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Bill Gates promised frequent updates way back when they were doing the final testing of IE7. Yet somehow, it’s been almost two years before they finally released the beta mode of Internet Explorer 8 just today. Some will hurrah, some will cringe, some won’t care one way or the other. But...it’s out...and along with actually seeming to be an improvement over the previous version...it’s pretty clear that the folks at Microsoft are also using their latest browser as a clever little way to try to take over some Google ground.

I admit, I’m a diehard Firefox user. And when I checked out IE8 beta, I immediately recognized the same thing others seem to be seeing. The Smart Address Bar is very similar to the Awesome Bar in Firefox 3. When you start to type in the address bar, it tries to guess where you want to go, based on where you’ve been before. Although I have to give it to Microsoft, their Smart Bar seems to do the job even a little better. It shows history items, autocomplete suggestions, and your saved Favorites all in lists that you can collapse or expand with just a click. Also, you can delete an address from the Smart Bar with just a click as well, which is really handy for any addresses you may have in there that were typed incorrectly or if you have bookmarks you just don’t use anymore. 

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Amazon is set to launch a new service called Amazon Video on Demand which will enable users to watch any of the 40,000 movies and television programs right after they order them through their PC or Macs’ web browsers. Similar to cable video-on-demand services, the videos ordered by users will start streaming immediately after users placed their orders.

In addition to the computer support, Amazon has also reached a deal with Sony Electronics that would put Amazon’s Internet video store on Sony Bravia high definition TVs. Users who will opt to use the Video On Demand on their Bravia units would initially need the Sony Bravia Internet Video Link which costs $300. This would give them access to the Amazon Video on Demand content from their Bravia’s menu. Sony has also promised to embed this link in the Bravia’s menu screen sometime soon.

The new Amazon Video On Demand service will be initially available to selected US customers before it goes public later this summer. To answer the issue of storage, Amazon will also offer a service called “Your Video Library” which will store each customers downloads, and users can watch the movie or show whenever they go back to the Amazon Video On Demand store.

Read [New York Times]

We had already expected the release to come in mid-June and it looks like Mozilla has held that date true, they have officially announced that Firefox 3 will be available on June 17.

In addition, they have also, as we mentioned early yesterday, released an additional release candidate as RC3 that took care of a few last minute bugs found in the Mac version.

Otherwise start getting ready to download and install Firefox 3 on June 17, and don’t forget to help all of your not-so-computer literate friends and family members do the same.

In addition to the release, June 17 will also be the day that Mozilla is attempting to set the world record for the most software downloaded during a single day.

Read [Mozilla]

While we were all set and waiting for the final release of Firefox to drop at anytime now, CNET is reporting that some of us may indeed be given an RC 3 sometime today. The latest release, which will come officially as RC 3 will only be for Mac users as the Windows and Linux versions are already considered stable. The changes are also reported to be “internal” so assuming you are a Mac user and do choose to update, its more than likely you will not see any difference. Still no word of any delay with the final release, so as of now Firefox 3 is still on track for a “mid-June” release.

Read [CNET]

As we expected Mozilla has made the next early-adopter release of Firefox 3 available for download. The latest is Firefox 3 RC2 and although the release notes are a little light on the exact updates, its safe to say they have taken care of the issues that were found during the testing of Firefox 3 RC1. This latest download of RC2 is expected to be the last early release and the full, final Firefox 3 is still on track for a June availability.

I have been using RC2 since last night, and was able to update from RC1 without any issues, similar to the last few versions of FF3 it has been stable so far. However, a little friendly warning, as always take caution with any beta or pre-release software.

Download [Mozilla]

We have seen numerous reports, those even coming directly from Mozilla about how we can expect the final release of Firefox 3 to land this June and up until now it looked like it was right on track. While we have not heard any news of a major delay with that expected date, the latest news may push it up just a little bit. Recently we had seen the reports that ten critical flaws had been found in Firefox 3 RC1.

Since then Mozilla had been working to decide whether to ship the final “consumer-ready” release and then fix the flaws with version 3.0.1 or just move onto a Release Candidate 2. Well it seems the decision has been made, because they have officially announced that we will indeed be getting an RC2 before the final.

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For all you Firefox users out there, Mozilla has just confirmed in an interview with CNET that Firefox 3 will be finalized by June. The latest betas of version 3 have been getting great reviews across the board, especially by Mac users who love the faster load speeds compared to version 2.

“We’re in a phase where we’re letting add-ons get a chance to update,” Schroepfer said. “We like to have RCs (release candidates) out for a while to gather feedback.”

More release candidates are possible, he said. With Firefox 2, there were three. “We’re in better shape this time, but there’s no reason to rush this,” he said.

I am looking forward to the finalized version of what already looks like a solid browser. In the interview, Schroepfer (Mozilla’s VP of engineering) also mentioned that Firefox 3 will be “2 to 3 times faster than the previous version and nearly 10 times faster than IE 7.” Though we’re assuming it’ll still be slower than Safari.

In the meantime, you can grab the latest release candidate from Mozilla’s site.

Read [CNET]

As expected Mozilla has rolled out the first non-beta release of Firefox 3. For those who are currently running a beta version or just feeling adventurous Release Candidate 1 is now available for download. A final release is still expected to come in June, of course the beta version has been pretty stable for us, we could only imagine the same from Release Candidate 1.

According to the developer page, RC1 includes some updates to the look and feel, improved security and web compatibility as well as added some new features which include location bar auto-complete, bookmark backup and restore, full page zoom and more.

Those running a beta version of Firefox 3 can get the update by going to Help, then Check for Updates, or simply by visiting the download link below.

Download [Mozilla] Read [Mozilla Developer]

If you are an RSS addict like myself then you are always on the lookout for that new fresh feed to grab and add it to your feedreader of choice.  With the new service Toluu finding new feeds has never been easier and never been more social!

Toluu overall is a pretty easy service to sign up for and begin sharing and discovering in no time.  When you begin you have two options for getting started by either manually adding feeds as you go or if you have an OPML file you can import that into the system and share all your feeds with the world which is where the social aspect of Toluu comes in.

The social aspect is probably the coolest part or the part that really stands out for the service. You can of course add friends to get a network going, but you can also search for other users out there who based on the services algorithm match you the best as well as the system recommending feeds you might want to add to your daily reads.

For me besides just the concept of the service being a great idea I think the support and interaction with the developers is top notch!  On several occasions I have spoken to Caleb Elston about ideas, issues, or just getting a feel for the service and where they want it to go.  I think that really helps a young and developing service to embrace the community aspect.

So with all that said I cannot recommend Toluu enough.  Its a beta service that still has some holes and improvements but they are coming and the service seems to improve daily.  Currently it is invite only so if you are interested in checking things out feel free to comment and leave your email address.  We will get you an invite ASAP.

Read [Toluu]

Mozilla has released what will be the final beta version of Firefox 3, which comes in the form of Firefox 3 Beta 5. While normally we would not get this excited over such a small jump, because going from beta 4 to beta 5 should not result in excitement. According to the release notes there has been over 750 changes since beta 4 became available, most of which comes not as new features but bug fixes, which should make any current Firefox 3 user consider moving up. That is especially true for any OS X users because that pesky jfif issue with copying images from the web has been fixed. Oh, and we cannot forget, there is a new initial launch splash screen to marvel at.

A release candidate (RC1) is expected to as early as next Tuesday and Firefox 3 is still on schedule for a June final release. Also don’t forget that even though Firefox 3 seems stable, it still is beta, so you can be pretty certain that you may have some issues, thankfully ours came only in the form of extensions and themes.

Download [Mozilla] Via [Macworld]