In a note to fellow developers, Mozilla team member Damon has declared the end of February as the target ship-date for Firefox version 4.0.0. The post reads:

Over the past several days, component leads have again reduced their blockers by identifying hard blockers and those we can live without.  We’ve around 160 hard blockers remaining, and historically it has taken us six weeks to reach RC once we have 100 blockers left.  We must press hard now.

Damon goes on to write that the first release candidate of Firefox 4 should be out by the beginning of February with a final version shipped before the month’s close. Anyone out there anxiously awaiting the release of FF4?

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Microsoft confirmed on Friday the rumored May release of Windows 7 RC1. The release candidate version of Microsoft’s upcoming OS will be available on April 30th to MSDN and TechNet subscribers, with a broader public availability slated for May 5th. RC1 adds several new features to Windows 7 including remote media streaming, Windows XP mode and some slick new eye candy. Also the remote media streaming, if it works as well as promised, might just give services like Orb a run for their money. Associate your Windows Media player library with your Windows Live ID and you can stream your media across the Internet from any remote PC. Sweet! Before you get too excited, this is Microsoft we’re talking about so both computers must be running the same version of Windows Media player. This cool new feature will not work from Mac or Linux machines, so take note if your personal arsenal of computers includes any.

Windows 7 will also include a new XP Mode meant to assist businesses as they transition from Windows XP to Windows 7. XP Mode will utilize Windows Virtual PC to provide a full-fledged Windows XP virtual environment which, theoretically, will allow users to run all those legacy Windows XP applications without issue. Last but not least, Windows 7 RC1 will see some eye candy in the form of stunning background graphics. Microsoft has been slowly adding new background images throughout the development process and now the public will get its first look at Microsoft’s sense of style. All you folks still running Windows XP with its default green rolling hills background might just be pleasantly surprised.

[Via Giz]

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Microsoft’s Engineering Windows 7 Blog posted details on some of the new features users will see in the release candidate version of Windows 7. One of the more interesting notes is the expansion of the “Windows Features” control panel, which allows users to enable or disable certain functionality within Windows 7. Along with the typical applications listed in Vista and Windows 7 Beta version, the list has been expanded to include the following applications:

• Windows Media Player
• Windows Media Center
• Windows DVD Maker
• Internet Explorer 8
• Windows Search
• Handwriting Recognition (through the Tablet PC Components option)
• Windows Gadget Platform
• Fax and Scan
• XPS Viewer and Services (including the Virtual Print Driver)

No, you did not misread the list. Microsoft is indeed allowing its users to disable Internet Explorer 8 along with Windows Media Player, Windows Search, Windows Media Center and more. Microsoft does clarify that “disabling” does not equate with “removal” — the application’s components will remain an integral part of the operating system and can not be removed. This is not the complete removal option many have been waiting for Microsoft to implement but it is, nonetheless, a step in the right direction.

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