The Windows Developer Preview is a pre-beta version of Windows 8 for developers. It may not be stable, operate correctly or work the way the final version of the software will. The features and functionality in the prerelease software may not appear in the final version.

Windows Developer Preview with developer tools English, 64-bit (x64)

DOWNLOAD (4.8 GB)

Sha 1 hash – 6FE9352FB59F6D0789AF35D1001BD4E4E81E42AF

All of the following come on a disk image file (.iso), you can burn it to a DVD using a DVD Burn software.

64-bit Windows Developer Preview

• Windows SDK for Metro style apps
• Microsoft Visual Studio 11 Express for Windows Developer Preview
• Microsoft Expression Blend 5 Developer Preview
• 28 Metro style apps including the BUILD Conference app

Windows Developer Preview English, 64-bit (x64)

DOWNLOAD (3.6 GB)

Sha 1 hash – 79DBF235FD49F5C1C8F8C04E24BDE6E1D04DA1E9

Includes a disk image file (.iso) to install the Windows Developer Preview and Metro style apps on a 64-bit PC.

Windows Developer Preview English, 32-bit (x86)

DOWNLOAD (2.8 GB)

Sha 1 hash – 4E0698BBABE01ED27582C9FC16AD21C4422913CC

Includes a disk image file (.iso) to install the Windows Developer Preview and Metro style apps on a 32-bit PC.

System Requirements

Windows Developer Preview works great on the same hardware that powers Windows Vista and Windows 7:

• 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
• 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
• Taking advantage of touch input requires a screen that supports multi-touch

The official release date of Mozilla Firefox 5 is on June 21, but the Mozilla has posted final builds for Firefox 5.

Firefox 5 has no major changes in the user interface. Main changes are

• Added support for CSS animations
• The Do-Not-Track header preference has been moved to increase discoverability
• Improved canvas, JavaScript, memory, and networking performance
• Improved standards support for HTML5, XHR, MathML, SMIL, and canvas
• Improved spell checking for some locales
• Improved desktop environment integration for Linux users
• WebGL content can no longer load cross-domain textures
• Background tabs have setTimeout and setInterval clamped to 1000ms to improve performance
• The Firefox development channel switcher introduced in previous Firefox Beta updateshas been removed

You can download the latest build from

• Windows (32-bit)
• Linux (32-bit) or Linux (64-bit)
• Mac OS X

I have downloaded it from http://napoleon.acc.umu.se/pub/mozilla.org/

Download Paths

• Download Windows – US English or for other languages - http://napoleon.acc.umu.se/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/4.0/win32/
• Download Mac Version – US English or for other languages http://napoleon.acc.umu.se/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/4.0/mac/
• Download Linux Version – US English or for other languages http://napoleon.acc.umu.se/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/4.0/linux-x86_64

Main Features of Firefox 4

• Firefox 4 includes an updated interface for all platforms that’s sleeker and easier to use.
• Firefox 4 contains huge performance enhancements, including our brand new JägerMonkey JavaScript engine. From faster start up times and graphics rendering to improved page load speed, you’ll notice the difference instantly.
• WebM and HD Video : As pioneers of HTML5 video standards, Firefox also supports the WebM format so you can watch open HD quality video.
• Protecting Your Privacy : Firefox puts your privacy first, fixing flaws in some web standards that allow bad guys to snoop around and expose your browser history.
• New JS values: Changes to the C++ representation of JavaScript values allow Firefox to execute heavy, numeric code more efficiently, resulting in cleaner graphics and a better browsing experience.
• Multi-touch Support: Firefox now integrates multi-touch support for Windows 7, enabling you to interact with your browser in a whole new way.
• 3D on the Web: WebGL brings 3D graphics to Firefox, opening the door for developers to create vivid games and new kinds of visualizations and experiences for the Web.
• Audio API: Firefox is changing the way media is integrated on the web: exposing the raw audio data housed within the <video> and <audio> elements in HTML5 makes it easy for developers to use JS to read and write audio data.
• Retained layers: Experience super fast scrolling on complex web pages. Simply awesome.
• XPCOM: Firefox starts up even faster thanks to XPCOM module improvements that pave the way to a better extensions framework.
• Styling Pages with CSS3: Support for new CSS3 features like Transitions and Transformations makes it easy to add elegant animations to Web pages. Learn more
• Fabulous Fonts: Firefox 4’s OpenType font features gives designers and developers more control over a variety of font features—like kerning or ligatures—to create gorgeous websites.
• Upgrading Forms: Firefox integrated Form features like list attributes and HTML5 validation provide the tools to make annoying form implementation development a thing of the past.
• HTML5 Support: A new HTML5 parser and full support for web video, audio, drag & drop, and file handling means Firefox 4 is ready to run the best web apps of both today and tomorrow.
• Web Console: With this experimental analysis tool for modern sites, Firefox allows you to peek under the hood of dynamic web pages.
• JetPack SDK (Making Add-on Development Easier): Add-ons can be installed without restarting the browser, and can be developed more easily using the new JetPack SDK and js-ctypes
• Full Hardware Acceleration: Experience super-fast graphics acceleration with Direct2D and Direct3D on Windows, XRender on Linux and OpenGL on Mac, now enabled by default, on all supported hardware.
• SVG as Images: SVG files can now be used as images and backgrounds in Firefox, meaning that developers and designers can have stunning, performance-conscious websites with lighter, resolution-independent image files.
• Compartments: Firefox can now better manage JavaScript objects with Compartments, offering improved cache utilization and garbage collection mechanisms for better security, memory management and overall performance.
• Crash Protection: Firefox provides uninterrupted browsing for Windows, Linux, and now Mac when there is a crash in the Adobe Flash, Apple Quicktime or Microsoft Silverlight plugins. If one of these commonly-used plugins crashes or freezes, it won’t affect the rest of Firefox. Instead, you can simply reload the page to restart the plugin and try again. Learn more about plugins.
• HSTS: Sites can now keep attackers from intercepting sensitive data while accessing the site by telling Firefox to automatically establish secure connections to their servers (https).

Additional highlights include Maven 3 and HTML5 editing support; a new GridBagLayout designer for improved Swing GUI development; enhanced support for executing and debugging standalone Java EE applications; and enhancements to the Java editor.

Release Highlights include:

• JDK 7
  • Project Coin support
  • Editor enhancements: Code completion, hints
• WebLogic Server
  • Streamlined and faster deployment to WebLogic
  • New server runtime node displaying deployed applications and resources
  • JSF integration with server libraries
• Oracle Database
  • Simplified connection wizard
  • Guided installation to JDBC driver
  • Editing and deployment of stored procedures
• GlassFish
  • GlassFish 3.1 support
  • Domain restart and log viewer for remote GlassFish
  • Enable and disable deployed applications
• Java
  • Maven 3 support
  • JUnit 4.8.2 integration and various JUnit improvements
  • Remote HTTP URLs supported for Javadoc in libraries and Java platforms
  • New improved visual customizer for GridBagLayout
• Java EE
  • Improved support for CDI, REST services and Java Persistence
  • New support for Bean Validation
  • Support for JSF component libraries, including bundled PrimeFaces library
  • Improved editing for Expression Language in JSF, including code completion, refactoring and hints
• Web Languages
  • HTML5 editing support
  • JSON formatter
• PHP
  • Generate PhpDoc
  • Rename refactoring, Safe Delete Refactoring
  • PHP 5.3 – Support for aliases
• C/C++
  • Easy import of project from user’s existing binary
  • New Project type when user’s source files are located remotely
• NetBeans Platform
  • Annotations for generating Action registrations in the layer
  • Performance enhancements & tight integration with Profiler
  • Additional NetBeans API changes

NetBeans IDE 7.0 Beta is available in English, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese, as well as in several community-translated languages. Visit the NetBeans IDE 7.0 New and Noteworthy page for additional information and development updates.

The final release of NetBeans IDE 7.0 is planned for March 2011.

Download beta from :- http://download.netbeans.org/netbeans/7.0/beta/

It is based on the Gecko 1.9.1 rendering platform((Gecko is the second most-popular layout engine on the World Wide Web Written in    C++,currently developed by Mozilla Corporation)). Firefox 3.5 offers many changes over the previous version, supporting new web technologies, performance improvements and user interface.

Features includes:

• Available in 70 languages.
• Improved tools for controlling your private data, including a Private Browsing Mode.
• Better performance and stability with the new TraceMonkey JavaScript engine.
• The ability to provide Location Aware Browsing using web standards for geolocation.
• Support for native JSON, and web worker threads.
• Improvements to the Gecko layout engine, including speculative parsing for faster content rendering.
• Support for the HTML 5 audio and video elements.
• Supports HTML5 offline data storage for applications, and SVG transforms.
• The HTML 5 drag and drop API allows support for dragging and dropping items within and between web sites.
• Downloadable fonts support
• HTML 5 text API for canvas elements

Itz still beta and have many bugs. If you are ready to help them, download it and report the bugs .

User experience

• Easier password management. An information bar at the top of the browser window now appears to allow you to save passwords after a successful login.
• Simplified add-on installation. You can now install extensions from third-party download sites in fewer clicks, thanks to the removal of the add-on download site whitelist.
• New Download Manager. The download manager makes it easier to locate your downloaded files.
• Resumable downloads. You can now resume downloads after restarting the browser or resetting your network connection.
• Full page zoom. From the View menu and using keyboard shortcuts, you can now zoom in and out on the content of entire pages — this scales not just the text but the layout and images as well.
• Tab scrolling and quickmenu. Tabs are easier to locate with the new tab scrolling and tab quickmenu features.
• Save what you were doing. Firefox 3 prompts you to see if you’d like to save your current tabs when you exit Firefox.
• Optimized Open in Tabs behavior. Opening a folder of bookmarks in tabs now appends the new tabs instead of replacing the existing ones.
• Easier to resize location and search bars. You can now easily resize the location and search bars using a simple resize handle between them.
• Text selection improvements. You can now select multiple ranges of text using the Control (Command on Macintosh) key. Double-clicking and dragging now selects in “word-by-word” mode. Triple-clicking selects an entire paragraph.
• Find toolbar. The Find toolbar now opens with the current selection.
• Plugin management. Users can now disable individual plugins in the Add-on Manager.
• Integration with Windows Vista. Firefox’s menus now display using Vista’s native theme.
• Integration with Mac OS X. Firefox now supports Growl for notifications of completed downloads and available updates.
• Star button. The new star button in the location bar lets you quickly add a new bookmark with a single click. A second click lets you file and tag your new bookmark.
• Tags. You can now associate keywords with your bookmarks to easily sort them by topic.
• Location bar and auto-complete. Type the title or tag of a page in the location bar to quickly find the site you were looking for in your history and bookmarks. Favicons, bookmark, and tag indicators help you see where the results are coming from.
• Smart Bookmarks folder. Firefox’s new Smart Bookmarks folder offers quick access to your recently bookmarked and tagged places, as well as pages you visit frequently.
• Bookmarks and History Organizer. The new unified bookmarks and history organizer lets you easily search your history and bookmarks with multiple views and smart folders for saving your frequent searches.
• Web-based protocol handlers. Web applications, such as your favorite web mail provider, can now be used instead of desktop applications for handling mailto: links from other sites. Similar support is provided for other protocols as well. (Note that web applications do have to register themselves with Firefox before this will work.)
• Easy to use Download Actions. A new Applications preferences pane provides an improved user interface for configuring handlers for various file types and protocol schemes.
• Improved look and feel. Graphics and font handling have been improved to make web sites look better on your screen, including sharper text rendering and better support for fonts with ligatures and complex scripts. In addition, Mac and Linux (Gnome) users will find that Firefox feels more like a native application for their platform than ever, with a new, native, look and feel.
• Color management support. By setting the gfx.color_management.enabled preference in [about:config], you can ask Firefox to use the color profiles embedded in images to adjust the colors to match your computer’s display.
• Offline support. Web applications can take advantage of new features to support being used even when you don’t have an Internet connection.

Security and privacy

• One-click site information. Want to know more about the site you’re visiting? Click the site’s icon in the location bar to see who owns it. Identify information is prominently displayed and easier than ever to understand.
• Malware protection. Firefox 3 warns you if you arrive at a web site that is known to install viruses, spyware, trojans, or other dangerous software (known as malware). You can see what the warning looks like by clicking here.
• Web forgery protection enhanced. Now when you visit a page that’s suspected of being a forgery, you’re shown a special page instead of the contents of the page with a warning. Click here to see what it looks like.
• Easier to understand SSL errors. The errors presented when an invalid SSL certificate is encountered have been clarified to make it easier to understand what the problem is.
• Out-of-date add-on protection. Firefox 3 now automatically checks add-on and plugin versions and disables older, insecure versions.
• Secure add-on updates. Add-on update security has been improved by disallowing add-ons that use an insecure update mechanism.
• Anti-virus integration. Firefox 3 now informs anti-virus software when executable files are downloaded.
• Windows Vista parental controls support. Firefox 3 supports the Vista system-wide parental control setting for disabling file downloads.

Performance

• Reliability. Firefox 3 now stores bookmarks, history, cookies, and preferences in a transactionally secure database format. This means your data is protected against loss even if your system crashes.
• Speed. Firefox 3 has gotten a performance boost by completely replacing the part of the software that handles drawing to your screen, as well as to how page layout work is handled.
• Memory use reduced. Firefox 3 is more memory efficient than ever, with over 300 memory “leak” bugs fixed and new features to help automatically locate and dispose of leaked memory blocks.

I installed FF3 in my Vista machine and itz really cool. I can feel the improved performance, especially the memory taken by firefox process. Some of the addsons are updated automatically, but some of them need manual updation.

DOWNLOAD FF3

What is Download Day?

Download Day is Mozilla’s attempt to set a world record for the most software downloads in 24 hours and will occur on Firefox 3 launch day.

When is Download Day?

Download Day will coincide with the general availability of Firefox 3. The clock will start ticking when Firefox 3 goes out the door! They don’t have a definitive date for Firefox 3 yet, but it should be in June.

How do I take part in the record?

It’s simple–just download Firefox 3 as soon as it is available, preferably from Download Day Headquarters. You’ll get a customized certificate by downloading from Headquarters.

How will I know it’s time to download Firefox 3?

Please provide your email address when pledging to download Firefox 3 and they’ll send you reminder emails and notify you of the exact date. Or, you can check back at Download Day Headquarters for an update or follow “mozillafirefox” on Twitter for status.

Yes, I pledged to get Firefox 3 during Download Day to set the Guinness World Record for Most Software Downloaded in 24 Hours.

Who can get this right now?

Currently t.hey are giving this to students from 11 countries.United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Germany, France, Finland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Belgium. If you are not residing in one of the countries listed keep checking they will add more countries soon.

What do I have to do to get this software?

• just select a product
• Sign In with your Windows Live ID.
• Get verified as a student.
• Download your products.

The following products are availabele now

• Expression Studio
• Sql Server 2005 Express
• Sql Server Developer Edition
• Virtual PC 2007
• Visual Basic 2005
• Visual C++ 2005
• Visual C# 2005
• Visual J# 2005
• Visual Studio 2008
• Visual Web Developer 2005
• Visual Studio 2005 Professional
• Windows Server 2003
• XNA Game Studio

Goto: https://downloads.channel8.msdn.com/

Adobe Reader for Windows XP/Vista 8.0.0
Adobe Reader is free software that enables business professionals and home users to reliably share information using intelligent PDF files. You can easily view, print, and search PDF files using a variety of platforms and devices. Download

Microsoft XML Notepad 2007 2.2
Microsoft XML Notepad 2007 provides a simple intuitive user interface for browsing and editing XML documents. Download

Windows Live Mail Desktop 8.0.1172 Beta
Windows Live Mail Desktop lets you get e-mail from multiple accounts in one place. It gives you speedy access to multiple e-mail accounts in one place (even AOL and Gmail). You have the ability to compose, delete, and organize e-mail even when you’re offline. Download

IrfanView 3.99
IrfanView is a fast, simple freeware image viewer and editor that supports all major graphic formats, including BMP, DIB, JPEG, GIF, animated GIF, PNG, PCX, multipage TIFF, TGA, and more. In addition, it features drag-and-drop support, directory viewing, TWAIN support, slide shows, batch conversion, and modifications such as color depth, crop, blur, and sharpen.The IrfanView PlugIns package offers additional file formats and effects for IrfanView. Download

Windows PowerShell for Windows XP (x86) 1.0
Windows PowerShell (formerly Monad) is a task-based command line shell and intuitive scripting language for system administration that provides comprehensive control and automation for Windows administrators. It makes administrators more productive by improving the manageability of the Windows operating system and applications that run on Windows. Exchange Server 2007 and System Center Operations Manager 2007 (Microsoft Operations Manager “V3”) will be built upon Windows PowerShell. Download

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 3.0.4506.30
Microsoft .NET Framework redistributable package installs the .NET Framework runtime and associated files required to run applications developed to target the .NET Framework.This is the next generation .NET Framework that will ship with Windows Vista. Download

The GIMP 2.3.12
The GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed piece of software suitable for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. Download