Firefox 4 Nearly Fully Baked

For Mozilla's next browser version, let's hope eight is enough. The independent software foundation has just released Beta 8 of the heavily overhauled new version of Firefox. Firefox 4 sports a trimmed-down user interface (as has been the trend started with Google Chrome and followed by Opera and IE9 beta). The browser also makes some significant internal changes, with a new add-in system, a faster JavaScript engine, and lots more HTML5 compatibility.

To all this goodness, Beta 8 adds a simplified syncing setup, support for WebGL 3D graphics, and a redesigned Add-ons manager. Firefox director Mike Beltzner announced the beta release on a Mozilla Blog post yesterday.

Firefox's syncing allows users to automatically recreate their history, bookmarks, open tab sets, and passwords on other computers and smartphones. The new process automatically generates a short key that you enter when you want to add devices to your syncing account, similar to a lot of device's Bluetooth pairing setup.

WebGL is an open 3D graphics API related to the Khronos Group's similar OpenGL. It allows developers to create rich interactive visual environments inside a browser without the need for plug-ins like Adobe Flash, using the HTML5 Canvas element. Beltzner's blog post states that the beta's WebGL implementation supports "most modern built-in graphics cards."

On the add-in front, Firefox 4 Beta 8's Add-ons manager allows extensions and other add-ons to update themselves automatically, without that bothersome dialog when you start the browser up. The new design also makes it easier to find add-ons of interest, according to Mozilla's Jennifer Boriss. "The new Add-ons manager will be easier to use, sleeker, and faster than ever before," claims Boriss in a separate blog post. Taking a page from Google Chrome's playbook, the new add-on gallery appears in a browser tab page rather than a separate dialog window.

In the JavaScript benchmark wars, this version brings Firefox closer to the competition, but in quick-and-dirty runs of the Sunspider benchmark, Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview 7, Google Chrome 8, and Opera still beat it handily. On my 3.16GHz dual-core machine, the scores were Firefox 4b8: 254ms, IE9PP7: 203ms, Chrome 8: 216ms, and Opera 11: 229ms.

To try out the Firefox 4 beta for yourself, head to its Mozilla beta download page. You can run it alongside the stable version of Firefox, so don't worry about disturbing your current browser setup. Also look for a full review on PCMag.com of Firefox 4 after its full release early next year.

About Our Expert

Michael Muchmore

Contributor

My Experience

I've been testing PC and mobile software for more than 20 years, focusing on photo and video editing, operating systems, and web browsers. Prior to my current role, I covered software and apps for ExtremeTech and headed up PCMag’s enterprise software team. I’ve attended trade shows for Microsoft, Google, and Apple and written about all of them and their products.

I still get a kick out of seeing what's new in video and photo editing software, and how operating systems change over time. I was privileged to byline the cover story of the last print issue of PC Magazine, the Windows 7 review, and I’ve witnessed every Microsoft misstep and win, up to the latest Windows 11.

I’m an avid bird photographer and traveler—I’ve been to 40 countries, many with great birds! Because I’m also a classical music fan and former performer, I’ve reviewed streaming services that emphasize classical music.

Technology I Use

For everyday work, I use a good-old Dell tower with 16GB of RAM, a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, and an Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti GPU that runs on Windows 11. I pair it with a 4K Lenovo ThinkVision P27u-10 monitor and a Logitech MX Vertical mouse. For offsite work, I use a 2024 Microsoft Surface Laptop with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor. Camera-wise, I moved to mirrorless from a Canon EOS 80D with a Canon 70-300mm IS USM lens. I now have a Canon EOS R7 with a 100-400mm lens, but I miss my DSLR for several reasons.

In order of usage, the software I turn to most frequently is the Edge web browser, Slack, Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365, Firefox, Brave, and WhatsApp. I use the Windows Phone link app to see everything on my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra phone, which has excellent telephoto capability.

For fitness monitoring, I have a Fitbit Charge 6 and use an Anker Smart Scale P1. I’m also a streaming fan, so I subscribe to both Amazon Music Unlimited (especially for its Dolby Atmos content) and Qobuz (for its high-res sound quality and classical catalog). I recently added a Vizio 5.1 Soundbar SE, which sounds surprisingly good given its low price. To holler commands instead of using a remote control, I have the Amazon Fire TV Cube in the living room, which lets me verbally tell the TV what I want to watch. It hooks up to an LG B4 OLED TV. I have a Sonos One speaker in my kitchen that also ties in with Alexa, as does the Echo Dot 2 With Clock in my bedroom. For serious listening, I have B&W 601 speakers plugged into a Conrad-Johnson Sonographe amp and preamp, with a Cambridge Audio AXN10 streamer as source. For reading, I also have a Nook GlowLight 3.

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