Articles about Beta

If you're the impatient type, the current six to eight weeks between major new builds of Firefox may have been agonizing. Mozilla feels your pain, and it is stepping things up a notch.

Eager to get new features out to users faster, Firefox's release schedule is being accelerated significantly. The change isn't happening immediately, but from the first quarter of next year, you can expect to see a major new build of Firefox every four weeks.

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Microsoft continues with the development of Edge, and a new leak gives Mac users a chance to see what the company is doing with the web browser for their preferred operating system.

Renowned leaker WalkingCat has provided a download link to an unreleased beta version of the Mac build of Microsoft Edge. As it's a beta that hasn't been released to official channels, there are possible stability issues, but it serves as a chance to try out the latest Chromium-base version of Edge for Mac.

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Google is busy working away on Chrome 76, and the beta version of the browser includes a change that will please anyone looking to bypass paywalls and view articles for free.

Many people switch to Incognito Mode, aware that this makes it possible to access paywalled articles on sites such as the New York Times. Many sites offer a number of free articles to non-paying visitors, and using this mode makes it impossible to determine whether you have reached your free article limit or not. As such, some sites blocked access to anyone using Incognito Mode -- but Chrome 76 has a trick up its sleeve.

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GitHub has launched the GitHub Package Registry, its new package management service.

Starting out as a limited beta, teh GitHub Package Registry gives developers, coders and organizations an easy way to publish public or private packages next to source code. For now, there is support for the likes of JavaScript (npm), Java (Maven), Ruby (RubyGems), .NET (NuGet), and Docker images, with the promise of more to come.

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Since acquiring Skype, Microsoft has been slowly but surely developing the messaging tool, most recently increasing the number of chat participants to 50. Now the company has released a new version of the software -- in beta for the time being -- in which it is possible to share your screen with whoever you're chatting with.

The beta feature is available to people on the Skype Insider program, and it allows for mobile screen sharing on both iOS and Android.

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Mozilla has added new protective features to the nightly and beta versions of Firefox. Through a partnership with Disconnect, the browser is now able to block cryptocurrency mining and fingerprinting scripts.

The new features mean that users are protected against scripts that can be used to track them online, as well as those that use CPU cycles to mine for cryptocurrency. Mozilla says it is part of its mission to protect people from "threats and annoyances on the web".

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The first official builds of Chromium-based version of Microsoft Edge are now available to download, and Microsoft has also launched the Microsoft Edge Insider Addons website.

Anyone using the standard, non-Insider version of the browser is probably familiar with the addons and extensions that are available from the Microsoft Store for Edge. But with the new Chromium version of Edge, the new website gives an easy way to extend the capabilities of the Dev and Canary builds.

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If you're signed up to the Xbox Insiders program, you can beta test an updated version of the Game Bar in Windows 10. Originally designed to allow for recording and broadcasting of game footage, The Game Bar now includes Spotify integration and cross-platform messaging.

The Game Bar beta also includes a number of new widgets that can be used to monitor system performance, control audio, and more.

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We have known for a little while that Microsoft is planning to release a Chromium-based version of its Edge browser, and a new leak gives us our first glimpse at it. With Chromium at its core, it is perhaps no surprise that this version of Edge bears more than a passing resemblance to Google Chrome.

The leak also confirms much of what we thought we already knew about the upcoming browser -- support for Chrome extensions, a dark mode, synchronization of favorites, and more

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OnePlus has a decent track recording of supporting its handsets for longer than most other companies, pushing out security updates and even operating system upgrades long beyond the point at which other manufacturers have let their handsets fall by the wayside.

Having already rolled out Android Pie to the OnePlus 5 and 5T, it wasn't long before we learned that the company hadn’t forgotten about owners of older handsets. Now you can sign up to take part in a beta program to test Android Pie on your OnePlus 3 or 3T ahead of the impending launch of the Pie-based OxygenOS 9.

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Late last year, in the beginning of December, Mageia 7 officially entered the beta stage. Fans of the operating system were obviously excited, but since then, all has been quiet.

Today, however, this changes — Mageia 7 Beta 2 is officially here! Unfortunately, according to the developers, a stable version is still far off.

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Mozilla has launched a test version of a new mobile web browser -- sort of, anyway. Known as Reference Browser, Mozilla stresses that "this is NOT a new end product, it is a collection of parts".

Described as a "technology preview", Reference Browser sees the company seeking feedback about various components which may or may not be used together in the future. It is looking for Android users to provide "input, telemetry and feedback and bug reports" to shape the future of mobile web browsing.

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The Windows 10 19H1 update may not yet have been released to the masses, but Microsoft is already hard at work on the update that will follow it, predictably codenamed Windows 10 19H2.

If you're an eager beaver, you probably want to get your hands on this update as soon as possible, and Microsoft is giving you a way to do so. The company has opened up the Skip Ahead ring for Windows Insiders, and by signing up for this you can be among the first to try out Windows 10 19H2.

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Just weeks after relaunching Mozilla Labs, the Firefox maker has announced that the browser's Test Pilot program is closing down. The move comes as Mozilla says it is "evolving Firefox's culture of experimentation".

The Test Pilot Program has been a beta testing ground for numerous Firefox features including Containers, Activity Stream and Firefox Monitor. But while this particular program is going away -- and with very little notice -- Mozilla says that experimentation will continue, and promises that experimental features will not be disabled for those who are currently using them.

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Microsoft Research is currently testing a new control panel which could enable users to manage the data the company collects about them.

Known as Project Bali, the tool is currently undergoing private beta testing. It promises to not only give users the option of managing and controlling the data collected about them, but also -- intriguingly -- the ability to monetize it.

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