The newly released Firefox 4 browser appears to have been initially well received and looks like it will give Internet Explorer and others a run for their money. I’m going to briefly mention some of the new features and hopefully look at them in more detail in future posts.
Tidy Tabs
Firefox has gone for the Google Chrome approach and placed tabs above the URL bar. This now gives the window a less cluttered and tidier appearance and also allows users to keep their bookmarked pages in handy groups.
Synchronisation
This allows users to access their personalised Firefox browser from their mobile devices, so if for example a user was looking for map directions on their PC and had to leave in a hurry, they could go to exactly the same website page on their mobile and continue where they left off without having to re-enter the search information.
Speed
The introduction of a new JavaScript engine from JägerMonkey makes browsing six times faster than Firefox version 3; something users will no doubt welcome with open arms.
Platform
Unlike Internet Explorer which only works on Windows Vista and 7, Firefox 4 will work on multiple platforms such as Linux, Mac and of course Windows itself.
Others
Another new feature is Panorama which allows users to easily sort and group tabs which again makes for a much tidier and clutter-free window. Other features include a new HTML5 parser, more responsive page rendering and a ‘Do not track’ facility. There is a whole lot more which hopefully I will be writing about in more detail in future posts. In the meantime I’m off to have another look at the new Firefox to see what else it can do.
Until next time.
