New interface for Firefox 9 and beyond.

[lightningfox]

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/91652-mozilla-unveils-new-firefox-interface-for-firefox-9-and-beyond


Mozilla’s user experience (UX) team has unveiled a new and very different look for Firefox.

What do you think of it? I think its good.

[kaldor]

Apart from the icon choice, it looks really good. It's minimalistic like chrome, but quite sleek.

Edit: wait, how am I supposed to grab the window when I have lots of tabs open?

[BeRoot ReBoot]

9!?

When did they switch to exponential versioning? Will we see Firefox 957592774 by this time next month?

[BeRoot ReBoot]

Edit: wait, how am I supposed to grab the window when I have lots of tabs open?

The way you always did, with alt+click.

If you did it any other way, you were doing it wrong.

[Superkoop]

Looks nice, if it out-performs Chrome[ium], I may consider switching back to Firefox.

[lovinglinux]

Firefox 4, 5 & Beyond Mega Thread (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1712247&page=129)


Looks like we might see additional radical UI changes in future versions of Firefox.

Article:

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/91652-mozilla-unveils-new-firefox-interface-for-firefox-9-and-beyond

Mockup:

http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/firefox-new-ux-settings-menu-640x426.jpg

It seems a new Home Tab is also on the works:

Articles:

http://blog.mozilla.com/faaborg/2011/04/13/the-firefox-home-tab/

http://www.neowin.net/news/firefox-4-home-tab-design-challenge-winner-announced

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plNNQJ6pm70

Mockup:

http://neowin.net/images/uploaded/Firefox_conceptdesign1_287d022f-e854-4da6-b942-df39783a4b3f.jpg

[lovinglinux]

9!?

When did they switch to exponential versioning? Will we see Firefox 957592774 by this time next month?

Since Firefox 4. Is the new rapid release model. Firefox 6 beta4 will probably be released today, Firefox 7 and 8 are already on the works. See Firefox 4, 5 & Beyond Mega Thread (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1712247&page=129) for explanations and updates.

[3Miro]

Minimalistic approach is nice, but they are at the point where it gets hard to access features and hence functionality sharply drops. Alt+Click for example is not an option as it requires two hands, if I am casually browsing with the mouse and holding a beer in the other hand, then Alt+Click takes enormous effort. I don't see the Forward button either (only Back). Where do you grab to resize the window ...

Hopefully there would be themes that would fix those issues.

[wojox]

Where's the Linux screenshots?

[kaldor]

The way you always did, with alt+click.

If you did it any other way, you were doing it wrong.

:rolleyes:

[lovinglinux]

Where's the Linux screenshots?

No Linux as usual.

BTW, they are only mockups presented on an UI development meeting. I don't think there is anything set on stone yet.

[Tibuda]

If I wanted to use Chrome, I'd use Chrome.

[dh04000]

I'll go with my usual approach. I'll wait until it's actually in my hands before trying to judge it using only my eyes and my preconceived notions.

Scientist, how we roll.

[PapaGary]

Pretty cool!

http://mozillademos.org/demos/planetarium/demo.html

[jerenept]

No Linux as usual.

BTW, they are only mockups presented on an UI development meeting. I don't think there is anything set on stone yet.

Hmm... they used FlashGot in the mockup of the addon manager. Awesome!

[dniMretsaM]

Looks good to me! I have the close/minimize/maximize buttons next to the tabs already (I also have everything else up there as well), so that won't be much of a change. The new menus look pretty sweet.

[Pogeymanz]

Edit: wait, how am I supposed to grab the window when I have lots of tabs open?

I guess they expect people to grab near the min/max/close buttons.

[drawkcab]

barf.

switched to chrome on my netbook

[3rdalbum]

They will continue to simplify the Firefox interface after Firefox 9 as well. Here's a mockup they have for Firefox 10: Firefox 10 minimalistic mockup (http://www.java2s.com/Code/CSharp/GUI-Windows-Form/MyWebBrowser.htm)

[ranjank]

Looks like Chrome. Bad!

[tjeremiah]

Looks good to me! I have the close/minimize/maximize buttons next to the tabs already (I also have everything else up there as well), so that won't be much of a change. The new menus look pretty sweet.

how did you do that?

[jtarin]

The way you always did, with alt+click.

If you did it any other way, you were doing it wrong.NO!There you go assuming again.:p

[el_koraco]

how did you do that?

I'm interested as well.

[Linuxratty]

They will continue to simplify the Firefox interface after Firefox 9 as well. Here's a mockup they have for Firefox 10: Firefox 10 minimalistic mockup (http://www.java2s.com/Code/CSharp/GUI-Windows-Form/MyWebBrowser.htm)

Yup,that sums it up very well. Why are they doing this? Monitors are getting bigger so we really don't need browses to shrink down to nothing.

[forrestcupp]

Now where have I seen a browser that looks just like this? :-k


They will continue to simplify the Firefox interface after Firefox 9 as well. Here's a mockup they have for Firefox 10: Firefox 10 minimalistic mockup (http://www.java2s.com/Code/CSharp/GUI-Windows-Form/MyWebBrowser.htm)

Lol. That's great.

[dniMretsaM]

how did you do that?


I'm interested as well.

With the add-on Hide Caption Title Bar Plus. There are various guides around the Internet on how to do this with different OS's/UI's. It's probably the easiest with KDE since you don't have to mess around with Compiz. Check the attached image to see what it looks like on Kubuntu 11.04 and Firefox 5. Note that you can move the URL bar and add-on buttons without this add-on.

[unknownPoster]

Where's the Linux screenshots?

If you can tell me the standard Desktop Environment of Linux, you'll probably get your screenshots.

It's not surprise that developers don't showcase Linux UI design since it's disorganized and not standardized.

If they did release a Gnome, KDE, or Unity screenshot I guarantee that there would be an outcry asking for other DE screenshots.

[Thewhistlingwind]

If you can tell me the standard Desktop Environment of Linux, you'll probably get your screenshots.



X

/troll

Great, now we have two chromes. (Seeing how FF now focuses on performance.)

[dniMretsaM]

X

/troll

Great, now we have two chromes. (Seeing how FF now focuses on performance.)

Firefox is also focusing on stability. IMO, it's a program that shows a great balance between stability and performance (both of which are very good in the current version).

[akand074]

Cool

[tjeremiah]

With the add-on Hide Caption Title Bar Plus. There are various guides around the Internet on how to do this with different OS's/UI's. It's probably the easiest with KDE since you don't have to mess around with Compiz. Check the attached image to see what it looks like on Kubuntu 11.04 and Firefox 5. Note that you can move the URL bar and add-on buttons without this add-on.

thanks :). This is my final product:

[danbuter]

It seems all the Firefox UI devs really, really like Chrome. Maybe they should switch to that browser and leave Firefox alone.

[dniMretsaM]

thanks :). This is my final product:

No Problem. It looks nice. I have to find a theme for mine because the old one I had lost compatibility when I upgraded to FF5.


It seems all the Firefox UI devs really, really like Chrome. Maybe they should switch to that browser and leave Firefox alone.

That's just because Chrome's UI has more real estate. It's better and should be copied or at least the same general setup used. When it first comes out it will probably be a lot like Chrome, but it should deviate as time goes by. And FF is better than Chrome in many ways so why switch?

[neu5eeCh]

Meh. Looks like a rip-off of Chrome. The current iteration looks fine.

[nerdopolis]

I hope they keep the option to turn the menu bar back on...

[dniMretsaM]

I hope they keep the option to turn the menu bar back on...

If it's not there by default, you can be sure an add-on that enables this will be out soon after (maybe even before if the devs are on top of things) the public release.

[rajeev1204]

Can anyone tell me how to move a new ff window into a tab? Reverse of dragging a tab out and opening it in a new window?


thanks

[jtarin]

Can anyone tell me how to move a new ff window into a tab? Reverse of dragging a tab out and opening it in a new window?

Drag the tab in the new window back to the old tab bar.

[Inodoro Pereyra]

Sorry everybody for the hijack, but, how do I know which version of FF I'm running?:confused:

[jtarin]

Sorry everybody for the hijack, but, how do I know which version of FF I'm running?:confused:Firefox>Menu>Help>About Firefox

[tjeremiah]

Sorry everybody for the hijack, but, how do I know which version of FF I'm running?:confused:
In the firefox browser, in the drop down menu go to help, then select About Firefox. That will tell you what version you are using

EDIT - opps, already answered by someone else.

[Inodoro Pereyra]

Thank you both. :)

Seems I'm running 3.6.18.
That's me: always with the latest...:lolflag:

[rajeev1204]

Drag the tab in the new window back to the old tab bar.



eh thanks :)

[jtarin]

eh thanks :)
Your welcome!

[wojox]

If you can tell me the standard Desktop Environment of Linux, you'll probably get your screenshots.

It's not surprise that developers don't showcase Linux UI design since it's disorganized and not standardized.

If they did release a Gnome, KDE, or Unity screenshot I guarantee that there would be an outcry asking for other DE screenshots.

True you are. I never took that into consideration. :P

[lovinglinux]

Thank you both. :)

Seems I'm running 3.6.18.
That's me: always with the latest...:lolflag:

You should update, since there is already a 3.6.19.

[Inodoro Pereyra]

You should update, since there is already a 3.6.19.


I thought It updated automatically?:confused:

[jtarin]

You should update, since there is already a 3.6.19.
H-m-m, seems I'm running 5.0:P

[lovinglinux]

I thought It updated automatically?:confused:

Depends on how you configured your Update Manager. I prefer to trigger the update manually.

EDIT: I just checked and the repo still has 3.6.18

Anyway, get Firefox 5 (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1712247). It is a lot faster and has some cool new features.


H-m-m, seems I'm running 5.0:P

5.0.1?

I am running 6.0b4. Looking really good.

[jtarin]

Depends on how you configured your Update Manager. I prefer to trigger the update manually.

EDIT: I just checked and the repo still has 3.6.18

Anyway, get Firefox 5 (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1712247). It is a lot faster and has some cool new features.



5.0.1?

I am running 6.0b4. Looking really good.Yes...5.0.....I upgraded some time ago.....It was not available through regular channels.

[lovinglinux]

Yes...5.0.....I upgraded some time ago.....It was not available through regular channels.

What I meant was that there is 5.0.1 already, which replaced 5.0.

[jtarin]

Go here for FF-8 (http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/nightly/latest-trunk/)

[lovinglinux]

I was discussing Firefox 5.0.1 with beew in the Firefox Mega Thread and I just realized Natty repositories and firefox-stable ppa are still providing Firefox 5.0 instead of 5.0.1.

I guess it is because 5.0.1 only carries changes for Mac. I suppose Mozilla released it for Linux and Windows too keep the same version number, but they don't have any changes.

Just thought I should post this info here. Since I am using FF 6.0b4, I incorrectly assumed 5.0.1 was being provided by the ppa and oficial repositories. My bad.

[Lucradia]

The way you always did, with alt+click.

If you did it any other way, you were doing it wrong.

In windows, we just grab any blank portion of the titlebar that's not being used by tabs. :|

[lovinglinux]

More interesting proposed changes in Firefox 9.

Mozilla is discussing the possibility of making add-ons compatible by default and disabling those that are incompatible.

https://wiki.mozilla.org/Features/Add-ons/Add-ons_Default_to_Compatible


Stage 1: Definition
1. Feature overview

Firefox's switch to rapid releases has been stressful for add-on developers. Add-ons not hosted on AMO are especially pained, as they must update compatibility every 6 weeks without the benefit of automatic compatibility bumping.

Since the release of Firefox 4 and 5, we've learned that there are many more non-hosted add-ons than we previously thought, mostly those installed by other software. Whether users make use of these add-ons or not, seeing an incompatible add-on prevents many users from upgrading to new versions of Firefox.

More than 90% of add-ons are compatible from one version of Firefox to the next, and the ones that aren't usually have binary components that will need to be recompiled every release. If we change the default compatibility assumption, we can reduce the action needed to only the very small number of add-ons broken by the new release, rather than 100% of add-on developers.

We would move to a model where Firefox assumes add-ons are compatible unless they have binary components, the author has explicitly said to strictly observe stated compatibility, or it is reported to AMO as incompatible through the Add-on Compatibility Reporter.

It's possible and likely we will occasionally enable add-ons that don't actually work, but as we omit add-ons with binary components, this should not cause crashes and users will simply not have the functionality they expect, and will complain to the add-on author.

This process would not remove the need for AMO's automatic compatibility bumping, as it's still preferred for authors to be aware of changes in Firefox and learn about upcoming deprecations and other changes.


Stage 2: Design
5. Functional specification

When Firefox needs to determine an add-on's compatibility, it should do the following:

1. If the add-on is marked as compatible with the version, nothing needs to be done. The add-on remains enabled.

2. If the add-on is not marked as compatible, Firefox will look at its install.rdf to see if the author has requested strict compatibility qualification. If they have, the add-on is incompatible and disabled.

3. Next, Firefox will look for binary components in the add-on. If binary components are found, the add-on is incompatible and should be treated as such (disabled).

4. If the add-on is not marked as compatible and does not contain binary components, Firefox should look at the metadata it received from AMO about the add-on. If the add-on is not reported as incompatible from AMO, it should be enabled as compatible.

For AMO, this will involve returning information on compatibility reports received in response to metadata API requests, and support for returning information on non-hosted add-ons.