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Firefox's Tablet UI Scheduled for Firefox 9 Integration

- By - Source : Mozilla

Firefox 6 may have been just released, but I have to admit that versions 7, 8 and 9 may be much more interesting from the end user's point of view.

Firefox 7, for example will bring the Azure 2D graphics API and memory enhancements, Firefox 8 will make add-ons much safer to deal with and we now hear that Firefox 9 is likely to get the much anticipated tablet UI. Mozilla just posted the tablet UI as a deliverable for Firefox 9.

Firefox 8 nightlies apparently integrate a first version of the UI already, even if it is not enabled and not even accessible via the about:config menu. We would expect the feature to surface over the next few weeks. According to initial layout screens, the tablet UI will look much more like the mobile version of Firefox and use a single line on top, which will integrate the menu buttons, tabs, navigation as well as the location bar. All tabs will hide behind a single button.

Mozilla will need this UI to make a case for itself on Android tablets. The interface itself was originally scheduled to land in Firefox in early July and seems to be a few weeks behind schedule. But given the fact that there is no killer Android tablet, there is no urgency to rush this feature out just yet.

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amk-aka-phantom 08/19/2011 7:53 PM
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Quote :we now hear that Firefox 9 is likely to get the much loathed tablet UI


Fixed.

Silmarunya 08/19/2011 8:21 PM
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Firefox 7.0 is the first browser release that got me exited in a while. It fixes the terrible font rendering that Windows 7 users had to endure with hardware acceleration enabled, reduces cold boot time sharply and makes memory use more stable and predictable - thus fixing all my gripes at once with Firefox.

As for a tablet UI: good for those who actually want a tablet and want to use FF on it. I guess.

andy5174 08/19/2011 8:37 PM
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Silmarunya :
Firefox 7.0 is the first browser release that got me exited in a while. It fixes the terrible font rendering that Windows 7 users had to endure with hardware acceleration enabled, reduces cold boot time sharply and makes memory use more stable and predictable - thus fixing all my gripes at once with Firefox.As for a tablet UI: good for those who actually want a tablet and want to use FF on it. I guess.


Thank you! I've finally found the culprit of terrible font.

BTW, is Firefox 7 beta 1 stable? Firefox 7 aurora 2 crashed on me right after installation....

stingray71 08/19/2011 10:29 PM
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There will more than likely never be one killer android tablet, but as a collective, they are a force to be reckoned with.

Meanwhile, others are coming out with android tablet browsers. As a long time FF user, I've pretty much ditched FF for chrome and now sync my bookmarks between my pc and tablet. The pc scene is changing rapidly, you snooze you lose.

alidan 08/19/2011 10:58 PM
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andy5174 :
Thank you! I've finally found the culprit of terrible font.BTW, is Firefox 7 beta 1 stable? Firefox 7 aurora 2 crashed on me right after installation....



i use nightly, ff 8.0a1 (2011-07-24)

i constantly open over 500 tabs, and only had 1 crash so far, VERY STABLE if you ask me, compared to 3.5 and 5 releases.

otacon72 08/19/2011 11:09 PM
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I have 4 tabs open on FF6 and it's using 434MB plus 38MB for the plug-in container... freakin ridiculous. Open the same 4 tabs on IE9...189MB. I thought FF6 was supposed to manage memory better? ...right.

alidan 08/19/2011 11:16 PM
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ff uses more resources with less tabs than chrome, opera, and ie. but the more tabs you open the less it uses, were i was at 500 tabs, i was using about 700mb

but 4-6 are known to use more memory than needed, 7 and 8 fixed this, to the point i switched from 3.5 to 8, and it handles crap tons of tabs better than 3.5

Anonymous 08/20/2011 12:25 PM
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those having stability and memory issues should consider nightly in the 64bit flavor, rock solid

mayankleoboy1 08/20/2011 7:17 AM
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been using the ff8.0a1 64 bit on win7.
its very solid and very stable.

alidan 08/20/2011 8:46 AM
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mayankleoboy1 :
been using the ff8.0a1 64 bit on win7.its very solid and very stable.



i cant say much for the win 7 64 bit version, my little brothers pc is so crapped up, i cant tell if its ff or if its something he installed that makes it run lesser.

PhoneyVirus 08/20/2011 10:09 PM
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The code junkies at Mozilla are like kids search for a bookmark and they can't even tell you what folder it's in Ya OK. Plus Ctrl + Shift + B got moved from bottom to top AGAIN, like i said kids playing with code. Besides Chrome runs way, way, way, Faster then Mozilla hell IE 8 is faster then Mozilla 6 at this point without a doubt.

Benchmarks ran from Maximum PC shows that in July magazine I think. Loading HTML feeds from others site and Mozilla just chokes. After reading and seeing the benchmarks I never looked back, one thing left and that's to install Xmarks Add-on in Chrome then no more Firefox for me. Have fun Code Junkies!

alidan 08/21/2011 5:11 AM
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PhoneyVirus :
The code junkies at Mozilla are like kids search for a bookmark and they can't even tell you what folder it's in Ya OK. Plus Ctrl + Shift + B got moved from bottom to top AGAIN, like i said kids playing with code. Besides Chrome runs way, way, way, Faster then Mozilla hell IE 8 is faster then Mozilla 6 at this point without a doubt. Benchmarks ran from Maximum PC shows that in July magazine I think. Loading HTML feeds from others site and Mozilla just chokes. After reading and seeing the benchmarks I never looked back, one thing left and that's to install Xmarks Add-on in Chrome then no more Firefox for me. Have fun Code Junkies!



i dont think you get the point of firefox or mozilla, and thats ok, you don't have to. they forced ie and everyone to make a better browser, and of all the browsers i have, firefox is what i use for everything, besides multimedia, because chrome handles it better.

otherwise, the extensions firefox has that chrome cant have make me stick with ff, that and its low ram usage under loads.

eddieroolz 08/21/2011 8:33 PM
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The rapid release is straining the resources of the Pale Moon developer for nothing. Thanks, Mozilla!

LuckyDucky7 08/22/2011 5:42 AM
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Seriously, though:

Firefox on tablets is only worth the trouble (except for the tabbed browsing) when Adblock Plus is available for that version.

After that appears, though... I'd switch in a heartbeat.