Mozilla Add-ons Community Blog
Categories: compatibility developers documentation

Major compatibility changes coming for Firefox 25

125 responses

We released Firefox 21 just a couple of weeks ago. This means 22 is on Beta, 23 on Aurora and 24 on Nightly. Firefox 25 won’t be released until late October, so we still have a ways to go. However, this is a significant release because 24 is slated to be an Extended Support Release, so some major changes have been pushed after then to minimize any potential impact.

There are two major add-on compatibility changes to look forward to, and I’m giving you this heads up just so that you’re aware and plan ahead. Things might change as we move forward, and I’ll keep you posted about it, but you should definitely check out the Nightly builds in July, or the Aurora builds during the month of August. It’s likely that your add-on will be affected by these or other changes.

Australis

Update: as of September 19th, it looks like the Australis update won’t happen until at least Firefox 27.

This is a major theme revamp in Firefox that has been worked on for quite a while. One of its objectives is to simplify the UI, taking add-ons into account.

There are major changes coming to how toolbars work. There is some back and forth going on over the topic of removing the Add-on Bar completely. It doesn’t look like a final decision has been made, but in the best case it will be a harder to find customization target, and it the worst case it will be gone entirely.

The main toolbar will also have a dedicated area for add-on buttons and widgets, and it looks like user-created custom toolbars will also be gone. Overall, you should plan for a minimalistic toolbar UI. While most add-ons do this already, it’s possible that the API to add toolbar buttons will be very different, and there will be changes to be made for all of them.

You can do early testing of the Australis changes by installing the UX Nightly Branch. If you have any feedback from these tests, please share it in the comments below.

Session Restore

Like many other areas of Firefox code, Session Restore is getting the asynchronous treatment to improve its performance. If you look at bug 874381 and its dependencies, there are several changes to this module that will affect add-ons. Particularly, there are many add-ons that rely on private variables (starting with __SS) that will no longer exist.

There’s a list of affected add-ons in this blog post, and some of the developers have already been notified. However, you should check yourself if your add-on relies on any of these private variables and start migrating away from them, since they will be gone in 25.

Once we’re closer to the Firefox 25 release, we will have more information and hopefully better documentation to point you to. For now, I hope this heads up will be useful and you start looking into these big changes that are coming up.

125 comments on “Major compatibility changes coming for Firefox 25”

  1. Michael Kaply wrote on

    Get rid of toolbars completely?

    That’s simply ludicrous.

    That would kill hundreds of add-ons.

    Firefox should not make the same stupid mistake that Google made with Chrome.

    Unless you want people doing toolbars in content iframes (which is what they do with Chrome).

    1. Michael Kaply wrote on

      OK, I understand now. That’s a very confusing statement.

      User’s will no longer be able to add additional toolbars using the customize dialog. That’s all that is going away.

      1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on

        I did a quick fix to try to clarify that point. Thanks.

        1. Elad wrote on

          “User’s will no longer be able to add additional toolbars using the customize dialog”

          What about extensions uses toolbar XUL element, for adding new toolbar type extension?

          thanks
          Elad

          1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on

            I believe that it will continue to work, but I haven’t tested it myself.

      2. Jeff Griffiths wrote on

        Mike: what Jorge did not cover is that the Jetpack team is landing a series of UI integration modules in Firefox 25 that will make it very easy to create toolbar buttons and additional toolbars:

        https://github.com/mozilla/addon-sdk/wiki/JEP-Add-on-UI-Integration

        While these will be implemented as CommonJS modules, developers not using the SDK’s toolchain will still be able to use them by creating an instance of the SDK’s module loader.

      3. Make everything configurable…an option for THE USER not THE DEVS wrote on

        “User’s will no longer be able to add additional toolbars using the customize dialog.”…OMFG!!! What. the. fuck?

        “That’s all that is going away.”…that’s all? THAT’S ALL! What do you mean “That’s all”…that FUCKING MAJOR!

        Firefox was born from Netscape 4. Which, if I remember correctly, had “collapsible” toolbars, but not “customizable” toolbars — I don’t think you could add more. Firefox created that feature! I believe Firefox was created to put the power in the USERS hands: let the USER customize their browser the way THEY want it. Now Mozilla Devs keep changing that. I hate the entire Firefox UX/UI team: they are responsible for most/all of these HORRIBLE UI decisions. They could literally file a bug called “Remove the Back button” & it would get RESOLVED FIXED. Every bug they file, no matter how absurd, gets implemented! Firefox for Android doesn’t let you even change your freaking home page!

        Why in the HELL are Firefox Devs doing this??? How can I possibly UNDO this? Is it even POSSIBLE to write an Addon to re-add the feature of allowing the user to add new toolbars??? I ***use*** that feature (adding my own toolbars), to give Firefox the Netscape 4 look (along with the FOXSCAPE theme) — I move the Search & Location bars/widgets to a Custom Toolbar called “Location Toolbar” — the Location bar should never have been merged with the nav-bar…why are you tying my hands further???, now I’m not even ALLOWED to create my own toolbars?

        Speaking of the “Search” & “Location” bars…it looks like Firefox 25 removed the Search bar? (it’s possible it’s just hidden in all the Firefox 25 screenshots — if it’s still available in the Toolbar Palette, then that’s fine — if it’s completely gone, that’s not OK) I *know* I can search from the Location bar, that’s not what I want, I want the separate Search bar. Can an Addon even add that back?…if so, how?

        This is so horrible, I can’t even BELIEVE it (is it Apr 1st?). I think before Firefox Devs remove ANY FEATURE, it should be a REQUIREMENT to fork that code out to an Addon & then let anyone use that code — I just mean for the current code to be moved out (converted) to an Addon — no one at Mozilla needs to keep that Addon maintained/updated, if they don’t want to. Just copy/paste the code from Firefox-core to an Addon & release it. Heck, just remove every feature from Firefox-core, make Firefox only be an “Addon-host”: you want a Location bar?, install an Addon! want a close button?, install an Addon!

        I don’t care how bad you make Firefox by default, but when you REMOVE the ability to UNDO your changes, that’s just ABSURD.

        That whole topic on “Remove the add-on bar” is confusing…

        * No, I do NOT support removing the “add-on bar”…aka “status bar”.
        * If Status-4-Evar (or any Addon) can ADD IT BACK, then fine, you can remove it, I don’t care — I don’t care how bad Firefox looks by default, if I can install an Addon to fix it! I already use more than 15 Addons to whip Firefox into shape.
        * Oddly linked from “Remove the add-on bar” (which I don’t support)…I actually DO support Bug 872209 – Make the add-on bar a customization target (which, of course, is WONTFIX’d)…making the “add-on bar” (ahem! “status bar”) a real customization target would be fine. Furthermore, the users custom toolbars should be able to be pinned to the top (like a normal toolbar) or bottom (like the status bar) of the window, letting the USER create a status bar, from a REAL toolbar.

        If Firefox ever removes Addons, I’m done. I have nothing else to go to (Chrome tracks you & IE isn’t even an option), but I’m done. Firefox continuously keeps removing & merging crap FOR NO REASON (all hail Limi)…& now “it looks like user-created custom toolbars will also be gone”, that’s just PURE STUPIDITY. Where is the justification for removing that??? Lemme guess, Limi filed a bug.

        I should probably mention that I’m currently using Firefox 12, yes, that version is OLD & I’m probably very insecure by using it, but the wise Mozilla Devs forced my hand. Why am I stuck on Firefox 12?…cuz Mozilla dropped WinXP SP1 support. “Oh why don’t you install SP2 or SP3”, you say. Well, because, my computer has been working fine for years & I didn’t need Microsoft’s “patches” to create a problem that I wouldn’t’ve had otherwise. I do semi-plan to install SP3 (very carefully), but I also plan on getting a new computer, which would negate the need to mess with this one.

        Anyway: my point with that: Firefox removed XP SP1 support because they wanted to use a new compiler…I don’t see why they couldn’t compile it with the old compiler for XP SP1 & the new compiler for other versions. Frankly, I don’t know why they don’t or can’t use GCC to cross-compile for Windows! They use GCC for Linux builds. Just cuz VS2010 can’t do XP SP1 doesn’t mean GCC can’t. But also: search for “win2kcompat.asm”…where another project DID continue to support XP SP1 (thank God!). Why can’t Firefox compile with that patch & let it work? Hell, by the time I do install XP SP3, Firefox 99 (you really have gone insane with the version numbers) will probably drop support for XP entirely! — I know XP is old, but everything after it sucks, my next OS will probably have to be some version of Linux, but at least then I’ll be up-to-date.

        Mozilla Devs: Please stop screwing up Firefox! — No matter what you do to it, please ALWAYS let the USER change Firefox the way they want. — I fully support the use of Addons, please always retain the ability for Addons to do ANYTHING to be able to undo anything you change. — Specifically, I’m gonna look at finding or writing an Addon for re-adding the “Custom Toolbars” feature.

        1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on

          Just to respond to what I know about, yes, it’s possible to make add-ons to bring those things back. Some more difficult than others, but certainly possible.

        2. Annie Lawson wrote on

          This was very well said. Why are they making all these horrible changes. I love Windows XP and Firefox just the way I have it. I don’t want to be forced to buy a newer version of Windows and put up with all the stuff on the new Firefox. Maybe I’ll just go back to IE and buy a virus protection. This is sad for me.

        3. John wrote on

          Well said. At the end of the day, these devs remind me of hackers and crackers. They don’t make changes because it is beneficial to the end user, or even has the end user in mind. I am beginning to believe that these devs make changes simply because they can, or they have a bug in their shorts and can’t leave well enough alone.

          If they were painters, they would create a masterpiece; but that bug in their shorts would ultimately turn the masterpiece in a solid black-painted canvas.

          Being gullible, I allowed a stable version of FIrefox to get updated to the crap version of 23, which has the plugin-container.exe. Soon after my FF browser began coughing, hacking and wheezing, and eventually hanging on everything.

          I am going back to an earlier version. You dolts forced my hand. This “Microsoft” attitude of telling people what they want because you are all megalomaniacs and forcefully shove crapware and such down user’s throats is out of hand.

          Yes, I know. I read these posts. You all say that “It’s okay, those items you want are still there but you have to do this and that and this and that and go into safe mode, and edit the registry and click on this tab and select those check boxes.” is sheer lunacy.

          You don’t even see it!!!

          The end users, who outnumber your small team by one million to one are telling you “STOP” and yet you keep at it. They go home in the evening and the next morning when they turn their OS on they shit their pants and drop their coffee on the floor because they realize they have spent the entire morning surfing for an answer to why their updated Firefox browser has suddenly hung or crashed or what!

          I went to Google and entered, “firefox 23 is awesome”. The first page of results are mostly technical crap and the only comments are negative.

          I then entered into Google, “firefox 23 sucks”, and guess what? Yep! You guessed it; page after page of complaints.

          But I guess I am shouting at the wind.

          Keep it up boys!

          Some bright, intelligent individuals out there are going to release their own version of a browser and you, IE and Chrome are going to lose a shitload of end users OVERNIGHT to simple people who understand and realize that “GIVE ‘EM A LOT OF OPTIONS, AN INTUITIVE UI, AND LET THE CUSTOMER DECIDE” wins the day.

          I’ll be switching back to version 17 as soon as I submit this.

          IDIOTS!

      4. Stephan Sokolow wrote on

        Um… isn’t that the worst of both worlds? Preventing me from customizing my UI but still allowing addons to push clutter on me?

        Oh well. As long as the addons bar is still around so I can have my bookmarks toolbar and things like the Greasemonkey toggle at the bottom of the screen, I’ll be happy.

  2. Brett Zamir wrote on

    Is there any browser project which takes a democratic approach to development? (Please no lectures anyone about falsely dichotomous failures of specific community-led projects vs. the haloed Linux rugged individualistic meritocracy.) Time and again, Firefox disappoints with what to me appear to be decisions which screw (and pay no heed to) the add-on developer who, like the average HTML developer, just wants to build something that works into the future. In this case, it also appears it will stick it to the user as well.

    It’s great to be cutting edge, and adapting to the future, but why is the HTML user base valued (relatively speaking) so that backward-breaking decisions are (thankfully) typically avoided, while the add-on developer community, though admittedly smaller, is just expected to be perpetually up to date as if all of us have time to make every add-on our full-time work?

    If Mozilla was going to abstract the APIs so that there was no difference between an add-on bar and toolbar (though one could still customize whether text and/or icon appeared, at what size, etc.), then I could at least see this as being an improvement to the user. But this simplify-at-all-costs mentality is so aggravating as a user… Whenever I saw Firefox toted by third parties in its earlier days, it was never about “Look how fast Firefox is”, or “look how sleek it is” or even “look how secure it is”, it was always about, “Look how you can customize it just the way you want”.

    It seems to me that the non-democratic decision-making nature of the organization (however relatively open it may be in comparison to other projects)–“rough consensus” among a handful of developers does not mean democratic even if decisions are made openly–while fine perhaps for technical decisions, ends up frustrating those developers and users who are not of the same mind-set as those spear-heading the direction of the browser.

    While that’s fine if that’s what you want, frankly I think this limited model will as it should eventually lose out in the end.

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on

      I don’t know any project that is fully democratic, specially not when it comes to UX design. There’s no way to please everyone, or to introduce major changes without resistance. And while I don’t agree with every UX decision that we make, I do agree with the process that we employ to do this.

      Also, the Australis designs have been floating around for a very long time. However, it’s only now that we actually know when it will land. If you follow the UX and Firefox newsgroups you can stay ahead of the curve and give early input on these designs. You can still do, FWIW. This doesn’t come with a guarantee that any change will happen because of your feedback, but it’s not just gong into a void.

      1. Sky wrote on

        How about fixing a real issues with firefox instead of messing with UI? For last 2 years I feel like Firefox team spends 90% of it’s time playing with interface and moving stuff around.

        You really need to revalidates your priorities, perhaps even kick out some “designers” and hire some programmers instead? Cause obviously design team got too much of a free time.

        1. Mark wrote on

          “You really need to revalidates your priorities, perhaps even kick out some “designers” and hire some programmers instead? Cause obviously design team got too much of a free time.”

          You really don’t understand design.

          1. — The design and development teams are different people. This should be obvious. Designers are working on design issues AT THE SAME TIME AS developers are working on development issues. The design team in no way prevents the development team from achieving other goals. And the development team is doing a great job. Get your head out of your ass and appreciate what they do.

          2. — The design team has been extremely cautious with changes from what I’ve seen, probably because they have to deal with the childish outlash from people like yourself. You are not the only person they have to consider. They make considerations on UI/UX that impact new users, old users, web developer users, corporate users, everyone. It takes you 2 seconds to learn where they moved a button but it may save a new users minutes of frustration. Quit complaining.

          1. Adam wrote on

            You’re absolutely right, Mark: the design team is completely separate.

            That’s why they need to be fired. They are justifying their own existence by making changes that the users do not want. If the “User eXperience” were good enough, they would be out of a job.

            Obviously, then, Firefox’s UI needs a complete overhaul! And their corporate sponsor, Google, clearly knows everything, since they are the biggest, most powerful force on the Internet, so let’s just reimplement Chrome’s UI! That surely must be the right thing to do! Damn the torpedos, all ahead minimalism!

            What’s next, dropping Gecko for WebKit? Nah, that would be too much trouble. They’ll just fork Chromium, rebrand it Firefox 30, and then…uh…profit?

            Another great FOSS project, born of the burning desire to empower users, destroyed by corporate dogmatism. I just hope a new Phoenix rises from Firefox’s ashes.

        2. Badr wrote on

          True Flash player on Linux has not been updated for a year and half it is buggy and glitchy while Chrome has the latest version furthermore it has the project itself now.
          Still the hardware acceleration is a horrible on Windows, Linux or OSX.
          HTML5 videos for God’s sake.
          That Austraills UX after 3 years of it’s born finally comes as a fork of Chrome interface.
          Update followed by about:addons to check which add-on is broken because after version 4 was version 25 to catch Chrome versions number lol what’s the difference. There’s many nice add-ons thrown in the website not working whilst they are much much better than the stupid compatiable add-ons if one develpoer just check them for a days they will get fixed.
          And now they having the approach of Chrome on users prevention.

    2. Jh wrote on

      If you want stable abstract apis, thats what the jetpack addon sdk is for. Take a look, its really quite nice.

  3. Lulu wrote on

    Why need another Chrome? I have several extensions that utilize status bar, if removed or moved into main bar it will be a nuthouse.
    Firefox was a browser when everyone was able to tune it for own needs and style, removing customization features will turn it into Chromium on Gecko. Sorry, i will stay on FF 24 ESR for a while but then … aiming for Seamonkey.

  4. Peter (NL) wrote on

    I really hope that the Mozilla team do not fuck up Firefox browser. I am not really happy with this Australis look (e.g. very ugly curved tabs).
    In my opinion there is no need to implement this Australis theme. Firefox users love this browser because of the many features and customizability.

    I’d be better to improve the add-on / plug-in management. Improve the speed, stability et cetera.

    1. Mark wrote on

      Agreed about curved tabs. Their ugliness is one reason why I dislike Chrome.

  5. non7top wrote on

    Thanks for early notice so that I could disable automatic updates before all my addons get broken once again. Just consider that not all of the users are so dumb that need everything to be simplified, personally I’m fine with the complexities of additional panels and status bar.

  6. Anchakor wrote on

    These changes regarding toolbars are ridiculous. Firefox should be a modular extensible browser it used to be and is today. People are free to just not use the “bad” plugins which make humongous toolbars – that is the point of plugins – they are not default. There is nothing wrong with Firefox developing sensible defaults, but it not should force people to particular way of using and having it, unnecessarily restricting plugin creators by whatever grand scheme Firefox UX team currently fancies…

  7. SaphirJD wrote on

    Thanks for taking away the choice out of my hands, Firefox Below V25 Australis will be used in that case and no updates will be done anymore.

    Thanks for the all the fish, it was a great time using Firefox !

  8. soshial wrote on

    Please, do not remove addon bar! It is extremely convenient, since it is very narrow strip of space used. And it doesn’t eat the space of url bar (as it is in Chrome). If you remove addon bar, tons of addons would be very inconvenient to use.

    I also want to ask you to make Firefox interface (in the top of the window) look in Linux same as it is in Windows, since it leaves in Linux so much unused space that we could have used properly.

    Please.

  9. dusty-2011 wrote on

    I don’t like the merged Bookmarks button in the new Australis design. There is a big star which you can use to add a page to your Bookmarks or edit a current bookmark, and right next to the star is a tiny arrow which you can use to view your bookmarks. This tiny arrow is much too small in my opinion. The arrow should have more horizontal space assigned to it.

    In the current version of Firefox it is very easy to click on the Bookmarks button, because there is a lot of horizontal space assigned to this button, so you cannot miss-click. In the Australis design, there is not enough horizontal space assigned to opening the Bookmarks menu, so it is easy to miss-click.

    Can someone give a reason for choosing for such a tiny arrow? Why not make the arrow button with which you can open your bookmarks a lot bigger?

  10. Ruben wrote on

    Hi there,

    If the add-on bar is kept as we know it today …

    1. … addon developers won’t be forced to create their own toolbar(s).
    2. … addons such as FoxClocks, ForeCastFox, Status-4-Evar, … (time, weather, status info) can still be put at the bottom of the screen.
    3. … no special effort has to be put into migrating wide addons. The user decides whether to leave them in the add-on bar or to move them to the navigation bar.
    4. … an extra customization target is provided, compensating for the removal of the “create custom toolbar” option. Power users will rejoice!
    5. … cluttering of the brand new Australis interface is avoided (no need for extra toolbars, no crowded navigation bar).
    6. … users won’t need to look for an addon called “add-on bar” 😉

    Thanks for reading.
    Firefox FTW!

  11. Nuss wrote on

    Great! The situation now is that you don’t know where the addon button will go. Either in the navigation toolbar, in the addon bar or toggled in some setting per addon. Having one predictable place will lower the threshold for people to use addons and make the UI more tidy out of the box. Especially with the new configuration mode in Australis.

    If it is possible to make an addon that adds toolbars above and below the content, this change will probably benefit the ones who dislike the changes as well since the placement will be predictable.

    Looking forward to Australis!

    1. SaphirJD wrote on

      Well, the round Tabs do look nice for sure. But is it necessary to remove Customization features like for example to move around the Adress Bar UI Element around at the UI as wished?

      Australis may offer perhaps some few advantages, but it brings much more Disadvantages, at last for so called Power Users and Advanced Users.

      And with something like that i can and will never Agree, i for my part will not use a product which smells, feels and looks like Google Chrome. Much worse, while it has the outlook style, it still misses the speed.

      If something should have been added from Google Chrome, then this should be the speed. But in that department Mozilla is still lacking so much. If they think that they gain more users by only adding the outlook and the simplicity of an already existing thing, i feel Mozilla will be very much disappointed in the End!

      1. Appster wrote on

        The rounded tabs are the most unnecessary thing ever done to the poor Firefox! The other new “features” (e.g. the deletion of the Add-On-Bar, the new Menu-Button, the merged Search- and Adress-Bar) are also needles, however. I think nobody really asked for those “innovations” coming from the unappraciative heads of some developers. The very few advantages of Australis could have been realized in the current interface as well!
        I have nothing against the wish of simplifying the UI, but all of these changes should be optional and reversible! The contrary is fact, because options are taken from us by some guys at Mozilla!!! I am not interested in supporting ideas like this! Please rethink your plans, Mozilla-developers!

  12. John Smith wrote on

    Are you trying to say that you recognize Chrome’s superiority?

    1. SaphirJD wrote on

      I only say that Firefox without it’s Customization and with Chrome’s Outlook is just an “inferior copy of the Original” – So why someone should use a copy if there is also the Original around.

      It is as simple as it is, nothing more and nothing less!

      1. Appster wrote on

        SaphirJD, you are completely right. I can not understand why some people are defending these changes to Firefox! The deletion of the Add-On-Bar is just horrible! Firefox used to be a modular browser which could be customized by the user! I don’t attach any importance to these changes!
        My only hope is that I will be able to move the tabs from top back to the bottom and to restore the Search-Bar in the future!

        1. John wrote on

          Trying to take one browser and make it a “Do-All” thing is like trying to make one make and model of a car and put everything into it for every customer.

          To the Firefox team: Why can’t you people take all of that energy and put it to good use? Why can’t you develop three or four versions of your browser; with each version suited to four basic tastes (e.g. Firefox Home, Firefox Personal, Firefox Business, Firefox Enterprise)?

          And then why not take all of your plugins, addons, etc and put them in a user-friendly, intuitive library where people would go and select what they wanted. The items in this library would have recommendations, uses and reader’s comments. It would also be bold enough to warn people of bugs.

          Yes, I know. You already have this; but the problem is it is all scattered and laid out in such a vague and ambiguous way that I am not user that anyone below Tech-level expertise knows how to access or use them.

          Redesign your website. Add more pages. Make the directories clear so people know what is on that page within 4 seconds. Even your website is crappy and confusing. It is no wonder your browser is getting the same way.

          Too much stuff in a space that is not increasing in size.

          I am simply saying, guys; look at the automobile market.

          Not everyone opts for a Mercedes Benz when they have the choice of a 68 Chevelle Malibu convertible.

          “Driving” a browser is just like a car. People shop for both with the same views in mind; inexpensive, fast, good looking, comes with options to add or remove with little down time, and the ride is out of this world.

          Don’t tell me your version 25 (a behemoth clunky truck with built-in, un-removeable crap) is great when I am only after a sporty, fast coupe with basic built in features and the options to add more later.

          Cramming everything into one design is folly.

          Understand the love relationship people have with cars through the years, and you may just be the leader again.

  13. TestPilot wrote on

    Is this “Australis” targets Australopithecus as it’s main user base? Or why you have to treat your users like if they’re retards? No, sure, some ideas are not so bad. But overall retardization of Firefox like removal of settings and debilization of interface is really annoying. You see, someone who wanted dumb unconfigurable interface are already using stuff like chrome. Why they would change to Firefox? Any valid reason to do so? And why I expected to prefer FF over chrome if your interfaces are will be equally dumb?

  14. Ivan wrote on

    Dump look is for dumb users. That’s your target audience now, right?

  15. avi9526 wrote on

    Please, avoid interface simplification. Developed and flexible interface is one of the reasons why I prefer Fx to other browsers. Not every people have tablet computers and on my 24″ screen simple interface looks ridiculous and ineffective. Losing flexibility and functionality is always a drawback.

    P.S. Thanks for making this awesome browser and for notification about regression in functionality.

  16. Chaser wrote on

    WTF you doing?

    “Customization and choice” — this is why I preffered Firefox. And now firefox-team want to make from Firefox another chromium.

    I don’t worry about default UI, but I hate when some _working_ things are removed from project without any important reasons. Really, I am not a fanatic of Simple-And-Minimalistic-UI™, and user-created toolbars and Add-on Bar are important things for me. I know other people, who like theese things too…

  17. Henk van den Bor wrote on

    Screens get more pixels and browsers want to show less… strange timing.
    Anyway thanks for the early information so I can disable the auto updates. I love Firefox for the customizing possibilities and for the fact that I can rely on knowing where to click for every useful addon.
    Why does Mozilla think I need to change my workflow?

    When I first started to need ‘status 4 evar’ I started to fear this moment… Why do what everybody else does? If I want Chrome I just click on its icon I do not want my Fox to look like another silly copy.

    1. Cattleya wrote on

      Yes, that’s ugly! Laptop and Desktop screen always get more pixel and cheaper, but browser space always get smaller to leave a big blank space in screen.

  18. wat wrote on

    Australis the way it looks now uses way too much vertical space. The bar between the bottom of tabs and place where a webpage starts rendering is just xbox huge. Please alter this, it’s not too late.

  19. why wrote on

    Do u think ppls in mozilla care u opinion?
    All say that ff 25 fails and still they do those changes… SMART MOZILLA SMART!!!!

  20. SaphirJD wrote on

    Firefox should be renamed, since after Australis it has not earned the name Firefox anymore. I vote for Firechrome!

    Disappointing end of a brilliant era of Browser Experience!

    1. Appster wrote on

      You speak out of my soul, SaphirJD!
      The original idea of Firefox was to give the user full control of his personal preferences regarding the surfing experience. It was the mission of Mozilla to enable the user du customize the browser the way he wants and wished.
      In my opinion Mozilla is detaching the path which leaded them to success. Copying Chrome means to acclaim the superior position of this browser. Mozilla had many other options to change Firefox, but they choosed to imitate Chrome. That won’t really help them, there is a Chrome out there already…

  21. SaphirJD wrote on

    The main problem with Australis is, that Mozilla seriously believe that they can gain that way users back.

    But the problem is going much deeper.

    You wonder for example why Opera Devs changed from their own Creation Presto to Webkit? Because they have realized that they have hit the road with it with making it compatible with newest Webtrends and Technologies

    What that has to do with Firefox you may now ask?

    While Firefox has not YET hit that point, they already starting to try to bring back users with a Theme which resembles closely Google Chrome. But Firefox has deep beyond the same problems like Opera had. Gecko is also limited in Speed and Compatibility, you can only develope a thing as much as its flexibility allows it.

    Firefox was concipated as a Browser with more functions and more features – what we these days so far still know as “Customization” – it was very short sighted from the Firefox Devs to miss the chance to turn Gecko earlier into a more Compatible Browser Engine.

    You know that there are sites which do only work 100% in Google Chrome?

    Firefox will at some point hit also the road like Opera Devs have done it. Maintaining a Browser Engine which is missing the flexibility to deal with more Speed and more Webtrends/Technologies has NO Future.

    So… For everyone thinking this is already dangerous, think twice, because we are only at the beginning of a long road down!

  22. Cattleya wrote on

    Why not ? Why not Mozilla let user vote for what they want, Australist just make Firefox look like Chrome, less customizable, I personally don’t like this change.

  23. sk9 wrote on

    Beginning of the end(. Do not remove addon bar!!!. Australis ugliness…

    1. Appster wrote on

      Unfortunately, you may be right. Too bad about Firefox…

  24. Ken Saunders wrote on

    “while I don’t agree with every UX decision that we make, I do agree with the process that we employ to do this”

    That’s pretty much what I and hundreds, if not thousands of others would say too.

    1. Adam wrote on

      I have serious doubts that there are thousands of people who even know of that process.

      Given the unwise decisions resulting from the process, I have serious doubts about the process itself. I think the process–and some of the people involved in it–are self-justifying their existence.

      Let’s be frank: this is no longer the Mozilla which birthed Firefox. Mozilla’s primary goal is no longer to empower its users to “Take back the web!” Mozilla is now chasing numbers by imitating Chrome. Of course, by doing this they are turning their backs on the strategy which led to their success in the first place. This will only lead to Firefox becoming less relevant, and ultimately to its demise.

      Maybe this is why Mozilla is diversifying into the mobile OS market: rather than righting the sinking ship, they’ll man the lifeboat and start building on it by cannibalizing the mothership. It’s quite sad, really. I wish Mozilla had a charter which defined its work more narrowly: to empower web users with choices and control over their browsing by creating powerful, free browser software and advocating and supporting open standards. Ideally it would explicitly reject minimalism and projects not directly related to web browsing and web standards. I don’t think we need yet another mobile OS. The landscape is littered with the corpses of those that have failed. Firefox on Android is currently very good, and Android is light-years ahead of iOS. Stop reinventing the wheel!

  25. andygold wrote on

    I don’t know how useful this might be for others, but I’d like to be able to sort Firefox results by date. If for example i was reading reviews on a brand new cell phone that just hit the market, and I was checking on a daily basis, it would make it easier for me to find the newEST articles. This way, i wouldn’t have to sort through what I have or have not already read. Maybe there is already some way of doing this, but i have not figured it out yet.

  26. ffuser wrote on

    “removing the Add-on Bar completely”
    Thats where I keep bookmarks toolbar. Why do they think that no one uses it?
    “Overall, you should plan for a minimalistic toolbar UI”
    It’s already too minimalistic with buttons on toolbars that lead to menu items instead of using actual menu. So glad I can remove them.

    1. Anonymosity wrote on

      I have seen screenshots of Firefox browsers with the Add-on bar almost completely full. My own Add-on bar has 15 buttons on it currently. Where are these buttons supposed to go? If they go into the Navigation toolbar, there will not be enough room for the address bar, and if no new toolbars can be created, the situation will be hopeless. Perhaps one could use the bookmarks toolbar to house the address bar if one reduced the bookmarks on it to only one folder. Then you reduce the usefulness of the bookmarks toolbar.

      The idea that you can make a desktop browser as reduced as a mobile device browser is ridiculous. The screen sizes are very different, and people have different expectations of the two types of browsers.

  27. spirit wrote on

    Hmm, after you release Firefox 4 I saw very strange decision. You will try simplify interace on desktop, when we have big screen 22″ or more. Desktop is not tablets, ipad or other small toys. We have space to have more visible option, without hide this, unnecessary click to get sth. If I want more space I press F11 and get it. Dont castration this browser more!!!!!

    Every new version I must install next extension to bring back funcionallity from past:

    – Hide Caption Titlebar Plus to bring back old menu, button still take some space on title windows so way compact this option? With this extension I have old menu, close/minimize button or some space to other icon with one bar!!!!

    – Status-4-Evar to bring back old status. You delete status bar, ok can live without that, but show status once left, one right is annoying. With this extension whe have status on extension bar.

    – new Download Manager without shows speed? Its still Download Manager? Thank goodness we can restore the old solution in about.

    – tabs on top. I preffer on bottom, so happy that you put this like a option. And that is how you should take important change on interface, put it like a option.

    Every this change complicated our functionality, custimization and convenience. We can live with that if we can bring back all with extenstion. Pro user can cope with this.

    But man, delete addon bar, delete make new bar? I use more than 40 addon, where I put all icon for them? I use Firefox for work, not only open Facebook. Only Firefox give me the greatest custiomization. But without posibbility managment a lot of extension this browser will be the same like other base on WebKit, maybe worst because slower.

    Dont make this browser only for tablets, becasue PC still live and will be live forever, in particular work place. If I want more space on tablets I can turn off some bar, push F11, make style to hide somethind etc and have this space. But if you delete important funcionality, change requirements extension , I cant bring back this.

    Take your vision, your ideas, make some discusion with users and discusses with them. But listen this opinnion, because you make browser not for yourself but for us, your users. I see only one positive comment on this topic, so maybe sth is wrong with this chage? Before you make big change on interace thing 5 time, its easy make change and lost a lot of users, but harder bring it back.

    1. ss wrote on

      Agreed and well put. Customization is what makes firefox best.

  28. Sky wrote on

    Yet another sign that FF goes down the hill.

    If not firebug I would dump it completely. What you are doing is ridiculous. How about making a step forward instead of backwards? Improve support for new CSS3 features? Reduce memory load? Fix the click to play issues? Give more customization settings (including one to restore drop-down menus so that I wouldn’t have to tap left alt each time I want them) ? Give us an option to display downloads progress as a popup (eg. IE-style) instead of hidden in some obscure corner under tiny arrow icon? Fix the freaking startup time (FF is the browser that takes most to time to load, even freakin IE with twice as many plugins as FF starts more quickly!!!!).

    There’s plenty of real stuff to FIX and improve.
    And you DECIDE TO FIX WHAT AIN’T BROKEN!

    1. SaphirJD wrote on

      Exactly the Reason why a switch to another browser is a good idea. Have checked out today Qupzilla, that one is for Windows, Linux and more Systems.

      That one goes the right way, there the Devs are ASKING for opinions and requests and make that stuff happen. While it is not yet possible to rearrange stuff on the Nav Bar Elements, you can already shut on/shut off Navigation Bar Elements, like not wished Buttons or Bars.

      Perhaps i will use that one in the Future, since it is also not really sure that Firefox Mods like Palemoon or Cyberfox really will be able to kick Australis where it belongs.. in the Trashbin!

  29. SaphirJD wrote on

    And as expected, most of comments of Blogs, Boards and other Sites where Users can post their opinion are negative about the Design.

    This Outcry will be no silent 😀

  30. Klaus wrote on

    The lines that separate tabs are now black on dark blue.
    Same for text in Bookmarks Toolbar items.
    I wonder how a designer can come up with such a stupid idea.

    How to get out of customize? Just click on all buttons until one of them happens to do it.
    This is at least consistent with the UI of tab-groups.
    Somebody should have a look at an iOS device. They show how an UI can be made mostly self-explanatory.

  31. Stilez wrote on

    Same voice as many above. I want a browser that works my way.

    I know 95% of people won’t want it how I do, and that’s fine. Choose a simple UI and config as default for them, but the Unique Selling Point for Firefox is customisability.

    * Give newcomers some ideas of customisation they could have, enough to encourage a toe in the water.
    * Show users how limitations of the default IU can be bypassed for some of the most common UI enhancements users seem to enjoy.
    * Show heavy tab users how they can better control tabs and manage sessions with useful extensions.
    * Set up some of the most common “types of user” on a “do more” page, and show newcomers some examples of what they can do to enhance Firefox for their benefit given their kind of usage.

    Do not, however, dumb down the actual browser abilities. The default UI can be simple. But the UI capabilities should be power-user driven.

    Why? B ecause Mozilla/Firefox can’t compete on pure “user simplicity” alone. Its unique strength is flexibility, and enhanceability. Encourage users to explore these, and do the best possible to prevent extensions and UI layouts breaking for those users who actually know what browsers are like and don’t always want the “newest and greatest” UI as Mozilla imagines it. Variety and non-coercion works well for Linux. Keep it in Firefox.

    1. no$hare wrote on

      time for some good old fashioned lower case in this thread:)

      i started with pheonix on a mac. now ff21 on win7. been loyal. been patient. been on and off beta channel. i respect programmers. i admire their tenacity in the face of unreasonable demands. but the firefox project is beholden to the google corporation. some know that viscerally and are looking for career options while others prefer to keep their jobs.

      lots of coders have bailed for good reason but those who remain have mouths to feed, life’s work to continue and resumes to polish. understood. but chrome is the anointed browser and web homogeneity is the trend. user input is a wild-card. antithetical to corporate continuity and marketing demagogs. the firefox and the mozilla project at large have done their level best but sunset is nigh.

      i agree with SaphirJD. i would only replace the word ‘disappointing’ with ‘predictable’. i think we’ve all known the day would come when firefox would morph into something else. something better for the market place but worse for the discerning end user. that day will come later this year. i’ll keep what ever pre-25 works with my preferred extensions. i’ll be happy with that.

      this is a good blog, Jorge. hang in there and do what you can;)

  32. Dave wrote on

    Ok….change for changes sake doesn’t work for me! Never has. Not in windows or Firefox! Since W2k windows has gone DOWNhill IMO! Prettying things up…rounding corners…asking me if I want to do this or that..wasting my time when I insert a flash card, external drive or disc…(of course all of that disabled now)… basically “dumbing down” what WAS a usable NT OS environment for those of us who actually know how to use computers which is A. an insult and B. a waste of time turning off features we don’t want anyway and C. trying to regain the utilitarian usability we had in the first place. The current windows UI is a DISASTER!! The control panel is spread out all over with so many hidden features it’s like playing a game of Mahjong trying to remember “where I saw that control set before” and I’ve been using W8 since the developers preview came out…so quite a while now. I’ve got the hang of it but I still don’t like it much! (to it’s credit it is fast though). (Of course that tile garbage is disabled, start menu returned …and using FIREFOX …NOT Chrome…NOT IE!)

    I use Firefox for a reason! It offers more features and customization while at the same time appearing more utilitarian than either Chrome or IE with usable toolbars I can view or not as I choose. Firefox also offers the largest available catalog of add ons out there vs IE or Chrome. I absolutely refuse to use either of the latter! I’ve used Opera in the past at times and while I discovered it before Firefox…it’s never been as compatible in terms of displaying web pages correctly (though much better now) and the widgets…while usable are still lacking in comparison to Firefox add ons.

    One current Firefox nitpick for the SUGGESTION BOX – I really can’t stand the way when I do a fresh install of Firefox the browser starts minimized. It took several minutes for me to figure out how to get the main menu and address bar back the first time I saw that. Why not have fresh installs start with toolbars fully enabled and OFFER users the ability to view or not view what they want via options choices.

    I’m one of those who prefers utilitarian to fancy any day! I still use CLASSIC Winamp skin, prefer the look of W2k to Xp or later and like my Firefox just the way it is! I don’t need round corners, fancy colors or LESS usability or fewer customizing options. I DON’T use IE or Chrome because they LACK those features.

    Firefox 21 had me in a bit of a panic after It auto installed and I found my add on’s no longer worked. The panic wasn’t from a few add on’s not functioning but from what I found in researching the issue. I see Firefox is gearing towards mobile as well as desktop use and I certainly hope Firefox doesn’t take the windows 8 approach to mobile where they try to make one browser that has to be identical for both desktop and mobile both functionality and in appearance! I’m NOT a mobile user except for occasionally taking a laptop on the road and prefer a LARGER screen with REAL keys whenever possible. Somehow I don’t think my laptop is considered a mobile device…but I just don’t need to be plugged in all the time…and would be fine with a minimalist browser on a smart phone if I did. Or at the very least a browser designed similarly to the desktop version but not necessarily identical…and certainly NOT necessitating a redesign or reprogramming of my desktop browser so it has mobile capability as well causing it to be crippled or alter its functionality in any way to also make it usable in a mobile environment. That’s “worlds colliding and anyone that knows the worlds theory knows that when worlds collide “George (Costanza) gets upset.” Personally I have a dumb phone and don’t need a bluetooth glued to my ear either. As far as I’m concerned…let the mobile crowd fend for themselves. They’ll pry my full size keyboard out of my cold dead hands.

    Make changes if you MUST to maintain security but PLEASE don’t sacrifice functionality or the change the current Firefox UI “just because you can” or to keep up with the Joneses. If the Joneses are Windows 8, IE, Chrome or anything to do with OSx please keep desktop and mobile SEPARATE and steer as far from those other influences as you can! In other words please don’t fix what isn’t broken! I’d be happy to see firefox 100 look and function EXACTLY as it does now! It’s simple, navigable, customizable, I don’t need sunglasses to tone down a psychadelic trip of colors, and it’s not a clone of other useless garbage out there! KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid (no offense intended). Thanks for a great browser and for your time here and I hope you take some of these suggestions to do NOTHING to heart.

    Thanks Dave

  33. Kenny M wrote on

    I like the idea of a new interface (assuming it is faster than the current and a refresh is always nice) but concern though is that features seem to be getting removed for the new UI. I do not use chrome because Google does not allow for customization of any kind to the interface (and the way tabs are setup is weird with that space between them). I trust Mozilla to do the right thing here but this blog post does concern me.

  34. deacon a wrote on

    why make Firefox look like that lame dog called Chrome?

    never liked Chrome, never will.

    I use Firefox because I dislike Chrome

    are you getting my point?

    If I have to, I’ll just lockdown my computer and use my current version of Firefox until something better comes along.

    If you abandon us, rest assured that we will abandon you.

  35. Catzwolf wrote on

    I think the development team need to adhere to what made this browser so popular and not what is trending at the moment.

    It seems you guys are starting to get so out of touch with your users and you are now just making changes because you feel it will help you win the browser war with Chrome. Why don’t you concentrate on what actually makes Firefox different and special to its users rather than getting into this narrow minded view of what you think is best for your users?

    I’m a long time developer and have constantly used Firefox as my developer browser, why? Because I can change it to suit my developer needs… i.e. Meaning I can add, change or remove toolbars as I see fit. Now with 25…. you will make me another mindless moron who you think doesn’t have the IQ to use a browser and therefore you feel you need to tell me how to arrange everything.

    WIll I tell you why you are losing the browser war with Chrome? Here are the two reason I hear from my family and friends when I suggest using Firefox 1. It’s Slow on start up. 2. It feels slower when rendering webpages. My personal issue and it’s one that has been around for a long time is instability issues concerning Flash.

    I understand the need to streamline the UI, but you do not do this on the back of removing what some people regard as important features to their workflow. If you start doing this then you’re in this for yourself and not your users.

    I personally wont be using 25+ for this above reasons and I may swap to another browser that is a fork of you own.

  36. Jimmy M wrote on

    Firefox 24 leaves IE standing – or rather, buffering endlessly. Firefox works smoothly, quickly, conveniently as it is. Don’t ruin it. Firefox accommodates dozens of tabs, each one has its own list of sites already visited, they can even be coloured individually. I like changing my browser’s appearance – and Firefox makes that easy too. The previous poster is spot-on – keep with what the users find has worked, don’t spoil a fine product.

    Firefox would do far better to deal with the few glitches that already exist – it always sends me a dialogue box to tell me a script has not finished running. That’s almost my only complaint – the other is that Yahoo questions is available on AOL, but runs an error notice on Firefox.

    Firefox is everything a browser should be – don’t make it like Chrome or IE.

  37. Sylvain Giroux wrote on

    Thank you very much Jorge for this heads up.

    I’m a Toolbar developer for Visicom Media and so our framework seems to run and our Toolbars shows on the UX Nightly Branch. Are the changes you mentioned in this post are inside the current UX build? Because if they are, I don’t see major issue or big changes we need to apply to be Firefox 25 compatible.

    Thanks for your help!

    Sylvain.

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on

      Hello Silvain,

      Yes, the current UX Nightly should show these changes. I think they should also be visible in the current regular Nightly.

      1. Sylvain Giroux wrote on

        Thanks for your reply.

        We’ll keep installing the latest versions of UX Nightly every week to make sure everything works properly with our addons.

        Thanks again!

  38. Aditya W wrote on

    Just read about FF25 news from one site i followed and immediately tested it and here’s my opinion about it:

    I’m really disappointed with the new UX in FF25, i’ve been a long time user of Firefox since FF1 (in fact my firefox profile i’m using is from FF1 era) but the new changes really made me mad because you’ve removed the option to show icons as text only among others things such as Status Bar extension no longer working (status4evar) and all the icons there are moved into the area near location bar and the exact reason why status bar is useful is to access various tools/addons easily without going through the menu or even worse context menu.

    FYI, i’m a web developer and i use two firefox profiles, one is for general use (daily browsing and also development) packed with modification AND I DON’T CARE about screen space at all in this profile because that’s the purpose of this profile for browsing and development at the same time, and the other one is to watch movies specifically at that is Youtube only where i care about screen space, and so there’s only minimal addons (scriptish, stylish, and privacy related) there and using default theme. But i’m sure you get the idea.

    So if you decide to create a new UX, i’d suggest you to make it user selectable from about:config or anything you deemed good rather than forcing it into users to follow your own perspective, BECAUSE plenty (if not most) firefox users that is still using firefox are web savvy users or developers AND they know what they’re doing to their browsers AND not those that switched to chrome because their friends says so, such as running multiple profiles for different purposes like in my case. Previously you’ve removed status bar, and now you removed custom toolbar and also remove to show icons as text only. What are you going to remove next?

    Learn from Windows 8 mistakes, make it selectable for users rather than forcing it and in the end when users had switched to other browsers, you realized that you made a mistake and decided to bring up the old features back (like in Windows 8.1 case), but unfortunately it’s all already too late. Please listen to the users feedback. Make it configurable from users not forced.

    1. Geek in Training wrote on

      Agreed. And good ilistration with Windows 8.

      I have about 10 icons and I like having one or two of them on the addon bar.

      I can understand making some things default, like adding extension icons to the navigation bar (even though it is not my personal prefrence); but to remove the options of putting them elsewhere I do not quite understand.

      And removing the ability to add a custom toolbars? Removing the addon-bar alone might not be all that bad, but then to remove custom toolbars also?

      What should then be done with my 10 addons? I do not want to disable them, and I also like to be able to see the url of the webpage I am at!

      Also, could there be an “Old Theme” option along with the new theme?

  39. Saad Shamsaei wrote on

    Please don’t change interface. few weeks ago i migrated to chrome due to firefox bugs. after two weeks i returned to Firefox. i prefer Firefox’s interface. its better. Please don’t change it and don’t make it like chrome.
    Please don’t remove add-on bar completely. i use near 10 extensions. i need their icons. but if all of extensions icons go top the url bar will be small and bad. Please don’t .

  40. Geek in Training wrote on

    Quick Question: If you are going to simplify the UI, why not let it be simple on the outside, but still leave the ability for users to fully customize things without a lot of trouble? ( I.E. Leaving a “add toolbar” button around.)

  41. Ronald L wrote on

    i’m using firefox 25 beta now. i like the look so far.
    suggestions: keep it simple, eg. 1.the new tabs are too big & curved too high.
    2. with another tab open i can see it but i have to hoover the mouse over it to see the separation of the tabs. not good
    3.remove the search bar, its old
    4. the bookmark this page button has too many options, who really needs (recent bookmarks, unsorted. tags, show all ect,,,,) click the button and have 2 options, either save it in the bookmark toolbar or other bookmarks, if you pick other bookmarks a folder will appear in the toolbar listing all your bookmarks and your done. KEEP IT SIMPLE

    for now i’m using chrome for it’s simplicity. clean tabs, not too bulky, no need to hoover the mouse over tab to see separation & bookmarks are a breeze.

  42. db wrote on

    qoute Jorge Villalobos Author

    ‘I don’t know any project that is fully democratic, specially not when it comes to UX design. There’s no way to please everyone,”

    Yes, there is. It’s called choice. A simple version and a bloated, ‘dangle keys in front of a baby’ version.

    Two thing doing the exact same thing, one stripped of useless garbage and the othe packed full of useless eye candy shit.

    Instead of forcing things on people to adapt and be forced to ‘deal with the changes’, give an option.

    For the starting concept of being different from IE to using their business concept of force change becuse we’re to lazt to give you choice…. nice model shift.

    You’d probably be upset if you bought a car designed for a 5’5 guy and you were 6’2. ‘Last years model had adjustable seats!”… salesman ‘well, the mfg decided it was fine for everyone, you’ll learn to live with it’…

  43. C.S. Loberg wrote on

    Well thank god you guys have time to work the look of that thing out because as of now it looks a little weird with those curves. A “+” for tabs just sitting up there in free space? I think you need to put something around the + icon and make it fit in more because as of now it looks really out of place and ANNOYING in all honesty. I don’t really like when things are just freely sitting in space like that in my browser. I see that it darkens when touched but that isn’t enough. It looks plain silly atm and I for one am not digging these curves. Too curvy. Too much change.

    Seriously…. change for change’s sake is not the right answer. You pretty much have gold with Firefox 23 original release atm. I see no reason for me to switch and if this is the new interface…. but I know you have some time to refine things just please do so. It just looks so weird from what we have now that it will be hard to convince certain people imho.

  44. C.S. Loberg wrote on

    That isn’t to say I don’t like anything about the direction you are going. Just make sure to refine this direction before you ever release it. Ditch the ultra curves. That stuff is hokey as hell.

    The preferences being on the toolbar is very nice. But you really need to work out those curves! They look terrible imho. A more diluted curve or simply a square like it is presently would work just fine. And don’t leave that + just sitting there please. Integrate it somehow like it is in 23.

  45. trlkly wrote on

    I just downloaded the nightly of Firefox 26 and this has still not been done. Have you guys hopefully reconsidered after all the backlash?

    And, BTW, Chrome did not in any way steal Firefox’s UI. Chrome came out in 2008 with basically the same UI it has now. Firefox 3.6–the version BEFORE Firefox changed to its current look, came out in 2010. Mozilla is indeed copying Chrome’s UI without even a token attempt at remaining different.

    Newsflash: the reason people like Chrome has nothing to do with the UI. Anyone who switches from Firefox to Chrome cites Chrome’s speed and stability as their reasons. Looking like Chrome can only hurt you, because it makes you seem like there’s no real difference. It only makes it easier to switch.

    Furthermore, the one thing people don’t like about Chrome is how it takes away their customization options. Why in the world would you be talking about doing that, especially as part of a UI change? Even if you had a legitimate reason for doing that, why in the world would you make a bunch of radical changes simultaneously? Do you just want to lose your install base?

    But you don’t have a legitimate reason. You just want to remove the addon bar because you don’t like the way it looks. You’re letting UI people decide what features your browser has. Why would you do that? It’s like having the painter of your house decide how many rooms it has. I’m not saying that the UI design isn’t important (see how upset your UI is making people, for example), but it’s a completely separate discipline from the people designing how the browser is used.

    I sincerely hope the 26.0 nightly I am currently using shows a shift in your priorities. Like Chrome, there’s not really any visible difference in the UI. The UI works. We aren’t running into problems of people not being able to use it. People aren’t complaining about how ugly it is. We already, by default, have minimized the space to the same level you are planning on doing so–the UI is already minimized.

    Australis is just a solution without a problem. No Firefox user is clamoring for a change, and no one doesn’t use Firefox because it doesn’t look enough like Chrome. Little tweaks here and there might be nice, but a complete overhaul is ridiculous. (about the only thing I like is fixing the XP theme, something I told you to do back in Firefox 4.)

    1. Jorge Villalobos wrote on

      As far as I know, the plan for Australis was moved to ship with 26, but there might have been some further delays. I’m pretty sure it won’t be cancelled, but it might be delayed due to issues that arise during landing and testing.

  46. Grv wrote on

    I am using firefox with windows 8 and as i open facebook then home page and other pages all are look messed up. Is there any problem with firefox 23.0 and facebook is not compatible with firefox? please help me out…:(

  47. Dita wrote on

    I like Chrome’s interface, such that I use the FxChrome theme and Omnibar extension on Firefox. Why don’t I just use Chrome, some might ask? Because of addons, including one that still uses the Addon bar (that I make more compact with the Barlesque addon). Firefox’s strength is its customizability and addons. Take those away and many will lose reason to use Firefox.

  48. Nicholas Bodley wrote on

    I’ve posted elsewhere, but on a 2013 Nexus 7, it seems that the total number of add-ons that work is maybe half a dozen. The latest update, perhaps v.23 (no “About” in the menu!) has apparently “broken” nearly every add-on that’s been written. Add-on compatibility is as if 23 were written only for DEC VMS.

    The GNOME major revision to v3,0 had oodles of Ubuntu users really upset, and those who knew migrated to Mint Linux. This reworking of Firefox vividly reminds me of that disaster.

    I’m sorry, but recent changes seem to have been made with utter lack of awareness of users, to a psychotic extent. I do hope you don’t crash and leave no residue.

  49. Nicholas Bodley wrote on

    Spectacular! I just tried to install the Add-on Compatibility Reporter into Ffx 23.0 on a 2013 Nexus 7, and the Reporter is incompatible!!!

    Wonders do truly never cease.

    I must commend Mozilla, though, for total success in aborting the installations of incompatible add-ons. I’m not being sarcastic.

  50. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! wrote on

    Thank you for the minimalistic design! i love it

    thank you sooo much!

More comments:1 2