14 DAY TRIAL // A new development milestone of the next major version of Firefox was offered last week. Firefox 3.7 Alpha 4, or the Mozilla Developer Preview 1.9.3 Alpha 4, whichever you prefer, is the latest Build to make it to developers and early adopters involved in the development of Firefox 3.6’s successor. Among the changes detailed last week, there are also modifications to the browser’s graphical user interface. What is important to note is that the Firefox 3.7 Alpha 4 GUI has evolved in tune with Firefox 4.0 user interface elements.
In this regard, Firefox 3.7 Alpha 4, or the Mozilla Developer Preview 1.9.3 Alpha 4 now features a new option, designed to allow users to modify the browser’s UI per the facelift planned for Firefox 4.0 (via MozillaLinks). As you can see from the screenshots included in this article, right clicking the Menu Bar open up a menu that features the ‘Tabs on top’ option.
As the label implies, selecting this particular option will let users relocate the Tabs in Firefox 3.7 Alpha 4 either on top of the Address Bar, a la Chrome, or keep them in their traditional position. This new GUI option is in concordance with the design overhaul that Mozilla planned for Firefox 4.0, a revamping which is slowly taking contour.
I have come across plenty negative comments from hardcore Mozilla users, related to the Firefox 4.0 facelift, not many being happy with the evolution of the GUI. However, it seems that Mozilla has set onto a path from which it is not deterring, and users will simply need to accept this. However, the new option made available is perhaps an indication that users will be able to customize the GUI of Firefox 3.7 / Firefox 4.0 in accordance to their preference.
Ahead of the release of Firefox 3.4 Alpha 4, Mozilla also introduced full support for the Windows 7 Aero Glass effect in nightly builds. The next iteration of the open source browser will indeed support Aero, but fur the time being this aspect of the GUI evolution was switched off.
Firefox 3.7 Alpha 3 / Mozilla Developer Preview of Gecko 1.9.3 Alpha 3 for Windows is available here.
Firefox 3.7 Alpha 3 / Mozilla Developer Preview of Gecko 1.9.3 Alpha 3 for Mac OS X is available here.
Firefox 3.7 Alpha 3 / Mozilla Developer Preview of Gecko 1.9.3 Alpha 3 for Linux is available here.
Firefox 3.6.3 for Windows is available for download here.
Firefox 3.6.3 for Mac OS X is available for download here.
Firefox 3.6.3 for Linux is available for download here.
Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Platform Preview is available for download here.
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