It's a radical change from the past for Mozilla's Firefox browser and one that could have users initially confused as the layout has become much, much different than previous models. The company released the latest Firefox 29 on April 29 and already users are beginning to notice the differences, as well as a few of the similarities that they have come to enjoy.
After two years of work on its Australis redesign, the company launched it in its stable release form, giving Internet users the latest browser technology available.
Some observers have referenced Google's Chrome in its appearance, saying the layout is a much more radical look than they had thought would happen. But it still has the three-bar menu on the round and those rounded tabs users have come to expect.
But has kept its separate search form. This is to bring Firefox in direct opposition with expectations found on other browsers, which have moved away from this altogether.
"People are using the Web differently than they used to," said Johnathan Nightingale, Mozilla's vice president of Firefox, "and we need to give them a richer set of tools for customizing the way that they experience the Web."
The company also released a video for users to see and understand the direction the company was heading with the new release of its popular browser.
The launch could not have been timed any better. Only a day earlier, the governments of the United States and Great Britain called on computer users to avoid browsing online with Microsoft's Internet Explorer until the Seattle-based company fixed a flaw in the security.
Based on reports, personal data including financial information could be breached if a user is browsing online with Internet Explorer. It has got many frustrated and Microsoft scrambling to fix the flaw before users look elsewhere for their browsing needs.
Firefox 29 could benefit greatly from this conundrum at Microsoft and see a massive number of users download the browser in the first few days of the launch.
The new browser also allows users to sync their search history and files from other browsers, giving the new update a further edge in functionality for those who often use more than one browser at a time.
As per NetMarketShare, Firefox is the third most popular Internet browser after Internet Explorer and Google Chrome.
