Firefox Australis brings a lot of changes to the user interface of the popular web browser.
While the intention of its designers was to tidy up things and make the interface less cluttered and compact, they have gone a bit over the top with this Firefox 29 release; popular parts of the browser such as the task bar have disappeared, while the now rounded tabs always remain at the very top.
Regardless, as with every major release, Firefox 29 – codenamed ‘Australis‘ – is a departure from the old, chunky Firefox. The effect on user experience is noticeable and Firefox 29 does seem to have gotten faster, at least by 20%.
There is also a new syncing mechanism for backing up your Firefox profiles, bookmarks and passwords in the cloud.
With Google Chrome being the #1 web browser, Firefox remains a secondary choice for many; still, the new release might put off some of its fans.
For the latter, there are already extensions that reverse the changes, while retaining the speed and other benefits that Firefox Australis brings.
If it matters, FirefoxAustralis.com is still available, according to DomainTools.