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PThe A href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/08/27/internet-explorer-8-beta-2-now-available.aspx" mce_href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/08/27/internet-explorer-8-beta-2-now-available.aspx"announcement of IE8 Beta 2/A started an important and public phase of the product development cycle getting A href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/03/05/ie8-beta-feedback.aspx" mce_href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/03/05/ie8-beta-feedback.aspx"broad public feedback/A. The team is providing A href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/ie/default.aspx" mce_href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/ie/default.aspx"detailed/A A href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/readiness/" mce_href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/readiness/"information/A and A href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/" mce_href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/"answering/A A href="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/chats/transcripts/default.mspx" mce_href="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/chats/transcripts/default.mspx"questions/A about the product in many different places. Now’s a good time to talk about what comes next./P PSince the release of Beta 2, the team has been absorbed in the data we get from real people about the product. We have combed through instrumentation of over 20 million IE sessions and hundreds of hours of usability lab sessions. Together with A href="http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/" mce_href="http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/"IE MVPs/A, we have scrutinized thousands of A href="http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/list/en-us/default.aspx?dg=microsoft.public.internetexplorer.betaamp;cat=en_us_2BAF8EC5-645C-4477-A380-0F1CF6C102F9amp;lang=enamp;cr=us" mce_href="http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/list/en-us/default.aspx?dg=microsoft.public.internetexplorer.betaamp;cat=en_us_2BAF8EC5-645C-4477-A380-0F1CF6C102F9amp;lang=enamp;cr=us"threads/A from user forums and examined A href="http://connect.microsoft.com/" mce_href="http://connect.microsoft.com/"the issues/A that people are raising (not to mention all the times users opt to A href="http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=110518" mce_href="http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=110518"“Report a Webpage Problem…”/A). We have also spent hundreds of hours listening and answering questions in meetings with partners and other important organizations. We simply could not deliver IE8 the way our customers and developers want us to without all this information. We also received a lot of feedback about how we transitioned from the IE7 beta releases to the IE7 final release, and as a result, we want to be clear about the plan for IE8./P PWe will release one more public update of IE8 in the first quarter of 2009, and then follow that up with the final release. Our next public release of IE (typically called a “release candidate”) indicates the end of the beta period. We want the technical community of people and organizations interested in web browsers to take this update as a strong signal that IE8 is effectively complete and done. They should expect the final product to behave as this update does. We want them to test their sites and services with IE8, make any changes they feel are necessary for the best possible customer experience using IE8, and report any critical issues (e.g., issues impacting robustness, security, backwards compatibility, or completeness with respect to planned standards work). Our plan is to deliver the final product after listening for feedback about critical issues. /P PWe will be Ivery/I selective about what changes we make between the next update and final release. We will act on the most critical issues. We will be super clear about product changes we make between the update and the final release. /P PThe call to action now for the technical community is to A href="http://www.microsoft.com/ie8" mce_href="http://www.microsoft.com/ie8"download beta 2/A (if you haven’t already) and A href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/03/05/ie8-beta-feedback.aspx" mce_href="http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/03/05/ie8-beta-feedback.aspx"let us know/A about your experience. Next, please prepare for final testing with public update so you can let us know – quickly, loudly, and clearly – if you find absolutely critical issues with it before the release of the final product./P PThanks –/P PDean Hachamovitch BRGeneral Manager, Internet Explorer/P PP.S. If you’re a developer, or service provider, or IT professional, how do you prepare for the final release of new software? Leave a comment – we’d like to know./Pimg src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=9126413" width="1" height="1"

This Friday, support.mozilla.com will be hosting a Support Firefox Day that focuses on extending the global impact of Firefox support and looking forward to Mozilla’s goals for the next two years. support.mozilla.com — or SUMO for short — is the new online help system introduced in Firefox 3. Relying on a community of contributors from around the world, SUMO offers help to hundreds of thousands of users every week through our knowledge base articles as well as through forums and Live Chat services. As Firefox users span the globe, we are looking to expand the site’s coverage through translation and by reaching out to the wide userbase for their input. One of our events in Support Firefox day will be a series of presentations on how to get started and dive into this project and making a contribution right away.

This Support Firefox Day also hopes to engage users, contributors and localizers in a discussion about the directions Mozilla will be taking in the next couple years. Mozilla is not traditional organization — it’s a global community that spans not only the people involved in making software products, but the people using them as well. As such, we feel that it’s important to have input from this greater community when looking forward and planning goals. The highlight of one of these sessions will be a live discussion with Mitchell Baker, chairman of the Mozilla board, where we will be taking your comments, questions and suggestions on Mozilla’s goals for 2010.

As this event is fully interactive, we’ll be running a live video stream and chat channel from the Support Firefox Day main page, tailoring our presentations and discussions to focus on what you are interested in. All you have to do is go to that page during one of the times listed below, scroll down to the video and join our chat room.

Reflecting the international nature of the Mozilla community, there will be three sessions across a number of time zones. Each session will have a number of main events as follows (all events will be held in English):

Friday Nov 21st, 2 PM Tokyo time (5 AM GMT, 6 AM Central European time, Thursday 9 PM PST)
(These times below given in Tokyo time, GMT+9)

• 2 PM: Introduction to Support Firefox Day and support.mozilla.com
• 2:10 PM: Getting started with localization, translating your first article and some advanced tips.
• 3:00 PM: Questions and answers.
• 3:30 PM: Mozilla goals for 2010 discussion with Cheng Wang, SUMO team member
• 4:30 PM: Open meet and greet — get to know the other people who showed up and meet other people interested in Firefox.

Friday Nov 21st, 1 PM Central European time (noon GMT, 9 PM Tokyo time, 4 AM PST)
(These times below given in Central European time, GMT+1)

• 1 PM: Introduction
• 1:10 PM: Getting started with localization, translating your first article and some advanced tips.
• 2:00 PM: Questions and answers.
• 2:30 PM: Mozilla goals for 2010 discussion with David Tenser, Mozilla Support Lead
• 3:30 PM: Open meet and greet — get to know the other people who showed up and meet other people interested in Firefox.

Friday Nov 21st, 11AM PST (7 PM GMT, Saturday 4 AM Tokyo time, 8 PM Central European time)
(These times below given in PST, GMT-8)

• 11AM: Introduction to Support Firefox Day and support.mozilla.com
• 11:10 AM: Getting started with Firefox support, translating articles and advanced tips.
• 12:00 PM: Questions and answers
• 12:30 PM: Mozilla goals for 2010 discussion with Mitchell Baker, chairman of the Mozilla Foundation
• 2 PM: Open meet and greet — get to know the other people who showed up and meet other people interested in Firefox.

We’re really looking forward to seeing you there!

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Today Mozilla released Fashion Your Firefox, a new Web application that enables Firefox users to customize their browser based on their interests and online activities. With Fashion Your Firefox, add-ons that fit people’s online lifestyles are organized in easy to discover ways and are available for installation in just a few easy clicks.

Fashion Your Firefox presents add-ons in activity-based categories that make them easy to find and install. Categories in Fashion Your Firefox include:
•    Shutterbug: View and share pictures and videos online
•    Rock Star: Listen to music while surfing, working, emailing or researching online
•    News Junkie: Get the most up-to-date news and weather
•    Shopaholic: Shop and take advantage of online deals
•    Digital Pack Rat: Keep track of favorite sites, bookmarks and blogs
•    Social Butterfly: Share, bookmark, and e-mail web pages via an array of social networking & bookmarking sites
•    Finder and Seeker: Find and make information on the Web more relevant
•    Decorator: Apply browser themes
•    Executive Assistant: Organize online activities

For more information see our press release, FAQ, and David Rolnitzky’s, Mozilla’s add-ons program manager, blog post.

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