The early version will include a few features under consideration for final


(Computerworld) Mozilla Corp. today set Friday as the ship date for the first preview edition of Firefox 3.1, the fast-track update it hopes to polish off by late this year or early in 2009.

In a meeting Tuesday, Mozilla developers and managers nailed down details of Firefox 3.1, including the release date for the first alpha. Previously, Mozilla had tentatively scheduled the alpha for sometime this month.

"Still on track for Friday release," said the notes posted online after the morning meeting.

Mozilla froze the Firefox 3.1 code yesterday and will begin to assemble builds of the preview today, the notes continued. Only the US-English version of the browser will be tested before it's posted to Mozilla's servers.

Although the alpha is a work in progress -- numerous features Mozilla wants to ship with the final won't make it into the first preview -- several changes will debut Friday, including improvements to the location bar and enhanced Ctrl-Tab tab switching that presents thumbnails when cycling through open tabs..........


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