Ubuntu fixes the Hardy NumLock bug

Many of us who have been testing Ubuntu Hardy have found there’s a bug that leaves the NumLock setting off as it boots up, despite our having it turned on in our BIOS. I’m glad to be able to report that the fix for the bug has been released and we no longer need to use workarounds.

Firefox 3 Beta 5 is HERE!

My sources in Mozilla QA tell me that Firefox 3 Beta 5 should be out this afternoon. There’s no download link available yet (duh) but I did want to take a minute to write what could end up being my final post on Firefox 3’s development.

Updated 2:30 PM EDT 2 April: Firefox 5 Beta 5 is now out! And the firstrun page does in fact continue the robotic theme of previous betas.

Is Firefox 3 Beta 5 out yet?

If anyone says they have Firefox 3 Beta 5, they’re lying through their teeth.

Reuters quotes Mozilla as saying Firefox 3 is “ready for prime-time”

Reuters published a story on Thursday reporting that one of Firefox’s “creators” told them Firefox 3 is “ready for download.” They may have gotten that quote from Mike Schroepfer, Mozilla Corp. (MoCo) Vice President of Engineering, but I think someone spiked his Red Bull because every tester knows that comment is bull for a number of reasons.

Ubuntu 8.04 “Hardy Heron” is now a Beta

Ubuntu Linux has released the beta version of Ubuntu 8.04 “Hardy Heron” with a number of improvements over Ubuntu 7.10 “Gutsy Gibbon.”

Firefox 3 Beta 4 is here!

I just learned that about an hour ago Mozilla officially released Firefox 3 Beta 4, after a weekend of false reports.

Is there a new Firefox 3 beta available?

Several sites, including BetaNews, has published that you can download Firefox 3 Beta 4. Unfortunately that news is premature, evidenced by the fact that BetaNews had to run a retraction when the devs realized that they missed a key component in the Windows builds that they were getting together. (I also have news on Thunderbird 3 below.)

SecondLife promotes the Linux viewer to Beta status

Ever since SecondLife started having a Linux version it’s been listed as alpha, although many of us felt shorted by that label. But that’s changed (a little) as SecondLife has released a beta version of the Linux viewer software.

Envy and Java updates

I’ve been meaning to write about some updates for Envy, that uber tool for installing graphics drivers in Linux, but I keep closing Thunderbird before remembering to write. There’s also a new plugin coming for Java, but you’ll need to use Firefox 3 to get the benefits of it.

A tester’s look at Firefox 3 Beta 3

[Added additional info on the new Doenload Manager. - Peng]

As Nanci posted last night, Firefox 3 Beta 3 came out yesterday and while some of us are happy with it while others, like me, aren’t so sure about it. There will be at least a fourth beta before Firefox 3 reaches Release Candidate status, but I wanted to give you guys (and girls) a look at how things are shaping up in Firefox 3 so far.

Remember, this version of Firefox 3 is for testing purposes only and is not for use by most people. There are certain things that people need to look out for in terms of bugs that aren’t quite fixed yet, some of which can cause you to lose data like passwords, bookmarks, etc. I’ll give you links for  getting your hands on the latest beta but you use it at your own risk. I’ll also point out some things that you need to do before firing up Firefox 3 Beta 3 for the first time.

Also, I’m running nightly builds of  the Firefox 3 betas under Linux and since they have gone for a native look in the default skin some things may look different in OSX and Windows from the screenshots I’m providing. In addition, I have customized my Firefox pretty heavily so things may be in different places than you may be used to seeing them. If a difference is because of a new feature in Firefox 3 I’ll let you know.