March 3rd, 2009
Firefox 3.1 Beta 3 code to freeze end of day March 3, Beta 4 now on tap
Bugs or no bugs, Mozilla will freeze the code to the much delayed Firefox 3.1 beta 3 by the end of day.
The number of P1 blockers is now in the single digits but that doesn’t mean the release candidate is around the corner.
During the weekly meeting today, developers said a number of stubborn Javascript problems and other issues remain in the code, prompting the decision to go for a fourth beta. Others suggested that a possible version number change (Firefox 3.5) may be in order to reflect the scope (and time investment) of the update.
Beta 3 was originally expected to be released in early January. It should now be available within a week or so. A possible date for beta 4 was not given.
The official news of the code freeze and beta 4 was let loose during today’s weekly meeting but lead developers indicated in several blog posts last week that a fourth beta would be needed.
“We’re going to wrap up beta 3 in the next week regardless of upvar [Javascript] status … a 4th beta will follow approximately 6 weeks after, as a vehicle for more testing of tracemonkey, video, places and other eagerly-awaited improvements as well as feedback from beta 3,” wrote Firefox developer Mike Shaver in his meeting notes posted on Feb 25.
One Mozilla developer — Simon Paquet, a Thunderbird/Calendar Localisation Coordinator — opined that a version number change might be in order.
“Given all the efforts that went into FF3.1 and given its prolonged schedule and expanded scope, I was wondering whether it might make more sense to name it Firefox 3.5 just as Firefox 1.1 was renamed Firefox 1.5? ”
Not a bad idea. “You are not the first to suggest that, indeed!,” Shaver shot back in the same thread. “I think we should discuss exactly that, but in another thread and after we get beta3 out
the door. :)
Firefox 3.0 shipped in June of 2008 and Mozilla expected the 3.1 update to be available by the end of 2008. After more complexities surfaced and the Google Chrome browser debuted late last year, the team decided to add private browsing and other add-on features to what was once planned to be a minor update.
Paula Rooney is a Boston-based writer who has followed the tech industry for almost two decades. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
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