SeaMonkey 2 Beta 1 combines web browser, email, IRC, more

Once upon a time, before there was a Firefox web browser or Thunderbird email client, there was the Mozilla Suite which packed a browser, email app, and other internet utilities into one tidy package. While the primary development at Mozilla is now focused on Firefox and Thunderbird, there is still an all-in-one internet application from Mozilla, and it's called SeaMonkey. And yesterday, the SeaMonkey team released the first beta version of SeaMonkey 2.0.

SeaMonkey 2.0 Beta 1 features the same browser core as Firefox 3.5.1, which means that it can render pretty much any web page that Firefox can. It has the same rendering engine, Javascript engine, and add-on capabilities. But it does have more of an old fashioned looking default theme.

In addition to the web browser, SeaMonkey has an integrated email application, Usenet newsgroup reader, IRC client, and HTML editor.

The application also features a number of updates since SeaMonkey 2.0 Alpha 3, including:

• A new download managr with resumable downloads
• Localized packages in 15 languages
• Feed previews in the browser
• Mail archiving support
• New preference options

This probably goes without saying, but like Firefox, SeaMonkey can be a bit of a resource hog, especially if you have several browser tabs open while you're checking your email and performing other tasks. But if you're looking for a single application that can meet many of your internet needs, SeaMonkey might be worth checking out.

Tags: mozilla-suite, opensource, seamonkey, seamonkey-2.0-beta-1