Mozilla last night launched Firefox 4, the latest major version of their increasingly-popular open source web browser.
This release includes a complete UI overhaul; the addition of Firefox Sync, which is similar to Chrome Sync; and interface improvements including App Tabs (similar to IE 9’s Pinned Tabs), Switch to Tab in the “Awesome Bar”, and Panorama mode, allowing for drag and drop organisation of tabs. As always there are the nearly quarter of a million addons and skins available, a range of JavaScript speed boosts, and a raft of security features including Do Not Track functionality.
In a little over 24 hours, Firefox 4 has achieved over 6 million downloads according to their realtime download monitor site, nearly doubling the rate of downloads that Internet Explorer 9 achieved when it was released a few days ago. Bear in mind, however, that the hundreds of millions of Firefox 3 and greater users have been getting notifications that the new version is available, and IE 9 is due to roll out through Windows Update imminently. The IE team were kind enough to send Mozilla a (presumably edible) cake congratulating them on the release.
To coincide with Firefox 4’s release, there is also a new version of the popular Firebug developer tool, updated for compatibility with the new release. Download Firefox 4.
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