Beta 1 of Firefox 4 brought a whole new user interface, but only for Windows users. We hear that the second beta version is due to be released around July 22 (no fixed date is given yet) and is said to take care of Mac users.
Earlier this month, Mozilla released the first Firefox 4 Beta and it came with a new feature “tabs on top” which is enabled on Windows-based computers by default.
Now Beta 2 will bring the tabs on top feature to the Mac version of the application. If you are not familiar with this feature, it means the tabs in the browser are placed above the address bar and give a much better look.
However, this is not something new, and Mozilla seems to have borrowed this idea from Google Chrome and Opera who already use tabs on top feature.
This is what Alex Faaborg, Firefox user interface designer has to say: “Recently modern browsers have been transitioning to placing tabs on top, and that decision isn’t arbitrary, it isn’t about fashion. The change to placing tabs on top isn’t about one browser versus another browser; it’s about the evolution of the Web as a platform.”
It is not yet clear what other features Firefox 4 Beta 2 will bring with it, but the wait may not be long as the news of the new version’s release may be out in a week’s time, if rumors are to be believed.
Although, this seems to be a good move by Mozilla, it still remains to be seen how successful it will be and whether it will stick to it for the final version. Apple has already gone down this road with the Safari Beta 4, but decided to change it back when it was finally released.
Tags: Firefox 4, Firefox 4 Beta 2