FireFox 2 Release Candidate 1 is now available for download. This is not intended for widepsread distribution, but rather it is targeted to developers, testers, and those who’d like a sneak peak at the upcoming full Firefox 2.0 release. RC 1 is much more polished than the last beta release, and is nearly ready for general use. However, if you do use customizations and extensions, it’s quite likely that a good number of them won’t yet be compatible.
If you are looking to try out RC 1, also known by its code name “Bon Echo,” keep in mind that this will replace any existing FireFox installation on your computer. Past version 2 betas would install along side your previously installed version of FireFox. Installing RC 1 won’t erase your bookmarks or extensions, however, as noted previously, many of the extensions might not yet work. But give it a little time, and I’m sure the developers will have the extensions ready for the new version.
Firefox 2.0 does not introduce many major new features, but instead improves upon what has already been added in past versions. FireFox 2.0’s main aim is to fix any bugs left in past versions and improve upon them, which seems to have been done pretty well. A few of the new features include built-in anti-phishing that warns you about known phishing sites, session saving, improved RSS handling, and major tab handling upgrades, amongst other things. It also has a really handy in-line spell checker will indicate words you may have misspelled and make suggestions for replacement words, which is helpful if you frequently post on online forums and message boards. Mozilla has created a complete list of new features in the release notes found here.
The next scheduled release - FireFox Release Candidate 2 - will be available the first week of October. The full public release of FireFox 2.0 is scheduled to occur near the end of October.
