Mozilla plans to "Ribbonize" Firefox
Summary: Mozilla has unveiled plans to "ribbonize" Firefox 3.7 for Windows Vista and Windows 7 in an attempt to reduce on-screen clutter and free up screen real estate.
Mozilla has unveiled plans to "ribbonize" Firefox 3.7 for Windows Vista and Windows 7 in an attempt to reduce on-screen clutter and free up screen real estate.
Mozilla announced that "starting with Vista, and continuing with Windows 7, the menu bar is going away" and will "be replaced with things like the Windows Explorer contextual strip, or the Office Ribbon."
Here are a couple of mock-ups:
It's also interesting to note that Mozilla has been quick to dismiss suggestions that the move is an attempt to copy Chrome, IE or Safari:
We are not trying to make Firefox look like any other browser. Firefox is Firefox. Similarities between browsers are unavoidable. They all have shared lineage and are ... all trying to solve the same problems, so evolutionary ideas that are similar are inevitable."
Mozilla has a number of ideas for simplifying and clarifying the Firefox UI, but given that Chrome, IE and Safari have all made significant UI improvements, this move by Mozilla feels reactionary. The Mozilla UI revamp is long overdue and we're only seeing it now because Firefox is feeling the pressure from other browsers.
Another interesting point is that these improvements will only apply to Firefox for Windows, which means that Firefox on other platforms will have a significantly different user interface.
Firefox 3.7, currently scheduled for release in March 2010.
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Talkback
whew
atrocity?
The ribbon was an awful idea.
sigh . . .
pain in the rear to learn."
Well, it took the familiar and changed it.
Yeah, it reintroduced a bit of a learning curve
into Office.
But IMHO, it ends up being better after the
learning curve. While it's a bit of a pain for
current users, it's better for new users who
may be confused by the menus and toolbars,
which themselves had grown quite complex.
If you want, you can double click on the tabs,
which minimizes them and gives you a lot more
screen space. That's probably a feature
Microsoft didn't give enough visibility to.
agree with you
Agreed..
I guess I'm the only one who doesn't see an advantage
If you're one of the eighteen people on the planet who had never used Office before, the ribbon is probably easier to learn than the original menus. I've been using the Office apps since they were sold individually and not bundled together, and the ribbon does nothing for me. Sure, I can learn to use it, but I don't see what the advantages are. Why bury 'Save' and 'Print' under that 'button'? Those are the two activities I do most. It makes saving more difficult than the old toolbar icon, and saving is one thing many people don't do often enough; why make it harder?
That's not to say it's a bad idea for Firefox. A browser is a much simpler tool to use than a spreadsheet, with less toolbar interaction. That said, I don't think current layout wastes much real estate. Just don't lock everything in place like IE 7 / 8 does.
Some explanations, and some changes in Office 2010
traditionally placed them"
Largely because Microsoft decided to position
them based on how often people use them, rather
than "traditional" placement. The "paste"
command is on the left and is made big because
it's the most commonly used command.
Yes, it's going to require a bit of a
retraining period - but the hope is that it's
only temporary and that people will get used to
the new system.
"If you're one of the eighteen people on the
planet who had never used Office before"
How about kids learning to use a computer for
the first time?
The computer industry has always been, to some
degree, trying to get rid of the old and bring
in new stuff. One of the most common phrases I
hear from the ZDNet tech editors is often how
people are somehow "Luddites" when they stick
to old stuff.
Techies love new, shiny stuff and complain when
people stick with old stuff. Right now
especially, the techies have latched onto web
2.0 stuff and absolutely detest anybody who is
still using regular apps (even if regular apps
still make sense in many cases).
I'm not saying it's right, and I'm not saying
it's reasonable - I'm just saying that's the
way it is, and Microsoft is definitely feeling
the pressure to keep coming up with new stuff.
My own philosophy is to use the best tool for
the best job - if you don't want to go through
a retraining period, then go ahead and use the
old Office. It still works.
. . . although be aware that Office 2007 does
work for a lot of people, and a lot of people
are willing to retrain if it means they'll be
more productive in the long term.
"Why bury 'Save' and 'Print' under that
'button'?"
It's the new "File" menu. And they're making it
a tab in the ribbon and even calling it "File"
again in the Office 2010. In fact, that
particular featureis getting a complete
overhaul in Office 2010.
http://blogs.technet.com/office2010/
. . . and Save should be on the Quick Access
toolbar by default (and you can put print there
as well if you want).
. . . and oh, yeah - the most recent posting in
the Office 2010 blog is about forgetting to
save documents and what they're doing about it
in Office 2010!
The ribbon just stunk! Period!
I agree....
1000 things. How about text to explain what
things are?! Example say for example you work
for me and do multiple things i just give you
pictures to show you what to do. I give you a
picture of baby clothes on a hanger. What is it
I want you to do? Do I want you to do laundry?
Do i want you dress the baby? Do i want you to
sort the baby clothes for donation? All of the
above could be true. Someone learning using the
picture idea microsoft is shoving down peoples
throats is a bad idea remove the pict put text
to explain what is what.
Actually...
The ribbon is better...
Guess which is generally preferred now?
'Better' is relative.
Agreed!!!
At least on one application I use at work, there is the option to use a "classic" interface with traditional menus and toolbars and turn off the ever changing AND confusing "ribbon".
Users of Firefox don't deserve this thrust upon them. I know I won't be very happy, as I only use other browsers when necessary for compatibility. Incorporation of the ribbon may change my preference for Firefox to some other browser. They aren't the only player in the market.
Total concurance! n/t
I agree
RE-learning things is a waste of time and
Not everybody thinks so.
especially if it ends up being a better
solution.
They will improve it more in Office 2010 - some
things like the orb [i]were[/i] a bit of a
mistake, and they're going back to the File
menu there.
. . . and nobody's being a sheeple. That's a
poor metaphor, and paints a business with broad
strokes, ignoring that there are actually
people working at Microsoft.
I wholeheartedly concur...
Yup.
the File menu :).
Well, technically it's part of the ribbon now, and
it's not really a menu - but they [b]are[/b]
getting rid of that orb.