Slashdot Mirror
Firefox Demos Prototype Metro Interface
In order to provide an alternative to IE on Windows 8, Firefox needs a Metro UI. Luckily, development of a Metro interface for Firefox is well underway. The current build reuses the Android interface XUL (by virtue of being based on Fennec). The latest test release features lots of platform integration support: "We have Metro snap working, you can snap another Metro app to the right or left of Firefox and continue browsing.
We also have HTML file input controls tied up to the Metro file picker. ... implemented the Windows 8 search contract, you can use the Search Charm from any screen on Windows 8. If you enter a URL, it will be loaded. If you enter anything else, it will be searched in your default search engine. We also implemented the Windows 8 share contract, you can use the Share Charm from any Firefox page to share that page to another application. Once you select the Share Charm it will list the applications you can share to, for example: Mail, Twitter, or Facebook." If you're interested in following development, the team has made a Mercurial repository available.
Further background is provided by the first and second posts in the series.
Well they won't on the ARM edition...
I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
Nice trolling.
Normal programs will run just fine in Desktop mode on Win8. However, if you want your program to be on the new default dashboard interface (Metro) then it has to be a Metro app. And since both IE and Chrome can appear there, it makes absolute sense that FF should have the feature included as well.
If you want to be a full replacement to IE, you need to be a full replacement to IE, and that means showing up in the system wherever IE can show up. If you actually RTFA, you'll see they're talking about hooking into Win8's built-in browser search and sharing hooks, as well as showing how easy it is to add a Metro interface to FF because of the already existing theming layer within FF.
I'm out of my mind right now, but feel free to leave a message.....
Because a normal desktop UI doesnt work so hot on a tablet, which in the future are bound to replace a big portion of the desktop market. Hybrids (like the Transformer Prime), with a 2 mode tablet/desktop interface, like Windows 8, could seriously replace lap-tops for everyone except serious developers and graphic designers/3d artists/CAD/etc that need a lot of horse power.
Sticking to desktop-only UI would be suicide for Microsoft. Metro works quite fine if you look at it from a tablet point of view.
So... This thread has four AC posts: Two complaining and two defending Microsoft. The post that points out Windows 8 is still in development (in response to a post about the current feature set) is modded Troll. Ah Slashdot, I remember when you were a semi-technical forum. At this point I'm thinking about getting a Facebook account. The worms will expose me to more technology than these threads.
Indeed. If MS wanted a unified Desktop/Metro experience, then it would've been unified in the customer preview. I mean, it's such a core usability concept (and probably technical as well) that I doubt they'd save that for last. I don't have hands-on experience, but I understand from all the preview articles that Metro and the desktop are two worlds apart. It's like running two OS-es next to each other. Does anyone really believe MS will bring the two together at this point in development? I really, really doubt it.