It looks like Firefox 3 Beta will be available in late Autumn, or so itnews says.
New features will include support for running web apps like mail and office suites while disconnected from the Internet, and a new feature called ‘Places’ which is a redesigned bookmarks and history manager.
Probably the strongest new feature - users of Gmail, Docs and Spreadsheets, Yahoo Mail, and Google Apps will be able to totally disconnect from the Internet, and work offline (As long as the application providers comply with Firefox 3’s new API).
Firefox’s current strategy is reminiscent of a failed strategy by Netscape Communications, more than 10 years ago, to make the operating system irrelevant by building an OS within the browser.
I am extremely excited to see how this new functionality will work out, both in the interest of software providers and customers. If Mozilla can pull off the ‘offline apps’ space, it will make for a very interesting future for the Software as a Service model and for the Mozilla Company.
In the meantime, it looks like we still need to play inside a browser. Unfortunate as that may be.