Avant Force Blog Posts Tagged ‘Avant Browser’

The long awaited release of the next version of Avant Browser has arrived. Avant Browser 11.8 Alpha 2 is ready for testing. Please put it through its paces so we can find and fix all the bugs. Post on the forum anything that doesn’t quite work right.
Alpha 2 Changes:

• Creating new tabs action was tardy.
• The default zoom size was displayed as 0%
• New created pages didn’t follow the zoom size reset
• Being unable to type URL into the address bar if creating a new tab with CTRL + N
• Annoying ActiveX error often popped up when Disable ActiveX option checked
• Sometime Tab may bring itself to the front
• Being unable to edit proxy lists
• Tardy Auto-Complete response for the Address Bar
• Back / Forward buttons on Logitech Mouse didn’t work
• Open Picture in New Tab button didn’t work
• Variable tab width.(Tab Bar right-click menu->Tab Options->Fixed Tab Width added)

Initial changes from v11.7 in Alpha 1: New Features: Brand new back-end to help with stability and reliability in the operation of Avant.

• Multi-Process system: Avant will stay intact whether a tab crashes or not.
• Better CPU/Memory usage. Releases memory thoroughly to fix most leaks
• New Paste & go, Paste & submit, and Paste & Search, right click options for the Address bar
• Private Mode: When you open a private session no history, temp files, or cookies are saved during the session.
• Backup/Restore Profile interface: Allows you to backup and restore your profile. Your profile includes bookmarks and interface settings, such as the position of your buttons/toolbars, etc
• New Tab-Wrap button: As more tabs are opened you can either have them all on one row or click this button and it will start wrapping to more than one row of tabs.
• Rendering mode: You can now choose between IE7,IE8, and IE8 Forced mode without the IE version switcher
• Save Selected Region to Clipboard
• Ascend or descend sorting Quick search and URL Alias
• Clear Website icons
• Copy all URLs from a Bookmark folder
• New right click options: Block All images from the Same Server, Copy Picture Link, Open Picture in New Tab, Open in New Avant Browser[Private Mode]

Fixes:
• Being unable to start a new line to edit the script of an addon
• Only displaying favicons in site’s root directory
• Values are too short to read in View/Edit Autofill window when variables are too long
• Sometimes exported bookmarks are miscoded

First off, you should all know that a development cycle is conducted to produce a stable, bug free, final release. Like all software, it is better to take the time to get a release the best that it can be instead of rushing it out causing problems for users. We know you have been waiting for a very long time for this release and we really appreciate your patience. As with any project, this one has had its share of delays but the team developing this next version of Avant Browser is taking the time to get it right. We regret these delays but they were necessary and we hope you will like what is coming.

Since January 09, when the next version, codenamed “Avant 12“, was originally announced, there has been a lot of work done to completely overhaul Avant from the ground up. Everything you know and love about Avant will remain however it will look and feel much better. The biggest change you will notice is a completely revamped interface with a whole new skinning system. It will still use the Trident rendering engine from the currently installed version of Internet Explorer. But also a lot of things had to be done to fix the source of the problems plaguing the current release, Avant Browser 11.x, and that is the kernel(core) of Avant, it handles the internal workings such as memory usage, stability, and operation.

Final plans are still being decided upon but due to how long it has taken to develop Avant 12, the project may be broken up into two releases. How they will be broken up and when these releases are coming out are not known right now.

As some of you may have heard the EU’s European Commision has forced Microsoft to include a ballot screen on all Windows computers running either Windows XP, Vista, or 7, you will get it through an update on Windows Update. This ballot screen is a solution to complaints other browser makers have made claiming that it is unfair that Internet Explorer has the advantage of coming with the Operating System and is the first browser a user sees when they turn on their new computer.  Avant Browser has been selected as one of the 12 most popular browsers that will be included on this ballot screen for download. The ballot screen will only be available in 30 countries within the European Economic Area.

Excerpts from the Seattle PI’s Blog:

The European Union dropped antitrust charges against Microsoft on Wednesday after the software company agreed to give users a choice of Web browsers. But will that really change anything for Microsoft?

Under the settlement, Microsoft will give European users of its Windows operating system a ballot screen for choosing their preferred browser. Microsoft also will give computer manufacturers the ability to turn off access to Internet Explorer and set any browser as default.

Twelve browsers will be featured on the ballot screen: IE, Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, AOL, Maxthon, K-Meleon, Flock, Avant Browser, Sleipnir and Slim Browser. However, only the top five – IE, Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Opera – will be prominently displayed.

Starting in March, Microsoft will deliver the ballot screen via Windows Update for users of Windows XP, Vista and 7 in 30 European countries. It’s estimated that more than 100 million computers will pop up the browser ballot, with 30 million more expected over the next five years.

Here’s a look at the first and second page of the ballot screen:

http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/library/20091216mockup.jpg

Source: Seattle PI

• Fixed a problem which kept the default home page and search engine from getting changed under Russian interface