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Firefox 4.0 beta 1 released, get it while it's hot!
If you've been using the bleeding-edge 3.7 alpha builds, you won't notice much difference -- but if you've been holding off, waiting for things to firm up a little, now's the time to hop on!
The most significant change (other than OMG SHINY WINDOWS 7 AERO UI!!!1) is the inclusion of a built-in Feedback tool. Right there, in the top right corner, you have immediate access to two buttons -- happy and sad. (Check out the happy feedback submission page, it's rather cute.) The Feedback feature also includes Mozilla's Test Pilot, the add-on that lets you take part in anonymous usage studies (like the one used in the Firefox heat map). You can opt out of the feedback system at any time, of course.
Anyway, rather than repeating every new feature in 4.0 beta 1, just check the Mozilla blog instead. I'm now going to put Firefox 4.0 through its paces and see if it benchmarks faster than 3.7!
Comments
18
Subscribe to commentsAndroid underlingJul 6th 2010 7:25PM
Awesome stuff. However, the new UI "shiny" just yet. Its still needs a ton of work, as there are very obvious flaws with it (things don't align right). Basically it hasn't changed from the 3.7 builds, and thats alright, its just a beta.
Other then that, I am liking what I see! It runs very smoothly and its very fast.
Android underlingJul 6th 2010 7:25PM
UI *isn't* shiny yet.
JonJul 6th 2010 7:55PM
Wonder what is the diff between this and my bleeding edge 4.0b2pre been rocking for a few weeks (Prob Nothing) .. Only thing that upsets me is Amazon Deals of the day wont show up on the side bar since about a month ago .. booo
Sebastian AnthonyJul 7th 2010 6:36AM
Ya, I noticed there was two builds -- I wonder why the b1 was used (it's about a week old), as opposed to the b2...
I expect we'll see quite a few releases over the next few days/weeks.
the pl4gueJul 6th 2010 9:58PM
I like how every fucking browser maker is copying Google's design of no title bar.
Android underlingJul 6th 2010 11:14PM
Its only an option in firefox, tabs on bottom is still an option. Also, why not implement a good design? Are you mad because firefox decided to get rid of something pointless? Who cares who did it first.
striegsJul 6th 2010 11:25PM
I'm absolutely livid that every browser stole Opera's "tabbed browsing" idea.
Sebastian AnthonyJul 7th 2010 6:35AM
I frakkin' hate how every application has stolen Windows' 'GUI' idea!
SugarDaddyJul 7th 2010 8:21AM
@Sebastian: the GUI was actually invented by Xerox.
octoberasianJul 7th 2010 1:43AM
It's weird but Firefox 4 Beta is faster/smoother than Firefox 3.6.7.
The constant problem I've had with 3.6.7 is that Firefox seems to constantly and I mean CONSTANTLY access my hard drive as if it's continuously writing to the disc. And, when it does that, it slows the entire browser down. I've been trying to figure out what caused it since Firefox 3 came out. On top of which, FF3 keeps going above 512 MB, and even 2 GB of RAM with only a few tabs open.
FF4 is so much stable, and has a few quirks but it's faster and doesn't pause the mouse cursor or pause the entire browser intermittently while I type something like on a forum or in a blog reply.
AemonyJul 7th 2010 6:05AM
LMAO! Just installed and started Firefox 4 up, and look at what I got! http://grab.by/5iWp
That has got to be the most screwed up interface I've ever gotten with a beta. Turns out Firefox 4 doesn't disable the add-ons I use in Firefox 3.6, so Strata40 pretty much messed up everything.
Sebastian AnthonyJul 7th 2010 6:33AM
Hahaha. I hope it wasn't too hard to fix up :P
JonJul 7th 2010 7:57AM
Its easy to fix .. i had that with my minefield build .. just right click on the tab bar and add the other toobars .. really easy
mouldy_joeJul 7th 2010 7:40AM
after downloading and installing the new firefox, I'm somehow wondering why I have been looking forward to ff4 at all?
where are all the new features which justify a development time of several months (maybe years)?
Still no sign of the mighty taskfox (and ubiquity doesn't work anymore either), no revolutionary hometab, no account manager and now 'app-tabs' either.
out-of-process plugins were already implemented in version 3.6. so that's not really new.
so this is the epic and awe-inspiring new firefox 4? tabs on top and a bit of html5? I actually thought this would be a major update...
Daniel BloisJul 7th 2010 8:03AM
http://blog.mozilla.com/blog/2010/07/06/firefox-4-beta-1-tell-us-what-you-think/
and this is just the first beta, so there will be more features.
DanielJul 7th 2010 8:03AM
Just wondered if anyone else is experiencing this: With FF maximized, the mouse no longer prompts the taskbar to appear (Win 7 Pro)? Win-key still works, but I'm so used to just using the mouse to do it.
david_sJul 7th 2010 8:57AM
Why does every opened tab appears as a new opened window in the taskbar ? thats really a downer for me.
MaxJul 7th 2010 1:03PM
What makes in unusable for me, on OSX, is the annoying second FF icon that appears in the dock when you go to a page that uses a plugin (like Flash). This was marked as a known issue, and it's Bug 557225, but it's a real showstopper IMHO.