According to meeting notes posted Tuesday, the current plan is to feature-freeze the browser Sept. Mozilla has set an aggressive schedule for Firefox 4, with a tentative release candidate slated for October and final ship date in November. Hardware acceleration in Firefox 4 requires Windows Vista or Windows 7 the more popular Windows XP lacks the necessary graphics infrastructure, a fact that’s prompted Microsoft to drop XP from IE9’s supported operating systems. Firefox, however, is the first browser to debut the technology in a beta-or-better build. Microsoft’s made hardware acceleration a prominent part of its IE9 pitch, and rivals have started to react. But both simply graphically represent frequently-visited sites using thumbnails.įirefox 4, like IE9, relies on Windows’ Direct2D API (application programming interface) to boost rendering speeds by shifting some chores from the computer’s central processor to the graphics processor. Apple, for example, introduced “Top Sites” to Safari last year, while Google’s Chrome has had a similar “Most Visited” feature since it launched in 2008. Mozilla, which calls Panorama a tab manager, has argued that it’s the next step in the evolution of tabs.įirefox’s rivals have nothing like Panorama. The hardware acceleration, available only in Windows Vista and Windows 7, is disabled by default.įirefox 4 Beta 4’s most visible addition is “Panorama,” a new name for what Mozilla had been calling “Tab Candy.” Largely driven by the work of Aza Raskin, creative lead of Firefox, Panorama lets users collect tabs into sets, graphically displays those sets, and when users open a tab, shows only those tabs within the group. The latest build also sported the first attempt at accelerating Firefox 4’s page rendering by tapping the graphics processor.
Mozilla on Tuesday launched the fourth beta of Firefox 4, adding bookmark and password synchronization, and revamping how people wrestle tabs.
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