While browsing the FTP for Firefox nightlies, I found that they now have Firefox 3.0 Alpha 1 on there. Many people are going to say “wait, Firefox 2.0 hasn’t been released”. Yes, you are correct, but that doesn’t stop them from working on future versions of the browser. Just like Microsoft is working on the next version of Windows (named Vienna) while Windows Vista hasn’t even been released.
The links to download Firefox 3.0 Alpha 1 are below, but I highly recommend that you use the Portable version because you won’t have to install anything and the profile is kept separate from your main Firefox installation. There have been many known instances of crashing as well, but the memory usage seems to be pretty low. I have read in various locations that there are going to be memory leak fixes for version 3.0 that are not going to make the 2.0 release, so that could be the reason.
What is different from Firefox 2.0 Alpha 1? Well, besides the low memory usage, I haven’t noticed much. I have found that some of the Bookmark features are now actually functional, but other than that nothing too special.
All you have to do is download the Portable Firefox 3.0 Alpha 1 file below. Then you unzip the file and browse for the file PortableFirefox.exe. Just execute that file and you will be running Firefox 3.0 Alpha 1! The profile is kept with the PortableFirefox folder so you don’t have to worry about messing up your other profile and the uninstallation process is simple…just delete the folder!
This is by no means designed to be a stable version of Firefox. It is purely for testing which is why I have put together the Portable version so that you can play with it and then delete it, without having to worry about messing up previous installations of Firefox.
NOTE: I am hosting these files off of a private account, so please do not hotlink directly to the files.
Portable Firefox 3.0 Alpha 1 Download
Portable Firefox 2.0 Alpha 1 Download
Portable Firefox 1.5.0.2 Download
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Windows – firefox-3.0a1.en-US.win32.zip
Windows Installer – firefox-3.0a1.en-US.win32.installer.exe
Linux – firefox-3.0a1.en-US.linux-i686.tar.bz2
Mac – firefox-3.0a1.en-US.mac.dmg
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Portable Firefox 1.5 Homepage
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thanks ‘,’
No problem, hope it simplified the testing process a little.
-Ryan
Please, read BEFORE posting. This is NOT Firefox 3.0 alpha1. This is nightly build that ONE day will became Firefox 3.0 alpha1 (probably in half a year or a bit more…)
Great news, thanks 4 the portable version !!
This is NOT Firefox 3.0 Alpha 1!!!
The latest release of Firefox is 1.5.0.1
Bon Echo Alpha 1 is the latest alpha release of Firefox 2.
Firefox 3 is a long way off, and an alpha hasn’t been released yet (and won’t be for a long time). The version number is 3.0a1 because it will become Firefox 3 Alpha 1, and to distinguish it from the other versions.Don’t advertise nightly builds to the general public! They do crash often, and they do cause dataloss! Has Mozilla announced Firefox 3 Alpha 1? No!
@3. Way to finish reading the first paragraph.
The actual Firefox 3.0 final release will not be for at least a year at minimum so what you are using is a very very early taste of Firefox 3.0 even though Firefox 3.0 will not Branch from the Trunk for some time yet.
The actual Firefox 3.0 alpha 1 will not be out for months yet. The Trunk was going to get a generic name of “Minefield” but that did not happen in the patch that changed the versioning from 1.6a1 to 3.0.a1 as the “Deer Park” name is actually the codename for Firefox 1.5 just as the “Bon Echo” is the codename for Firefox 2.0, though they just never changed the Trunk label (for almost a year now) as only hardcore testers or Developers should ever really use the Trunk nightlies.
Indeed, this is not an alpha release of Firefox 3 — it’s just a snapshot of the development trunk with some strings in it that apparently confused the author of this post. When we have an alpha release of Firefox 3, which will likely not name itself “Firefox”, you can be pretty sure that we’ll put it up with [mozilla.org] and such.
“Deer Park”, as those who have been following Firefox development for a while no doubt know, was the code name for Firefox 1.5; that should perhaps have been another clue that all was not as it appeared in that About box.
Mike
Just the same, this not 3.0a1 but 2.0a2, ie, Firefox 2 Alpha 2.
Lots of false info (infaux) here! The comments that say this is not Firefox 3.0 Alpha are correct. This is a build off the trunk. That makes this a pre-alpha build of what will eventually become Firefox 3.0.
Also note that this is NOT Firefox 2 Alpha 2. Firefox 2 work is being done on the branch, not the trunk. We can expect Firefox 2 a2 to be released some time in May 2006.
When you install plugins, such as Flash or Java, etc.. does it also automatically install them in that folder? Or does it do anything to the registy?
Please advise.. I found even these beta versions better to use that my current 1.5.
Faster, MUCH less memory usage, etc.
But I’d like to know what I’d need to do in terms of the plugins and extensions.
Thanks!
This is a developmental Trunk that is now labeled as “Minefield”.
USE AT YOUR OWN RISK
[mozilla.org]
Firefox 3 will be released in the summer of next year. Long time to go!
It is a long time to go but it isn’t that long after Firefox 2 will be released. Probably within a month I will switch from Firefox 2 to the nightly build of Firefox 3.