Firefox 3 Getting a Visual Makeover

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Software isn't just about functionality anymore, users want brains and beauty. And beauty, as we know, is in the eye of the beholder, which is why the team behind Firefox 3 plans to ditch the unified cross-platform look of the browser in favor of a sexier look tailored to specific operating systems. Rather than a single look across all platforms, which is the way Firefox currently ships, Firefox 3 will feature different skins for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac OS X and various Linux distributions. Alex Faaborg, Mozilla’s interface designer, posted a note on his blog yesterday about the divergent themes coming for Firefox 3. Echoing the sentiments of many a Mac Firefox user, Faaborg writes, “personally I think a unified cross platform UI results in applications that at best feel foreign everywhere, and at worst don’t even feel like real applications.”

With both Windows Vista and the upcoming OS X Leopard, there is an increasing focus on sexy visual appeal, and fitting in with the unique visual design each platform has clearly become an integral part of building software. Some might argue that this comes at the expense of new features, but the trend shows no signs of abating. Applications that don’t fit the design of an OS stand out like a sore thumb and users shy away from them.“The Web browser is an incredibly central piece of the user’s operating system, and we don’t want the user’s initial reaction to be that they have modified their computer to add some type of strange, foreign application,” Faaborg writes. “Mozilla’s user experience team literally wants to do a better job of visually integrating with Windows than IE, and a better job of visually integrating with OS X than Safari. I don’t know if we will be able to pull that off, but that’s the goal.”

Screenshot: Vista and OSX

View: Full Story

News source: Wired Blog - Compiler

#1 PsykX on 21 Oct 2007 - 16:34

I am quite wowed by the screenshot. It finally complies a lot more with the rest of OS X designs. But it looks way too much like Safari though

(1 reply) #2 SniperX on 21 Oct 2007 - 16:37

Can't really say that the screenshots do enough to make a judgement, but thank **** it's getting a visual overhaul!

#2.1 JR007 on 21 Oct 2007 - 16:48

Quote - (SniperX said @ #2)

I agree.

#3 stezo2k on 21 Oct 2007 - 16:47

Sweet

(3 replies) #4 - Kaboose - on 21 Oct 2007 - 17:01

i wonder how bad the xp look is gonna be?

#4.1 brent3000 on 21 Oct 2007 - 20:06

thats what ill be worried about

#4.2 Jugalator on 22 Oct 2007 - 10:12

I agree... That, and the Linux look. I wish they'd include just an XP screenshot too, along with something from either KDE or GNOME.

I hope this makes it into the nightlies real soon so one can give it a personal look.

edit: lol, i'm not alone

http://steelgryphon.com/blog/?p=108

#4.3 PureLegend on 22 Oct 2007 - 11:45

Quote - (Jugalator said @ #4.2)

I thinks something similar to the OSX style but flatter will look alright

#5 Vice on 21 Oct 2007 - 17:04

Looks really good I'll definitely have to give it a try on OS X. I've always in the past been really put off with the Firefox UI when in OS X (although it fits in well with Windows and Linu

. Now it looks like it'll finally be viewable without engaging the gag reflex.

#6 Septimus on 21 Oct 2007 - 17:13

At last.

#7 vraev on 21 Oct 2007 - 17:16

FINALLY!

(2 replies) #8 digitalsoft on 21 Oct 2007 - 17:17

hmmm i hope they do something like IE7 for the vista style.

#8.1 ThaCrip on 21 Oct 2007 - 22:10

i sure hope like hell they dont get that IE7 interface (for Firefox 3) as i think it sucks... IE6's (which is similar to firefox 2) was much better!

cause just getting used to IE7 took me a while and i still dont really like it even though technically it's functionality is better than IE6.

me personally i hope theres no major changes as i think the overall layout of Firefox 2 is pretty much perfect as it is... maybe some minor tweaks but any major changes i think will suck.

#8.2 sLm4ever on 22 Oct 2007 - 12:46

an option for that would be nice

...

#9 xfodder on 21 Oct 2007 - 17:19

to see better screenshots, head over to alex faaborg's blog http://blog.mozilla.com/faaborg/2007/10/10...em-integration/

#10 MioTheGreat on 21 Oct 2007 - 17:36

I want extended glass on Vista....

(4 replies) #11 +Digix on 21 Oct 2007 - 17:56

LOL firefox looking like Windows Media Player 11, no thanks.

#11.1 TRC on 21 Oct 2007 - 19:14

Uh, you do know that's what Vista looks like, not just Media Player 11. So if you don't have Vista you don't have to worry. It will have the XP look on XP.

#11.2 +Digix on 21 Oct 2007 - 19:21

Quote - (TRC said @ #11.1)

I know but with the tool bar like thing from windows media player 11 is fugly i'm not talking about aero i'm talking about the main organizer programs interface which is based on the way windows media player 11 looks and manages content, it really wouldn't be a wise choice to make firefox look like windows media player 11 ...

#11.3 Slimy on 21 Oct 2007 - 19:23

Quote - (Digix said @ #11.2)

That's just the Places Organizer.

#11.4 HawkMan on 22 Oct 2007 - 00:48

Actually the dark blue/black bar thingy is what is used not just for WMP but fopr browsers too.

#12 Glassed Silver on 21 Oct 2007 - 17:59

rofl...
way overdue, but wtf... firefox + WMP look... COME ON!
mac os x shot = (Y) finally a good job, not freaking your look of OS X

Glassed Silver:mac

(1 reply) #13 TRC on 21 Oct 2007 - 18:18

Nice, though I didn't know it didn't already do this. I mean doesn't an application normally take on the look of whatever OS it's running on? The OS provides APIs to draw windows, controls, etc.

Last edited by TRC on 21 Oct 2007 - 19:17

#13.1 NightmarE D on 21 Oct 2007 - 19:30

Not all applications stick with the look of the OS it's on.

For a good example, download Apple's Safari browser for Windows. Looks good on OS X, but on XP it just doesn't look right at all.

(5 replies) #14 mlauzon76 on 21 Oct 2007 - 18:28

I just love how I posted this to the BPN a few days ago, and it gets moved to the Web Browser forum...and like usual none of my posts make it to frontpage news!:

http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=595159

#14.1 Slimy on 21 Oct 2007 - 19:12

This was submitted by jzetterman using this: http://www.neowin.net/index.php?act=submit_news. It's not our fault you didn't submit it.
If you did, please refer to: http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=595411

#14.2 tiagosilva29 on 21 Oct 2007 - 20:48

He had to submit something that was already on Neowin because the news staff doesn't pick up on news posted on the BPN, like before?

#14.3 Slimy on 21 Oct 2007 - 22:35

Quote - (tiagosilva29 said @ #14.2)

No idea where you got that idea from. Someone else just submitted before the news staff saw it in the forums.

#14.4 jzetterman on 22 Oct 2007 - 07:22

My apologies to you, I didn't see your post before I posted this. If you want to guarantee that the news staff sees your news then you should use the Submit to Newsdesk link instead of BPN. As you found out, your stuff can get moved if it's not deemed news (whether it actually is or not).

#14.5 tiagosilva29 on 23 Oct 2007 - 19:20

Quote - (Slimy said @ #14.3)

Someone else just submitted before the news staff saw it in the forums.

Didn't the submitted news need the approval/revision of the news staff in order to be in the main pages? Prior to that, the news staff checked the forums for the same news.

#15 RavenWarrior on 21 Oct 2007 - 18:51

Some of you are saying firefox + wmp, but what you can see on the screenshot is just a dialog from firefox with a vista look (not especially wmp), so you can't say if the main UI will look the same (I can almost say for sure that it won't). So we'll see, don't make such a hassle about 1 dialog.

#16 hotdog963al on 21 Oct 2007 - 19:21

I was thinking, oh I prefer the way it is now, then I clicked the screenshot
Firefox looks lame on OSX currently, it'll be kick ass if it looks like that!

#17 DomZ on 21 Oct 2007 - 19:57

For a second there I thought the pic was comparing wmp11 with a mac osx redesigned firefox

#18 redmosquito on 21 Oct 2007 - 20:28

i for myself will switch to safari 3 for some time as soon as leopard comes out, the new features seem to be good but i will for sure install firefox 3 right away and then look for what feels best. =)

#19 +boldfire on 21 Oct 2007 - 20:49

I like how it's implemented Aqua widgets, and it's very well done - but I don't like the way text boxes don't glow like they do in Safari. As silly as it sounds this is something I really like in Safari.

#20 Tantawi on 21 Oct 2007 - 20:52

Looks awesome.

#21 LTD on 21 Oct 2007 - 21:52

So far so good for the OS X look.

OS X users knew this was coming (at least some knew) in the "minefield" alpha - at least I think that's what it's called. This screeny we're seeing here is probably part of that project.

#22 MGS4-SS on 21 Oct 2007 - 23:25

Looks good, wonder how it will look for XP.

#23 +Nicholas-c on 22 Oct 2007 - 00:12

wicked

#24 _Raven_ on 22 Oct 2007 - 00:23

looks awesome !!

(1 reply) #25 f0rbez on 22 Oct 2007 - 02:05

Ehh why mess with a good thing? I anticipate a big ugly blue bubble theme for XP, and I sure hope that we can just remove it and go back to standard theme. Personally, I think Mozilla should be focusing on features, not themes.

#25.1 MioTheGreat on 22 Oct 2007 - 03:26

Because IE7 on Vista looks stunning. Firefox however, does not.

#26 eilegz on 22 Oct 2007 - 02:35

universal looking mean user friendly interface among every platform... now they change this and its a problem at least for people that got used to firefox already

#27 DaViD_BRaNDoN on 22 Oct 2007 - 03:07

Finally they learn

#28 WarLuigi on 22 Oct 2007 - 03:24

Great news. Lets see how the final product turns out. Thankfully mozilla responds to customer feedback.

#29 Xilo on 22 Oct 2007 - 04:00

It's about damn time.

#30 Kreuger on 22 Oct 2007 - 04:05

Frankly I have no problem with it on either Linux or Windows but whatever.

(1 reply) #31 PharosBR on 22 Oct 2007 - 04:38

Do they have an estimated release date? I'm surprised no one asked this here... A quick search on Google got me nowhere

Anyone?

#31.1 PharosBR on 22 Oct 2007 - 04:40

edit. ops, wrong button

(3 replies) #32 Relativity_17 on 22 Oct 2007 - 05:35

FF 3 is shooting for end of November? Sometime around then, probably.

#32.1 WarLuigi on 22 Oct 2007 - 06:51

End of november is not likely they are only at Alpha4.

#32.2 Relativity_17 on 22 Oct 2007 - 09:27

Quote - (WarLuigi said @ #32.1)

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9a9pre) Gecko/2007102105 Minefield/3.0a9pre

#32.3 Cryton on 22 Oct 2007 - 10:29

Q1 2008 is more likely.

#33 jzetterman on 22 Oct 2007 - 07:00

I actually think the Vista screenshot looks more like Windows Explorer, which I guess looks the same as WMP11, but I think they did that to maintain consistency with Windows Explorer more than WMP11.

#34 Fubar on 22 Oct 2007 - 07:44

i skin mine anyway to match the skin of my OS on all Os's so im not fussed

#35 Samboini on 22 Oct 2007 - 08:19

I guess i'm one of the few that skinds my FF browser otherwise I don't see how it is too much of a big deal?

(2 replies) #36 norseman on 22 Oct 2007 - 12:00

So these two get great looks.... how ugly are the linux versions going to look? I bet pretty ****ing ugly...

#36.1 phantasmorph on 22 Oct 2007 - 12:17

So, it will match right along with most other linux apps...

#36.2 Fubar on 22 Oct 2007 - 12:33

don't see what the problem is , just skin it anyway no big deal

#37 LipSmacker on 22 Oct 2007 - 12:22

I don't see what the big fuss is about. Just get one of the million user created skins..... Moving buttons and other stuff around isn't necessary imo...

(1 reply) #38 necrosis on 22 Oct 2007 - 12:45

Now if only Apple would make iTunes and Quicktime look like a windows app.

#38.1 Samboini on 22 Oct 2007 - 14:21

When hell freezes over.

#39 googlymoogly on 22 Oct 2007 - 14:41

As long as I can disable it and it conforms to Windows Classic I don't mind.

BTW, please stop using the word "sexy" to describe electronic appliances or boring software, unless you actually want to have intercourse with the things you're describing, that is.

#40 Sniper101 on 22 Oct 2007 - 20:21

Thats actually the best overhaul to date, firefox has had it's theme for years and finally were seeing a change in the winds and the team are listening to peoples ideas.

(1 reply) #41 Pippin666 on 22 Oct 2007 - 20:46

Omg it still eats my computer's ressources but now it does it with a better look omg opera is crap!

Pip'

#41.1 XP1 on 23 Oct 2007 - 19:54

Quote - (Pippin666 said @ #41)

What does Opera have to do with this thread?

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