Firefox 3 Nearing Completion

Mozilla is moving past the beta phase and into its final release candidate for Firefox 3.

Firefox RC1 is now available for free download from Mozilla’s site. Its developers warn it’s still just a preview and intended only for “developer testing and community feedback.”

The new version includes more improvements to running speed and memory usage, as well as changes to the program’s appearance, fixes for various new features, and added security enhancements. RC1 also has extra monitoring and management of plug-ins. The software will now alert you if you’re running an outdated or insecure version of any utility.

Mozilla has said the final version of Firefox 3 will be finished and ready to ship in June. Engineers have hinted that RC1 could be the final step before the full release.