Mozilla released the first beta for Firefox 4 on Tuesday, introducing a new interface design to a wider Windows audience, support for multiple technologies that aim to be essential to web browsing in the future and a plan for updates far more aggressive than those of the past.
Firefox 4 beta 1 for Windows has relocated its tabs to the top, which will be available on later Linux and Mac versions. Screenshot: Seth Rosenblatt
Available for Windows, Mac and Linux machines, Firefox 4 beta 1 is Mozilla's first official peek into the future of the world's second most popular browser.
The interface changes in this first beta version are the most apparent. Tabs are now on top, by default, at least in the Windows version. In its changelog, Mozilla promises that this design feature will come to the Linux and Mac versions of Firefox, when the default themes on those two operating systems receive updates. This can be toggled under the Customise option under the menu button, labelled "Firefox", in the upper-left corner of the interface.
For more on this story, see Peer into Firefox's future in latest beta on CNET News.
