Firefox/4/Beta

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The Firefox 4 Beta aims to engage 1M-4M users in an interactive process through which frequent updates are evaluated by a representative set of web users and their feedback shapes the direction of future development updates.

We will collect feedback through a variety of in-product and out-of-product mechanisms, and communicate the goals of each beta revision to users as it is delivered to them.

Goals

We have some. They are to be crisply defined!

You can also read about the background for this program.

Milestones

Milestone Expected Actual Notes
Branch tbd Stabilize mozilla-central and create a mozilla-1.9.3 branch for Firefox 4
Freeze tbd Stabilize branch and complete work on all blocking1.9.3:beta1+ bugs
Ship Beta r1 Thursday, June 24 Ship first revision of beta, offer as advertised major update to 1.9.2 beta channel users
Freeze tbd Freeze for first beta update (need a better way to name these things)

Beta 1 FAQ

Firefox 4 Beta 1 FAQ

Q: When will Firefox 4 be available? A: Firefox 4 is currently in beta. To become a Firefox 4 beta tester, please visit http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/beta/ .The Firefox 4 beta software will update regularly so you can test new features or changes, and will eventually be updated to the final release of Firefox 4. We are excited to receive your feedback and look forward to hearing from you!

Q: What’s new in Firefox 4 Beta 1? A: Firefox 4 Beta 1 includes dozens of major features and improvements – by testing them early we’ll be able to respond to your feedback for future versions of Firefox. Once you download Firefox 4 Beta 1, you’re part of our beta program and will receive regular updates as more features launch.

If you are using a Windows PC, the most noticeable new feature will be the look of the browser. We moved the tabs to the top to make it easier to focus on the web content and easier to control the tools in your Web browser. Also, if you have Windows 7 or Windows Vista the Menu bar was replaced with a single Firefox button so you can get to the most used options with just one click. These changes will be coming soon for Mac and Linux.

Q: Why does Firefox look different than it used to? A: We updated the default look of Firefox to make it easier to focus on Web content and easier to control the tools in your Web browser. Also, we think it’s prettier looking. This change is on Windows PCs only in Firefox 4 Beta 1. Detailed blog posts explain what we did to streamline the interface and why Tabs are on Top in Firefox 4

Q: Can I still customize the user interface? A: Of course! The Firefox UI remains completely customizable. You can switch the locations of tabs, whether or not a menu bar, bookmark bar or status bar is visible.

Q: How did stability improve in Firefox 4 Beta 1? A: We hate crashes. When Firefox crashes, we try to get you back on your feet as quickly as possible, but we’d much rather you not crash in the first place. Mozilla recognizes that third-party plugins provide important functionality in many of today’s websites. At the same time, plugins can lead to problems for users as they browse. With the ability to alert users when they have out of date plugins, and now crash protection on all operating systems, Firefox allows users to experience all the content they love without any of the hassles.

Q: How does Firefox 4 protect my privacy? A: Firefox puts your privacy first. Firefox 4 Beta 1 fixes flaws in the CSS Web standard that allowed your browser history to be exposed. Future releases will provide easy to use tools that let you control your privacy.

Q: Is the Firefox 4 Beta safe to test? A: Yes! Mozilla developers have been using Firefox 4 preview builds as their primary Web browser for months.

Q: My existing Add-Ons don’t work with Firefox 4 Beta 1. What can I do? A: You can install the Add-On Compatibility Reporter and test your Add-Ons!

Q: Is Firefox 4 Beta 1 available in my language? A: Firefox 4 Beta is currently only available in English. Future Firefox 4 Beta releases will be available in more languages, so stay tuned.

Q: Where can I get a quick overview of Firefox 4? A: We’ve created a Firefox 4 Beta Features page: http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/beta/features. This is the best place to learn all about the exciting new and enhanced features in Firefox 4. You can also get a guided video tour of Firefox 4 Beta 1 and see the new features in action.

Q: Where can I see some cool demos of Firefox 4? A: You can always check out http://hacks.mozilla.org

Q: How can I give feedback on my experience with Firefox 4 Beta 1? A: Using the Feedback button in the upper right corner of the browser. Tell us anytime something makes you happy or sad!

Q: What is the Feedback Add-On? A: Firefox 4 Beta comes with the Feedback Add-on which adds a button in the upper right corner. You can use this to provide instant feedback at any time. You will also be notified about user studies (run by Mozilla Test Pilot) which collect information about how you use Firefox, but not which websites you visit. You have control over your participation, and can choose to opt out of any study, or see what data has been collected. You will be asked before any data is sent to Mozilla, and that data is subject to the Feedback and Test Pilot privacy policies.

Q: Will the Feedback Add-On be included in Firefox 4? A: No. It is only included with the Firefox 4 Beta.

Q: Should I expect Firefox 4 to look just like Firefox 4 Beta 1? A: We expect there to be many changes between this first beta and the final release of Firefox 4. More will be added to the final release, and we can’t guarantee that everything you see in Beta 1 will make it to Firefox 4. We need your help to decide what should. Listening to our users is a vital part of the process

Q: When should we expect the next beta? A: We plan on iterating quickly, and shipping new versions of the beta every 2 to 3 weeks. Once you download a beta, it will automatically update whenever a new version is released.

Q: What can we expect in the next beta? Or future betas? A: We’re not even sure yet, because we never ship software until it’s ready, and we never ship beta features until they’re ready to be tested. We do know that on the horizon are things like Firefox Sync, further Javascript engine optimizations, improvements to startup time, new privacy controls, more progress on HTML5 and CSS features and of course, refinements to the look and feel of the browser.

Q: Where can I learn more about Firefox 4 Beta? A: To learn more about the Firefox 4 Beta:

Beta Features

The initial beta must be stable enough, and compelling enough, to convince users to switch to it as a daily use browser. It must also contain at least the initial expression of code changes which may have a large impact on:

  • user experience
  • web compatibility
  • add-on compatibility

Beta r1

Summary Owner Priority References Status Notes
Theme & UI (XP) shorlander P1 bug 544820 [ON TRACK]
Theme & UI (Vista) shorlander P1 bug 544820 [AT RISK] not expecting to be able to draw in title bar (bug 513162) until week of June 21; can we speed that up?
Theme & UI (Win7) shorlander P1 bug 544820 [AT RISK] not expecting to be able to draw in title bar (bug 513162) until week of June 21; can we speed that up?
Switch-to-Tab Unfocused P2 bug 480350 [DONE]
Add-Ons Manager Redesign Mossop P1 bug 461973 [DONE] also includes EM API rewrite
:visited privacy fix dbaron P1 bug 147777 [DONE]
HTML5 Parser hsivonen P1 bug 373864 [DONE] any outstanding regressions/blockers?
Web Sockets smaug P2 bug 472529 [DONE]
Out of Process Plugins bsmedberg, josh (OSX) P1 bug 478976 [ON TRACK] might still have two icons when a plugin starts
Web Console ddahl P2 bug 529086 [ON TRACK]
Web Inspector robcee P2 bug 547453 [AT RISK]
Retained Layers roc P1 bug 564991 [AT RISK] still under review
Graphics HW Acceleration joe P1 D2D: bug 569166 [MISSED] D3D9 acceleration for some things done, D2D not done, needs Layers to land first
Test Pilot jinghua P1 bug tbd [ON TRACK] under review, also looking at how to package it
Add-On Compatibility Reporter fligtar P2 bug tbd [ON TRACK] blocked on 565610
OSX 10.6 build symbols ted P2 bug 567424 bug 558947 [AT RISK]
Multi-process crash reporting on mac nobody P2 bug 559228 [AT RISK]
Finish calc() and CSS transitions dbaron ? bug 363249, bug 537142 [AT RISK] probably doesn't need to be in the first beta; listed together because finishing transitions is easier if it can depend on calc()

Beta Future

(coming soon, but basically everything else that's not in the above list)

Feedback Collection Mechanisms

Mechanism Feedback On Channel Priority
 Owner Status
Test Pilot Performance, Design, Surveys. W/ user demographic info. Bundled Beta r1 Jinghua [ON TRACK]
Surveys Design, Customer Sat., Messaging, Education Test Pilot or Web Beta r1 LMesa [ON TRACK]
Beta website N/A N/A Beta r1 LMesa [ON TRACK]
Add-On Compatibility Reporter Add-On Compatability Beta Site/AMO/Bundled? Beta r1 Fligtar blocked on 565610
SUMO Web Compat., UI, User Education SUMO / Beta site Beta r2+ Cheng
Input
Web Compat., Customer Sat., Add-On Compat. Bundled Beta r1 aakashd [DONE]
Bugzilla Specific Bugs BMO/Beta Site Beta r1  ?
Crash Reporter Stability Bundled Beta r1 mac blocked on bug 559228
Twitter/FB Customer Sat, Messaging, User Education Beta Site Beta r1 LMesa [ON TRACK]
Forums (UserVoice, for developers) Web Compat., Customer Sat. MDN, Beta Site Beta r1 LMesa/ CBlizzard [ON TRACK]

Beta Outreach Program

Beta R1

Marketing

  • Beta site core, aimed @ developers
    • 4 pages
      • Home Page/Download Page
      • Features Page (what we have and what's coming down the line --sync, account manager).
      • Feedback page
      • First Run page

Promotion

  • Developer Feature screencasts/demos
  • Ribbon Promotion of Test Pilot (after release of betav1)
    • Sent to Fx4 Beta users one week into the beta.
  • FB Post for Test Drivers
  • MDN
    • Promo on MDN
  • Labs Post b/c of Test Pilot
    • Promo on labs website
  • Add-ons promotion b/c of new Add-ons manager (TBD)
    • Promo on AMO

PR

  • FAQs
  • Blog Post (from Mike B)

L10N

  • Localization of beta likely in 10-15 most active locales
    • Indonesia id
    • Brazil pt-BR
    • Germany de
    • India
    • Vietnam
    • United Kingdom en-GB
    • Philippines (no locale)
    • Malaysia (no locale)
    • Russia ru
    • Poland pl
    • Italy it
    • China zh-CN, zh-TW
    • Japan ja
    • Spain es-ES
    • Turkey
    • Argentina es-AR
  • L10N of Surveys, Feedback channels (likely)

Beta R2 and Beyond

Marketing

  • Creative Campaign
  • Beta site content for mainstream users added
    • FAQ
    • What's new page
    • Features Page (more consumer content)
    • Feedback Page
    • New First Run Page
    • Spread the Word page
    • Multimedia Page (for videos/screencasts, but only if needed)

Promotion

  • "Invitations" to use the Beta
  • FB Posts to General FB pages
  • Campus Reps
  • Promos on "What's New" pages.
  • Affiliate Buttons
  • Spread Firefox
    • Home Page Promo
  • Email Program
  • Dubbable General Video (for l10n--V3?)
  • Screencasts for new developer and user facing features
  • Labs
    • Promo
  • AMO
    • Promo

PR

  • Reviewer's Guide (Abridged)
  • Blog Post(s) from Mike B

L10N

  • L10N of beta site in 10-15 locales, with others joining as we roll through the beta (likely) (V2/V3)
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