Firefox 4.0 Beta 1: What's In It for the Regular Windows User
Great news for all the Firefox fans out there: the Mozilla Foundation has finally released the first Beta version of Firefox 4.0. The application is available for download for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux-powered machines. For now Firefox 4.0 Beta 1 does not provide extensive language support; it provides support for just one language – English.
If you can’t wait to get your hands on Firefox 4.0 Beta 1, then click here to download the browser. Be warned that the regular Beta warnings apply: the browser may crash, it may not function properly, it may “eat your data and burn your house down” as Mozilla Evangelist Christopher Blizzard jokingly said once.
Before you rush off to get Firefox 4.0 Beta 1, perhaps you would like to know what the new browser has to offer to the regular Windows user. If you do, here’s the lowdown:
- The tabs’ default position has been changed; tabs are now at the top. As Firefox Director Mike Beltzner explained, this change has been implemented “to make it easier to focus on the web content and easier to control the tools in your Web browser”. This change is not visible in the Mac OS X or Linux version.
- The Menu bar has been replaced with the Firefox button. This change is visible in Vista and Windows 7.
- The user can search for and switch to open tabs from the Awesome Bar.
- There is just one button for Stop and Reload.
- A bookmarks Button now replaces the Bookmarks Toolbar.
- Crash Protection: Even if the Adobe Flash, Apple QuickTime or Microsoft Silverlight plugin crashes, the Firefox browser will not crash. The browser will not be affected even when if one of those plugins crashes or freezes.
- For now the Add-ons Manager doesn’t look that great, but Mozilla said it will change its UI in the final version of Firefox 4.0.
- Test Pilot Integration .
- Improved responsiveness at start-up and during page loads.
Again, if you would like to get Firefox 4.0 Beta 1, click here to download the browser.
Update July 8th : If you want to see what Firefox 4.0 Beta 1 has to offer to the developer, click here .
If you can’t wait to get your hands on Firefox 4.0 Beta 1, then click here to download the browser. Be warned that the regular Beta warnings apply: the browser may crash, it may not function properly, it may “eat your data and burn your house down” as Mozilla Evangelist Christopher Blizzard jokingly said once.
Before you rush off to get Firefox 4.0 Beta 1, perhaps you would like to know what the new browser has to offer to the regular Windows user. If you do, here’s the lowdown:
- The tabs’ default position has been changed; tabs are now at the top. As Firefox Director Mike Beltzner explained, this change has been implemented “to make it easier to focus on the web content and easier to control the tools in your Web browser”. This change is not visible in the Mac OS X or Linux version.
- The Menu bar has been replaced with the Firefox button. This change is visible in Vista and Windows 7.
- The user can search for and switch to open tabs from the Awesome Bar.
- There is just one button for Stop and Reload.
- A bookmarks Button now replaces the Bookmarks Toolbar.
- Crash Protection: Even if the Adobe Flash, Apple QuickTime or Microsoft Silverlight plugin crashes, the Firefox browser will not crash. The browser will not be affected even when if one of those plugins crashes or freezes.
- For now the Add-ons Manager doesn’t look that great, but Mozilla said it will change its UI in the final version of Firefox 4.0.
- Test Pilot Integration .
- Improved responsiveness at start-up and during page loads.
Again, if you would like to get Firefox 4.0 Beta 1, click here to download the browser.
Update July 8th : If you want to see what Firefox 4.0 Beta 1 has to offer to the developer, click here .
