Windows and now Mac OS X only: The beta NY Times reader application which Adam gave the full screenshot walk-through treatment is now available for your Mac. The application definitely provides a better reading experience than the web site only; there are fewer ads, more ways to customise the page's layout (headlines only, headlines with excerpts, different photo sizes), and it helpfully grays out articles you've already read. (Click the image to see a full-size screenshot, where the American Idol article I read is grayed out.) The NY Times beta reader is a free download, and it requires (ugh) Silverlight to run on your Mac, as well as login details to NYTimes.com (free registration).

Now that Mozilla's locked down Firefox 3's final feature set with Friday's push of release candidate 1, it's official: while Firefox 3 boasts some great new features like a smart address bar and better bookmarks manager, the best reason to upgrade will be for the performance improvements. Firefox 3 is noticeably faster and more stable than Firefox 2 to the casual user and Mozilla engineers have numbers that show it will be the fastest browser on the market. Tech site TechWeb reports:

Mozilla VP of engineering Mike Schroepfer claims that Firefox 3 is 9.3x faster than Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 and 2.7x faster than Firefox 2 in terms of JavaScript performance. In terms of Gmail message load time, he claims Firefox 3 is 6.8x faster than IE7 and 3.8x faster than Firefox 2. And he says Firefox 3 beats Apple's Safari, which is also faster than Firefox 2.

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Mozilla pushed out the first release candidate of Firefox 3 early this evening, so if you're already field testing Firefox 3, now's the time to go to Help -> Check for Updates to download the latest and greatest build. If you're wondering what to expect, check out the RC1 release notes. Looks like we're getting close! Thanks Owen!

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Windows only: Adam already walked you through how to download music from your friends' iTunes libraries over the internet using Mojo on the Mac, and now Windows users can get in on the fun. Install the Mojo 2.0 beta for Windows, set up an account, and swap Mojo usernames with your friends to populate your buddy list. From there you can browse their playlists, search their libraries, play and download any songs to your computer. The Mojo Windows beta is a free download; upgrade to Mojo Pro to get an unlimited buddy list. Thanks Matt and Jack!

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A steady stream of preview releases have kept our typing fingers especially busy covering the beta beat the last several weeks. From Mac virtualization software to Microsoft Office add-ons to iTunes sharing apps, there are lots of new features for eager testers to preview and try out. Beyond the most obvious best public preview out there right now—Firefox 3—which beta has your heart? Cast your vote, after the jump. Photo by arriba.

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The busy folks working on XBMC for OS X just dropped beta 2, which fixes several bugs I listed in yesterday's feature story, XBMC Turns Your Mac into the Ultimate Media Center. Most notably, scripts and live weather forecasts now work.

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Google launches a new beta version of Google Reader for the iPhone today. Navigate your folders and subscriptions in a single column, mobile-friendly view with promising load times, even over a slow connection. Visit google.com/reader/i/ to check it out on your handset or in your browser. [via]

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Yahoo's testing out a new kind of search page layout: when you search for broad-reaching terms (like Einstein, and happily, Lifehacker), you may arrive on their beta "Glue Page," which groups web page results, images, Wikipedia, news, blogs, and video clips into separate areas on the page. See it for yourself.

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Windows/Mac/Linux (all platforms): OpenOffice.org, the free office application suite, has released a beta of its 3.0 version to the public with a few key features rolled in. The biggest update is native support for Mac OS X platforms, meaning no need to install X11 packages on older Macs or switch to NeoOffice for a smoother experience (although NeoOffice plans to release a 3.0 of its own, so stay tuned). OpenOffice also adds built-in conversion filters for Office 2007/Mac Office 2008 files, a new "solver" function for spreadsheets, enhanced notes and viewing options in Writer, and other enticements for those willing to risk a few bugs. OpenOffice.org 3.0 beta is a free download for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux systems.

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Mac OS X only: VMware's brand new beta 1 of Fusion 2.0, virtualisation software for Mac OS X, promises to make you feel like you're running Windows or Linux natively from your Mac desktop. From multiple monitor support, 3-D graphics support for games, smoother USB device detection, folder sharing, and printing, Fusion 2.0 is a tempting piece of software already, even in only as a first beta. Problem is, if you already use Fusion, the beta will replace your existing installation. To spare you possible bugginess on your desktop, have a look at some screenshots of Fusion 2.0 in action on my Mac.

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