I'm pleased to announce Browser Switchboard development release 3.3b2 for Diablo and Fremantle. Packages are now available in extras-devel and on the Garage download page.

Lots of user-visible changes, though the big one for Fremantle users is the change to how Browser Switchboard handles MicroB, which should improve reliability and, when MicroB is the default browser, eliminate any behavior differences from the case where Browser Switchboard isn't installed. I'd like some feedback related to this change, by the way -- see below.

Changes since 3.3b1:

• Only offer browsers that are actually installed in the config UI.
• [Fremantle] An overhaul of the MicroB launching process, which should greatly increase the robustness of Browser Switchboard with MicroB on Fremantle. When MicroB is selected as the default browser, the user experience should be identical to that when Browser Switchboard isn't installed; MicroB will still behave differently when another browser is selected as the default (though see below).
• Listen on the D-Bus system bus as well as the session bus, to accommodate applications (like some versions of Hermes and witter) which send link opening requests on the system bus. (Application developers: the system bus isn't for user programs, you should be using the session bus.)
• [Diablo] Continuous mode is now the default mode of operation.
• [Fremantle] Continuous mode is now forced on regardless of the setting of the config preference; this change is required to make sure applications can find us on the system bus.
• [Fremantle] Browser Switchboard is now started on startup; this change is required to make sure applications can find us on the system bus.
• [Fremantle] By default, MicroB is now prestarted on startup, and remains in memory even when no browser windows are open, if MicroB is the default browser. This behavior can be configured via a new autostart_microb preference (though I reserve the right to change this preference before 3.3 final).
• Update the package description to mention that there's a control panel applet in the package, to help out users who don't read documentation (and therefore won't find this thread). Thanks to Emanuele Cassioli for the suggestion.

For more information on the changes in this release, see the changelogs for the packages (Diablo, Fremantle); for excruciating detail, see the revision history in Git.

I've completed all the work I'd like to finish for 3.3 at this point, so if no problems come up, I expect to release 3.3 final late next week. I hope to get 3.3 for Fremantle through the extras-testing QA process and into Extras.

Before then, I'd like some feedback from Fremantle users, particularly those who use some browser other than MicroB as their default browser: would you rather have MicroB start faster when you do use it and behave more like it does when Browser Switchboard is not installed, or would you rather save memory by not having MicroB's browser process running when you're not using MicroB? Is the current feature which has all links opening in MicroB while MicroB is open useful to you? (We can make MicroB always behave as it does in this release when MicroB is the default browser, but that comes at the cost of keeping MicroB in memory all the time and losing the aforementioned feature.)

Also, if someone with an N900 has some time on their hands, I'd like to see the results of the following to verify that the packaging works correctly:

1. Uninstall Browser Switchboard, if it's currently installed on your device.
2. Reboot your device.
3. Install this release of Browser Switchboard (browser-switchboard 3.3~b2-1fremantle1).
4. From a shell, run the following:
   
   Code:

   $ ps -ef | grep browser

   (where $ is your prompt, not something you type) and provide the output.
5. Set the default browser to something other than MicroB and check to make sure links open as expected.
6. Reboot your device.
7. From a shell, run:
   
   Code:

   $ ps -ef | grep browser

   and provide the output.
8. Set the default browser to MicroB.
9. Reboot your device.
10. From a shell, run:
    
    Code:

    $ ps -ef | grep browser

    and provide the output.

Thanks very much!