Although equipped with only the most basic features at this time, the Mozilla Firefox 2.0 Bon Echo version has signaled an intense new round in the battle between open-source browsers and Internet Explorer.
The first browser war was characterized by a comparison of features between Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer. This new wave of competition seems poised to unfold similarly, as both Mozilla and Microsoft strive to integrate as many features as possible into their browsers.
The initial “alpha” release named Bon Echo is quite different from previous releases of Firefox. For instance, the code for Firefox 1.5 Alpha 1 (Deer Park) was quite stable upon release. In contrast, Bon Echo contains many features that have not yet been fully tested.
Firefox 2.0 Alpha 1 has updated the user interface, History folder, Bookmark system, search capabilities, RSS feed reading, and security measures. It includes an extension management program that can block the execution of dangerous file types. Subscribing to and reading feeds (RSS-supported pages) has also become simpler.
The most noticeable changes are the revamped style and colors of many of the default icons that have been part of Firefox for the past two years.
According to Mozilla’s development roadmap, Alpha 2 is expected to appear in May and will be a “complete version with all features.”
Download Bon Echo – Mozilla Firefox 2.0 Alpha 1 – here.
