Firefox 3 Beta 2

Firefox 3 Beta 2 was released a week ago. Although this is still only in beta phase it already has a lot of spic-and-span. It takes up less resources, the management of passwords has been improved, better support for downloading various file types,…

Firefox 3 is also a lot more secure since it has new malware protection. You can read all the new things it has in the release notes: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/3.0b2/releasenotes/

Firefox 3 Beta 2 is already available in 25 languages for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. You can download it here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-beta.html

Note – Linux users:

The new Firefox 3 has better GTK support. There is a easy way to install it on Ubuntu.

The following installation guide for Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon was written by Tropical Matt and therefore all the credit goes to him:

“Problem is, Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon comes with an unstable version of Firefox 3, in the form of a “firefox-granparadiso” package, and it’s only Alpha 8, which doesn’t have the features and stability of the past few releases. There’s a simple way to upgrade this package, keeping all links, etc. intact. Ensure you have the package installed (check synaptic, or your Applications > Internet menu) and follow these simple steps:

1. Head to the Firefox Beta Page and download the option that best suits you.
2. Extract the archive to /tmp
3. Open a terminal
4. Run this, to remove the old files:
   sudo rm /usr/lib/firefox-3.0 -fr
   
5. Run this, to move the new files to where they should be:
   sudo mv /tmp/firefox /usr/lib/firefox-3.0
6. Point the old link to the new files:
   sudo ln -sf /usr/lib/firefox-3.0/firefox /usr/bin/firefox-3.0

Everything should now be working. If you had the granparadiso package installed when you started, you’ll still have the old firefox working without any change, and you’ll also have the same link in Applications > Internet to the development version. Keeping the versions completely separate.”

NVIDIA to debut GeForce 9 series on Valentine’s Day

There are some rumors that the new GeForce 9 series will debut on Valentine’s Day (14th February 2008). Our source informs us that the first two graphic cards to go in production will be the GeForce 9600 GT, aka D9P; and GeForce 9800 GX2 aka D9E.

Specifications for the GeForce 9600 GT (D9P):

• Core clocked at 500MHz
• Memory 2000MHz, 256 bit 256MB
• GPU is a 65nm processing chip, 64SP
• only 1 SLI connector (no support for 3-Way SLI)
• uncertain about DX10.1 support

On the other hand we have very few information about the GeForce 9800 GX2 (D9E). The specifications we do know is that it is going to be a dual GPU card and will therefore have support for Quad SLI like its predecessor 7950 GX2.