Mozilla Releases Firefox 4 Public Beta

The first public beta of Mozilla’s Firefox 4 was released mere days ago, and if you are a Firefox user who wants to get a head-start on testing out the browser’s latest features, a download is just a click away. In our quick test, this beta, unlike many others, does not overwrite your current installation, so you won’t have to worry about converting your profile – useful in case you want to backtrack and stick with 3.x for the time-being.

Ever since Firefox’s inception, the browser hasn’t seen much in way of UI overhauls, but 4.0 is going to change that. In fact, the UI tweaks might just be the biggest noticeable change to ever hit the browser. Interestingly, many of these tweaks seem to mimic other browsers, and while I doubt this is a form of flattery, it does likely have to do with the fact that many of the changes are common sense. Arguably, of course.

Like Chrome (and others I’m sure, but my only real non-Firefox browser experience comes from Chrome), the tabs by default are located above most everything else, including the bookmark’s bar. Unlike Chrome, there is a small button to the top-left corner that acts as Firefox’s main menu. It’s hard to guess whether the choice to keep this button here was by way of convenience or as a result of trying to avoid exact duplication of Chrome, but it does work. Located where it is, it doesn’t take up any additional room thanks to the OS Maximize/Minimize/Close buttons that are located to the absolute right which require a certain titlebar thickness.

Overall, the entire UI is a lot cleaner to look at. The goal was no doubt to increase the view area of the Web, and it makes sense, given that’s the reason we use a browser at all… to view the Web. If you’ve been a Firefox user for a while, then the change is going to require a bit of a learning curve, but like my change to Chrome, you do get used to it after a while, and begin to appreciate it. Don’t like the tabs up top? Just right-click them and tell them to remain underneath the bookmark folder… très simple.

There’s a LOT more to Firefox 4 than just a UI tweak, so I recommend checking out the URL below to get all of the details. The browser isn’t set to launch until November, so if you want to test out the latest features now, downloading the beta is your best bet.

Once you install the Firefox 4 Beta, you will notice the Feedback Add-on in the upper right corner. You can use this to provide instant feedback at any time. You will also be notified about user studies (run by Mozilla Test Pilot) which collect information about how you use Firefox, but not which websites you visit. You have control over your participation, and can choose to opt out of any study, or see what data has been collected. You will be asked before any data is sent to Mozilla, and that data is subject to the Feedback and Test Pilot privacy policies.