Software update: Mozilla Deer Park alpha 1

Mozilla’s website has released the first alpha version of Deer Park, “the next generation of Firefox browser,” according to the site. Deer Park alpha 1 has been released for testing purposes only and is not recommended to be used as a default web browser. This first test version is only available in the English language version and can be downloaded for Windows† Linux and MacOS X† Specific builds for Solaris include here to refuel inside. An overview of new features in Deer Park can be found in this document† The alpha 1 changelog is up this page parked, below are the known issues:

All Systems

• If you install Deer Park on a multi-user system in an area in which there is restricted access privileges, you must run Deer Park as a user with access to that location upon installation so that all initial startup files are generated. If this is not done, when a user without write access to the install location attempts to start Deer Park, they will not have sufficient privileges to allow Deer Park to generate the initial startup files it needs to.
• When moving to Deer Park from an earlier version of Firefox, some of your Extensions and Themes may be disabled. This is not an issue, but it may appear to be one (hence its listing here). For rationale, see “Extension and Themes” above.
• Software Update does not request proxy authentication and will fail if you are behind a proxy server. (bug) The workaround is to visit a web page in the browser and log in to the proxy server and then perform Software Update.
• Software Update will not work if Deer Park is installed to a location that you do not have write access to, since Software Update needs to replace or create files in this location.

Windows

• When installing as a restricted access user on a shared machine into a location that you can write to, there may still be negative side effects (default browser/other keys not being set correctly). The browser should still function however. When installing as a restricted access user do not attempt to install over an installaion in a restricted-access/shared location as this may destroy that installation.
• Deer Park may hang when closing after viewing a PDF file in some older versions of the Adobe Acrobat Reader plug in. If you experience this make sure you are using the newest version of the plug in.
• On Windows 98 systems, the Application icon may appear as a Windows icon.

Mac OS X

• Do NOT run Deer Park from the Disk Image! – doing this will cause an infinite restart loop (the symptom of which is a Deer Park icon that bounces briefly in the Dock then disappears and reappears, bounces and disappears, over and over). To break Deer Park out of this loop, open a Terminal and type “killall firefox-bin” and press enter. Install Deer Park to a location you have write access to and try again. When installing on a multi-user limited access system, install it into a shared location as administrator, run it once and then all users should be able to access it.

Linux and Unix systems

• If Deer Park is installed to a location with spaces in the path, Deer Park may not be able to set itself as Default browser and may keep prompting at startup. The work around is to install into a path without spaces.
• GNOME integration does not work properly with Fedora Core 3. Users of Fedora Core 3 will need to download and install linc-1.0.3-3.1.i386.rpm. After installing the RPM, perform the following command in the directory you installed Deer Park into (you will need write permission):

  touch .autoreg

  The next time you start Deer Park, GNOME integration should be functional.

Web Page Rendering

• Deer Park is powered by the same Gecko layout engine as other Mozilla software. If you encounter a problem with a website that does not correctly display then it is usually a problem with Gecko, not Deer Park itself. Such problems should be reported through our feedback form.

The Configuration Console (accessed by entering “about:config” in the Location bar and pressing Enter) gives advanced/experienced users direct control over Deer Park’s preferences. This system is for use by people who know what they are doing only, by changing a value incorrectly you may damage or destroy your Deer Park installation! Look to Help sites for handy preferences to tweak to customize Deer Park further.[break]