[besson3c]

4.0b8 includes the following interface conventions:

- status bar URLs that normally appear on mouseover of links get printed to on the right hand side of the main address bar

- tabs above address bar

- no menus


Thoughts?

[Curiosity]

Is it impossible to get it to show any menu bar? Bad idea. I depend on that to get at the settings. How do you do that with no menu?
I do not think it a good idea to replace the status bar, and remove the information about what server the browser is waiting for.

[besson3c]

Sorry, I misspoke quite badly...

There are menus, but with the tabs above the address bar all of the top level controls are gone, shifted to the address bar row.

[Brien]

I'll have to dig up a screenshot or something. Not feeling the bleeding edge itch lately.

[TETENAL]

Nö menus is an absuredly stupid idea. I haven't downloaded it yet, but of they did it by hiding the menubar, then you lose access to the status items like AirPort. And if they simply show an empty menubar this is even more stupid.

[angelmb]

menubar is still there



mouse over for 'The Environment' link



BUT, with or without the add-on bar, the handle at the bottom right hand corner of the window to resize it is M.I.A.

[cgc]

I just hope they shrink the bookmark toolbar so it fits (e.g. allow favicons to not be displayed or otherwise reduce wasted space).

[Curiosity]

How does one resize the window without the resize handle?

[angelmb]

Like you used to, but there is no way to tell the handler is still there.

10 KB movie:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1763527/this%20is%20dumb.mov

[Thorzdad]

Is there an option (or hack) to put the tabs back where they belong in an efficient work-flow...below the address bar?

[Wiskedjak]

I've always thought it was logically wrong for the address bar to be below the tabs. Tabs should sit over top of everything that changes when you switch to another tab, meaning browser window and address bar.

Right now, in both Firefox and Safari, the tabs open upward, implying that the bookmarks bar and address bar are different with each tab and with no connection to the browser window itself.

This Firefox design is going to annoy a lot of people, but it makes better logical sense than the current design.

[IronPen]

I have been playing with the FF betas for a while and I too like the changes in this beta. I like tabs on top (wish it was an option in Safari), and I like that the URL you're hovering the cursor over is displayed in the URL bar.

[-Q-]

I prefer Safari's implementation of tabs, but the way they were implemented in FF seems a large improvement over how Chrome does it.

[Thorzdad]

I'm thinking more in terms of workflow. When using tabs, one is far more apt to simply mouse up and click a tab, rather than click in the address bar. Keeping the tabs under the address bar (and immediately atop the live display) provides for a smoother logical workflow. It's a matter of focus priority, when it comes to navigating the live pages one has open.
Main focus-The current live page.
Second level of focus-The optional live pages represented in the tabs.

If one has a set of open tabs, the assumption is that the user will be jumping between these pages. And, of course, the user does this by mousing to, and clicking, the tabs. Thus, the workflow layout should be optimized for mousing/clicking between the active tabs. Arranging the tabs directly across the top of the live area does this. Setting the address bar between the live area and the tabs is like digging a moat. It really breaks-up the sense of a smooth workflow.

[IronPen]

Originally Posted by -Q- 

I prefer Safari's implementation of tabs, but the way they were implemented in FF seems a large improvement over how Chrome does it.

So what's the difference? You like that Firefox maintains the main toolbar with the tabs below rather than replacing the main toolbar like Chrome does?

[TETENAL]

I tried it and menus are still there thankfully.

It's really interesting though, that Firefox is almost indistinguishable from Opera now. They copied from the Norwegians down to the very details.

[-Q-]

Originally Posted by IronPen 

So what's the difference? You like that Firefox maintains the main toolbar with the tabs below rather than replacing the main toolbar like Chrome does?

Yes, for some reason that appeals to me more, aesthetically-speaking. And I'm constantly evaluating Title Tags for clients for SEO purposes and Chrome's implementation makes the full title tag difficult to see if I have more than two tabs open.

[angelmb]

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

Is there an option (or hack) to put the tabs back where they belong in an efficient work-flow...below the address bar?

No hack needed; the 'View' menu item contains a nested sub-menu to manage the toolbars where you can choose to display the tabs below the address bar.

[Thorzdad]