Firefox 1.5 Beta Set for September 8

Mozilla has announced its beta schedule for the upcoming release of Firefox 1.5, according to a posting on its developer news Web site. Beta 1 will be released on September 8, followed by a second beta on October 5.

Furthermore, the first release candidate of the browser is expected on October 28, which indicates the final version of Firefox 1.5 would likely come sometime during the month of November.

Developers warned, however, that the dates could shift depending on bugs and user feedback during the beta phase.

Alpha builds of the browser, code-named "Deer Park," have shown some of the features that may make it into the final version. Although, Mozilla has made no official announcement of the new features that are expected to be included in Firefox 1.5.

Some of the current enhancements include a better software update system to serve browser upgrades, the ability to reorder tabs through drag and drop functionality, and improved pop-up blocking.

Early alpha versions have also shown the 'SnapBack' technology that allows for faster navigation through Web pages. Also, better support has been announced for Mac OS X. Early versions of the Firefox browser have proven to be crash-prone on Apple's operating system.