Second RC of Firefox 3 Confirmed

Courtesy of MozillaLinks:

“On today’s Firefox 3 status meeting, the need for a second release candidate was confirmed and it has been tentatively targeted for early June.

RC2 will fix about a couple of dozen bugs including some top crashers, some affecting performance and localization related. Most of the bugs already have patches waiting for review or landing and the revised code is expected for tomorrow, with initial builds available on Thursday. QA will start the same day and last for about a week.

If all goes as planned, RC 2 should be released close to June 6 for a new round of tests by Firefox users. Depending on whether a new critical bug is found or not, a third RC could be necessary or RC2 will become Firefox 3 final.“

I think that we can still see a final Firefox 3 released in June. I do very much agree that FF needs another round of tests with RC2 because I’ve had quite a few crashes with RC1 and I think those bugs need to be resolved before they release the final code. It would look bad for them if they hastily released the browser just to stay on schedule. Hooray for RC2!!

May 27 2008

Samsung Introduces 256GB SSD

This is pretty amazing, I can’t wait for the prices to go down, and the capacities to continue to rise…

“

Samsung shows 256GB flash memory-based SSD

Samsung plans to begin sampling the 256GB solid-state disks in September

By Martyn Williams, IDG News Service

May 27, 2008

Samsung Electronics plans to launch within this year a flash memory-based solid-state disk that boasts a 256GB capacity and high-speed interface, it said Monday.

The drive, which was unveiled in prototype form at a Samsung event in Taipei, has the same form factor as a 9.5-millimeter high 2.5-inch hard-disk drive for which it is designed to be a drop-in replacement.

Solid-state disks (SSDs) are an emerging type of storage device that use flash memory chips in place of the spinning magnetic disks used in hard-disk drives. The memory chips mean the drives are more sturdy and typically have a higher performance but the per-byte storage cost is also much higher, so they are generally more expensive. That has largely restricted them to niche applications but as flash prices come down they are expected to become more widely used.

Samsung, which is one of the world’s largest makers of flash memory chips, is eager to see the drives become popular as their widespread use will represent a big new market for its chips.

The prototype drive announced by the company has a read speed of 200MBps and a sequential write speed of 160MBps, said Samsung.

Samples of the drive will be available to customers from September with mass production due by the end of the year.

A version with a similar form factor to a 1.8-inch drive is also expected to be available in the fourth quarter of the year, the company said.

The drive isn’t the first SSD launched at this capacity. Last month a competitor, U.S.-based Super Talent, began sales of a 256GB SSD but that drive is thicker than Samsung’s at 12.5 millimeters. It has a SATA I interface, which means read speeds of 65MBps and write speeds of 50MBps.”

Source: InfoWorld

Image: TechGage

May 27 2008

Google Gmail and Talk Still In Beta…

What’s the deal with this? I noticed that my Gmail and Google Talk are STILL in beta?! Or at least by the nature of their icons. Get it together man, for pete’s sake!

WilksNet

Musings on Mozilla, Linux, Apple, and open source software

Posted on May 27, 2008 …