Firefox is a great browser 'n all, but if you've been looking for a way to create a manual backup of your bookmarks or - *gasp* - try a different browser on for size, exporting your 'marks might not be the most obvious of processes (by the way: BonEcho in our screenshot is simply an Intel-optimized branch of Firefox). Sure, you can go up to the File menu to import bookmarks, but Export is nowhere to be seen... unless you open the Bookmarks Manager from the Bookmarks menu. That manager is where the File > Export command lives (Mac users: simply make sure that Manager window is front-most when checking the File menu), allowing you to save your bookmarks for backing up, sharing or porting to another browser.
After you unwrap your new Mac this holiday (or maybe found a great Boxing Daydeal) be sure to install the very latest version of BonEcho, the G5 and Intel optimized version of Firefox.
The new builds also include:
an overhauled version of the aqua form widgets
the user agent has been changed so that the browser will identify itself as Firefox rather than BonEcho
To help Neil (the gentleman who creates these builds) avoid having to answer the same email over and over, please remember that the Firefox name and icon are copyrighted and cannot be used with non-official builds. These are non-official builds, so they cannot have the official branding (hence the BonEcho name and icon). However, if you read through the comments on this TUAW post, you'll get all the info you need to give BonEcho a total Firefox makeover.
The latest experimental release of the next version of Mozilla Firefox is now available for download. Firefox 2.0 (a.k.a. Bon Echo) Alpha 3 includes a new SQLite-based storage system for bookmarks and history, an improved search plugin system, enhances security and localization for extensions, and perhaps most notably, new anti-phishing features. The anti-phishing features are based on code from the Safe Browsing extension, donated to the Mozilla Corporation by Google. As usual, install alpha software at your own risk. To quote the Bon Echo web site: "We do not recommend that anyone other than developers and testers download the Bon Echo Alpha 3 milestone release. It is intended for testing purposes only."
Mozilla has released a 2nd alpha version of Firefox 2.0. As usual, this release is not recommended for any kind of serious use, but if you're salivating at some of the new version's features, check out what has been incorporated in this 2nd development milestone:
Links default to opening in new tabs, not new windows
Close buttons now appear on every tab, and the close behavior is slightly different
Inline spell checking in text boxes (Works well, though apparently not on all sites yet)
Automatic restoration of your browsing session if there is a crash
Search suggestions now appear in the search box auto-complete for Google and Yahoo!
New search plugin manager for removing and re-ordering search engines
Improved support for previewing and subscribing to web feeds
New microsummaries feature for bookmarks (Really interesting new feature)
New Add-Ons manager improves the user interface for managing extensions and themes
Updates to the extension system to provide enhanced security and to allow for easier localization of extensions
New search service that supports Sherlock and OpenSearch engines
Support for SVG text using svg:textPath
A mouthful, I know. I typed this post using this development version (Bon Echo, as they call it) on Mac OS X and I have to say, it's nice so far. Of course, none of my extensions were compatible, and I highly recommend backing up your Firefox app support folder before testing this, no matter what OS you're using. When I tried the last Bon Echo development version, it rendered my support folder incompatible with the latest stable release of Firefox. Just another one of those hazards of playing with dev editions.
One of the most-touted feature updates
scheduled for Firefox 2.0, Places, has been axed from the Bon Echo roadmap and instead rescheduled for Firefox 3.0. In
a post to the
Mozilla development newsgroup, developer Michael Schroepfer announced the delay of the "complex and exciting
feature which changes the way people use bookmarks, history, and navigate through their private space of the web,"
saying they "do not have time to complete an implementation of places that lives up to our standards of user
experience and quality." Many users and developers have expressed disappointment and some are even arguing that
without the Places feature, Bon Echo no longer deserves the "2.0" label. Lead developer Ben Goodger has posted a blog entry responding to the criticism and
justifying the change.
