Curl version 7 will bring a host of new features to the enterprise including even stronger security and performance, a new look & feel that is fully skinnable, embedded SQLite database, and the ability to install and run Curl applications right off your desktop - similar to Adobe AIR.  We released Curl version 7 beta 1 (code named Nitro) this spring at Web 2.0 Expo West and Yesterday we released beta 2 for Web 2.0 Expo East (which is this week).

Curl version 7, Beta 2 brings a number of improvements to the platform.

• All components are now fully skinnable - we didn't have 100% coverage in beta 1.   To get an idea of just how powerful skinning is in Curl (and how easy it can be) download and play around with the Curl Style Designer- it allows you to graphically change the look and feel of applications written in Curl. There is also a skinning API that is even more powerful than the Style Designer.

• Performance has been improved!  Curl already offers the fastest execution environment of any RIA platform (8 - 10 times faster than Flex 3) and now it?s even faster than it was before.  Our engineers increased speed by about 15% over beta 1, which might not sound like much but makes a big difference when dealing with processing intensive applications.

• We've added an API to control embedded pages - for example you now have control over embedded flash movies.  For those of you who don't know it, the Windows version of Curl includes an embedded browser so you can run web pages including Flash inside of a Curl application.

• You can now do Nitro development using the Curl CDE (Curl IDE for Eclipse) - the CDE has been available and in use for Curl 6 for a while, but now you can use it for Curl 7 beta 2 development as well.

Finally, in the Curl CDE Pro version includes encryption APIs for the SQLite database which will ship with Curl version 7.

We are really excited about Curl version 7 (i.e. Nitro) because it makes Curl that much more secure and performant than all the other RIA solutions. We are really setting the bar high in the RIA market and so far no one has come close to us.  With Curl version 7 you'll be able to run Curl applications in your browser or off of your desktop across Windows, Mac, and Linux using exactly the same code. The Curl Runtime Environment (RTE) is faster than ever and includes the SQLite database.  Curl applets (Curl applications that run in the browser window) and Curl applications (those applications you launch from your desktop and run in their own window) have access to a large and completely quarantined local area storage.

We are seriously kicking butt!