never be crunched for space anymore, either. When you have too many tabs open to comfortably fit in a single window, scroll arrows will appear on either side, and a button on the right side will always show you an easy-to-read list of all your open tabs.

Spell Checking
Sometimes you’re in a rush, and can’t remember if it’s “i” before “e” or the other way around. Firefox 2 has built-in spell checking to keep you from making any mistakes in your blog posts and Web-based email, so you can worry about more important things.

Search Suggestions
Some of the search engines in Firefox 2 can read your mind, and actually suggest search terms for what you’re looking for. Just start typing into the Search bar, and a drop down list of suggestions will appear. (Works for Google, Yahoo! and Answers.com.)

Session Restore
Losing your place while you’re doing things on the Web is a pain. Now, with Session Restore, if Firefox has to restart or closes when it comes back you’ll pick up exactly where you left off. The windows and tabs you were using, the text you typed into forms, and the in-progress downloads you had running will all be restored. You can even set Firefox 2 to always restore your previous session instead of loading a home page, so you’ll never lose your place again.

Web Feeds (RSS)
What do news headlines, indie rock podcasts, and pictures of kittens have in common? They’re all things that you can subscribe to with Web feeds. Firefox 2 gives you full control over Web feeds, showing you a preview and letting you choose how you want to subscribe. You can use a Firefox Live Bookmark, or a feed reader that you’ve installed on your computer, or through a Web service such as My Yahoo!, Bloglines or Google Reader.

Live Titles
Keep an eye on that auction or the status of a delivery using the new Live Titles feature in Firefox 2. Compact enough to fit as a bookmark label, Live Titles are regularly updated summaries of the most important information on a Web page. As the information on the page gets updated, so does your Live Title. Try one out in Firefox 2 by bookmarking www.woot.com.

Download Link

[Zeek]

How comes Firefox itself doesn't pick up the update (as in when pressing "Check for Updates")?

*Makes System Restore*

[RareBK]

I got it about three hours ago, I find it a lot better.

[Andre]

I really like the search suggestion feature and the Firefox spell checker. Yes, I do realize that both of those aren't new, but I'm actually using them now.

[RareBK]

Originally Posted by Zeek

How comes Firefox itself doesn't pick up the update (as in when pressing "Check for Updates")?

*Makes System Restore*

It is a brand new version, not an update, a whole new Firefox.

[Bottles98]

I just downloaded it.
Firefox 2 is love.

[Ice Lightning]

I've just got it now, and I'm just disappointed I can't have my old themes back , they're not available with this new Firefox. I need my nice "iFox" theme or "Silver Skin" theme.

On the other hand, this spell check feature is brilliant, it's going to be so useful, and already has been so much in this post.

EDIT: How can I get this session restore thing to work? Help would be appreciated

[Zeek]

Originally Posted by RareBK

It is a brand new version, not an update, a whole new Firefox.

Meh. Most programs will still pick up a new version in their updates, but o well.

Downloaded and it isn't really too much different. Shame though that tons of extensions still have to be updated( Users of Tab Mix Plus can find a beta over at their site). The spell check I had before in previous extensions (But never used it, and probably still won't).

[Grey Jinjo]

When I was in California, one of the original co-creator's gave a long speech about FireFox and the Mozilla project. He called Firefox 2 a "Tiny but useful update", but this article calls it a "major update" . I suppose all company's/articles do that though.

I don't think it is as revolutionary as some people have been hyping it up to be, but I do like the new tools they implemented. I'm going to download V2 and try out some things -- that spell checker especially .

Edit: SPELLCHECKER IS LOVE.

[Bottles98]

God, I have a spell-checker on damn near everything now. Word, Thunderbird, Trillian and now Firefox.

[golden jiggy]

Here's a plate of "I use internet explorer" for you all to choke on.

[Blank]

What a shame that I downloaded Internet Explorer 7 today... 1.5 hours before remembering Firefox...

Eh, I'll give it a week before I pitch that notion to the "computer administrator."

[Gold Jinjo]

Unfortunately a few of my most-used extensions don't work with the new version, and there aren't upgrades... so it'll be a while before I get on board

Oh, and for some reason, the search box doesn't listen to the Flexible Space object, so that's all stretched to hell

[Magic]

It's so...shiny and...Foxy. Fire Foxy. Hee hee...

[Bottles98]

Originally Posted by golden jiggy

Here's a plate of "I use internet explorer" for you all to choke on.

=O

*slap*

Ow! I missed! Dammit, I've always had bad hand-eye coordination...