Firefox 3 RC 2 released and available for download

Warning: It’s  not recommend that anyone other than developers and testers download this milestone release. It is intended for testing purposes only.

Firefox 3 RC is available for download ! There are going to be more releases, check the Firefox 3 Planning Center if you want to know more.

While most reviews focused on the nifty new look and feel, I believe this is not the most important change in Firefox 3 beta 3. After all, it’s a *browser*, not a painting :-)…

So, what’s new under the hood ?

• Improved security features: better presentation of website identity and security including support for Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificates, malware protection, stricter SSL error pages, anti-virus integration in the download manager.
• Improved ease of use: easier add-on discovery and installation, improved download manager search and progress indication in the status bar, resumable downloading, full page zoom, and better integration with Windows Vista, Mac OS X and Linux.
• Richer personalization: one-click bookmarking, smart bookmark folders, location bar that uses an algorithm based on site visit recency and frequency (called “frecency”) to provide better matches against your history and bookmarks for URLs and page titles, ability to register web applications as protocol handlers, and better customization of download actions for file types.
• Improved platform features: new graphics and font rendering architecture, JavaScript 1.8, major changes to the HTML rendering engine to provide better CSS, float-, and table layout support, native web page form controls, colour profile management, and offline application support.
• Performance improvements: better data reliability for user profiles, architectural improvements to speed up page rendering, over 350 memory leak fixes 🙂, a new XPCOM cycle collector to reduce entire classes of leaks, and reductions in the memory footprint.

You can find out more about all of these features in the “What’s New” section of the release notes.

Testers can download Firefox 3 Beta 3 builds for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux in over 30 different languages. Please be sure to read the full release notes before using this preview release. Developers should look at the Firefox 3 for Developers article on the Mozilla Developer Center.

More information & reviews

• Mozilla Links: A deep look into Firefox 3
• Ars Technica’s first look at Firefox 3 beta 3
• The Inquirer