Just when I thought I loved the Firefox 4 Beta that I have been using since the past 2 months now, Bam! Mozilla outs beta number 4. The latest has made me await the final release ever more anxiously!

A look at the key features in Beta 4:

• Firefox Sync plugin is now integrated with the browser itself. For the uninitiated, FF Sync allows you to sync your browser data between two computers or even between your smartphones. A great tool if you ask me. You can either setup sync with FF server or your own (Custom) server.
• Another Hot Feature is the Tab Groups or Firefox Panorama (previously called Tab Candy). I discovered this only today, I must admit. You can manage tab groups either by right-clicking on the tab and clicking on “Move This Tab To > Create New Group” or if you have menus enabled (visible) by default, then simply go to the “View Menu > Group Your Tabs” and voila! you arrange your tabs as per your liking. You can also use Ctrl+Space for quick access to Panorama. Watch this video showing off great features of Panorama.

Other than these, I feel performance has indeed improved over the previous Beta release. For more info, check out the full release notes.

Well just when you thought I was not really around, I write an article! This one is indeed special. It denotes about 6 years of my unrelenting support of the browser I really love.

It is totally impartial. Let me tell you that even though I haven’t been able to write an article on the blog, but I have been up to many things lately. One of them being usage of Firefox 4 Beta 1. Well, just yesterday I got a prompt to upgrade to Beta 2 of FF4. I did. And, voila! App Tabs dawn on me. This is indeed a great feature. I am just loving it.

Not to talk about the other great features that are available in FF4 B2 like:

• Tabs are on top (yep, above the awesome bar)
• App Tabs (Small persistent tabs used for mail, twitter, facebook and other essential stuff that’s always open with us and that stay safely in the leftmost corner giving you more real estate for other activities. Find out more.
• Better HTML5 Support
• Search for open tabs right from the address bar
• Plus much more

Find out about more exciting features in the release notes for Firefox 4 beta 2.

I had been watching the show from the sidelines for a while (and was busy too!). But, ever since Mozilla introduced a feature called Addon Collections on their Addons website, I had this desire to share the great firefox addons that I use and that have made my life quite easy, secure and safe.

I have created my own collection of addons called, “APU’s PowerUser Addons”. The collection can be accessed from here.

Be sure to share your thoughts about this collection of plugins and addons that I have share with you all. In the meantime, I will be adding more addons that are deserving!

With the release of Firefox 3 being a major event this year, there’s been considerable buzz regarding new add-ons for the 3 and upgrades to popular extensions to enable support for the latest version: 3. Mozilla recently organized a contest to crown the best add-ons for Firefox.

Well, I must share this with you. I have been trying to check the issue with the Windows Media Player Plugin for Firefox that is not allowing it to work with my previous Firefox 2 installation and even with my new Firefox 3 installation.

This problem has now persisted with me since 2 months or even more. What really is the reason, I can’t find out. The problem happens (to me since I visit only this site with Firefox) when I visit Indiatimes Broadband and try to watch a video or two!

I was hoping that the upgrade to Firefox 3 would (probably) solve my problem, but it seems to me that the problem has persisted even after the upgrade.

I wonder if anybody else is facing the same issue or is it just me?

As per my analysis of the server logs of my site/blog and the general analysis of the data available on the web, I have found one thing and one thing only. By delaying in bringing Windows Vista to the consumers, Microsoft may have sounded the death knell for it’s latest operating system even before it’s launch. Actually the non-availability of a new version to the best version of Windows to-date, Windows XP, has hurt not only the consumers but Microsoft too. The result is easily visible before you. Windows XP reigns supreme while Vista struggles to make friends with consumers.

Well, I was thinking of sharing this fantastic way of working with FTP using a full fledged application that is quite powerful and comes with no price tag attached to it. If you are a web developer, webmaster, or simply an advanced blogger, I’m sure you know what I mean by talking about FTP.

If you are a layman, let me explain what FTP is. FTP means File Transfer Protocol. It is chiefly used to transfer files between your PC and a web server (or between two computers) using the internet. It is a mode of making two way communication between the two hosts.

John Lilly has been promoted to be the CEO of Mozilla Corporation, which is the subsidiary of Mozilla Foundation. Mozilla Corp. is best know for the popular Firefox browser.

This is what the article reports:

Lilly previously worked at Apple Inc, Sun Microsystems Inc and software startup Reactivity before joining Mozilla in 2005 as vice president of business development.

“I feel excited and fortunate to find myself in this spot, and am looking forward to doing what I can to help Mozilla continue to make the Web a better place,” Lilly wrote on his blog.

Here’s a great compilation of Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 add-ons that have been compiled into one great article. I like my browser Firefox 2, though. It’s one great secure browser that can be customized and personalized as per individual user experience. I have set it up for myself and I hope that you can customize it for yourself too!

As for those still hanging on to IE, this article contains a list of add-ons that may or may not change their experience on the web. So, stop reading and start clicking to go and check it out.

Firefox 3 Beta 1 is now available for download. If you are a technology enthusiast, like me, go over to the Mozilla website and download the Beta of Firefox 3 today. Beware, others, beta means a very stupid preview version of a technology. So do not expect it to be stable enough for everyday use!

via: Tuaw.com