OStatic

Ubiquity, the extension that adds command line functionality to the Firefox browser, got a major upgrade this week. Ubiquity 0.5 supports a bunch of new languages and drops the need to use hyphens in commands. The development team is also experimenting with smart suggestions, a feature that lets Ubiquity make educated guesses about the meaning of unfamiliar data.

The good news is Ubiquity 0.5 adds nice features and updates to this handy tool. The bad news is that it breaks compatibility with third-party commands. That is sure to cause headaches and workflow problems for some of Ubiquity's 400,000 users. Fortunately, Mozilla has a plan.

Mozilla released Firefox 3.5 today, roughly one month since it was pushed out as a Release Candidate. The major update delivers several new features and performance improvements that make this new version one you won't want to miss.

Firefox 3.5 is designed with new Web standards in mind and contains support for new Web technologies that will make it more interactive and speedier. Indeed, our own Sam Dean took the beta version out for a spin and was happy enough with the speed to use it as my primary browser and reach for an older Firefox version when I need extensions.

As the release of Firefox 3.5 approaches (codenamed Shiretoko), Mozilla Japan has come up with a unique way to promote the version. They've teamed up with Japan's Shiretoko Nature Foundation and designed an interactive Web site named Discover Shiretoko that teaches visitors about the new browser version as well as the national park after which it was named.

Shiretoko and Firefox: A Story in Four Parts examines how Firefox and the Shiretoko World Natural Heritage Site have more in common that it may seem at first glance. Both, for instance, rely heavily on the power of the volunteer community.

We've written extensively about the declining market share of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, which is being challenged from every angle by open source browsers such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Firefox is already the number one browser in Europe, is vastly more extensible than Internet Explorer, and is out in an excellent new Release Candidate version 3.5. ?The European Commission is also pressuring Microsoft on its distribution practices for its browser.

How desperate is Microsoft to woo users to its Internet Explorer version 8 browser? Mozilla Chair Mitchell Baker points out in a blog post that Microsoft is now offering $10,000 in prize money buried somewhere on the Internet which you can only find if you use Internet Explorer. Come on Microsoft, Internet Explorer needs a lot more than this marketing campaign to shore up its prospects.