Opera appear to be hard at work on their desktop browser, with the release of Opera 11 Alpha for Windows, Mac, and Linux – which for the first time includes extensions support.

“The extensions framework is built on existing standards, with W3C Widgets and JavaScript as the basis. This means that if you can write a web application or widget you already have the skills you need to write extensions” writes Opera Developer Andreas Bovens.

Also new in this release is an increase in browsing speed, thanks to the updated Opera Presto engine. The browser also supports disabled plugins on page load, until the user clicks on them to become enabled, which can dramatically help with page loading speeds.

Opera 11 also includes a new mail panel which gives users greater control over how their mail items show up. Additional HTML5 support has also been added, including server sent events and websockets.

Willing testers can get a sneak peak at the next generation browser by heading over to the Opera Next website.

The release also includes a handful of bug fixes, increasing the browsers stability. A full list of changes can be read in the release notes.

Firefox 3.5.14 was also released fixing several of the same security flaws.

Current Firefox users will receive the update over the coming days, or alternatively can download the latest version of the browser from the Firefox website.

The new release, version 7.0.517.41, includes hundreds of bug fixes, an updated HTML5 parser, a new file API, and directory uploading via input tags.

Several security fixes are included in the release, one of which is rated as critical, with a further five rated as high. Full details on these fixes are available in the Google Chrome Releases Blog.

Current Chrome users will receive the release automatically, while new users can download the browser from the Google Chrome website.

Opera Mobile uses the presto layout engine, coupled with Opera’s Small Screen Rendering technology which dynamically reformats web pages for small screened devices.

There is no release date yet, but users can already download Opera Mini for Android today. Opera Mini is already installed on over 71 million hand held devices.

Below is a video demonstration of Opera Mobile which was shown over at TechCrunch.

Kovacs has plenty of experience, and will be a fresh face for Mozilla in the future.

Kovacs appointment comes as John Lilly steps down officially on November 5th, after a six month hunt.

The Mozilla Blog has posted a short video introducing Kovacs.

“The initial reaction has been pretty overwhelming, and we are very humbled by the response our customers have had.  In first two days, over 2 million people worldwide downloaded IE9 Beta” wrote Microsoft’s Roger Capriotti.

This compares with only 1.3 million downloads of IE8 Beta in 5 days back in August 2008.

Microsoft is very pleased with the response so far. “We are encouraged about the very early response to the IE9 release this past week, namely because it signals that the emphasis on making websites shine through Windows is resonating.”

Microsoft is yet to announce a release day for the final version of Internet Explorer 9.

The release comes just days after the previous release, and fixes three new security bugs. One is rated as critical with the other two are rated as high risk. Full details can be seen on the Google Chrome Releases blog.

Windows, Mac, and Linux Chrome users will receive the updating in the coming days.

The article explains the origins of the logo, and shows development throughout the life cycle of creating the now infamous browser logo.

The below picture really sums it up.

The full article can be read on the IEBlog.

The move brings complete 64-bit browsing one step closer, with 64-bit versions of Internet Explorer 9, Firefox, Safari, Opera and Chrome available on select platforms.

There are currently several known issues with the public preview:

• Video playback issues may appear on certain websites such as Hulu.com, Audi.co.uk, and nbc.com.
• Mouse interactivity in the Settings UI dialog does not work using Internet Explorer 9. Keyboard navigation works as expected. Please pardon our dust.
• Internet Explorer 9 is not yet final. As such, Adobe is continuing to work with Microsoft to resolve critical issues before the final release of Internet Explorer 9.
• This release will not receive automatic update notifications, and users will need to manually uninstall this preview before installing a standard shipping release of Flash Player

Adobe Flash Player “Square” 64-bit can be downloaded form the Adobe Labs.

The release fixes a single stability bug, which caused some users to crash. More details can be read in the release notes.

The update is available for Windows, Mac and Linux users, and Firefox 3.6.x users should receive the update in the coming days.

Firefox 3.5.13 was also released fixing the same bug.