What do you think about the proposed changes for Firefox 3.7 and 4.0?

Question

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/zd/20090929/tc_zd/244498

Mozilla development team is currently working on making the next two future models of firefox. According the the article I've linked to above, there are some pretty radical changes in store. Stuff like...
-a complete overhaul of the general look and feel
-elimination of the "home" button
-initiation of specialty tabs, such as "home tab", etc.
-applications that appear in tabs
-elimination of the menu bar (file, edit, view, etc..)
-with the elimination of the menu bar comes the elimination of the bookmarks feature (mentioned in article)
-possible replacement of the conventional bookmarks feature with a widget
-combining the address bar and search bar into a single field

Here's a picture of the new firefox in it's early development:
http://www.appscout.com/assets_c/2009/09/Firefox%203.7%20Phase%201-5328.php

Truthfully, I don't think I will like these changes, should they become reality. I use the home button all the time; taking it off would cause quite an inconvenience. 

The "specialty and app tabs" I think would take up too much space in the tab bar. My window of view is already small enough with the tab bar and other things... I don't want/ need it to get even smaller! As for the applications, the article states that these are merely popular sites that users visit almost every time they get online. The app tabs would be smaller than normal and meant "to give users quick and efficient access to their favorite sites". However, if I'm using the app tabs for my favorite sites, I certainly don't want them to be smaller! Besides, it is no trouble to open a regular tab and select a bookmark. The app tabs would just clog up the whole browser.

As for the menu bar, I find it vary useful, and look to it quite often for all sorts of matters, ranging from the bookmarks menu to the "delete history" feature. If it is removed, how will firefox uses be able to access the features in the menus and selections? 

The worst thing firefox could do with its browser, in terms of efficiency and functionality, would be to remove the bookmarks feature, as they have hinted. I use my bookmarks list several times a day, 24 / 7! Without it, how will I get to my desired sites? I'm not about to go around memorizing those incredibly long and complex URL codes!

Firefox is trying to maximize its efficiency with these updates, but removal of the bookmarks feature (amongst the many other things I've listed) will make it incredibly difficult to navigate the web. These proposals seem to be something that be the ideal experience for one who uses the internet solely for visiting 3 or 4 sites. But for other people, who have a long list of bookmarked sites which they may want / need to visit every so often, their experience will be exacerbated.

What are your thoughts on the proposed updates?

♥thinkgreen lovepurple♥ · Accepted Answer

Personally, I think I liked Firefox 2 more than 3, just because 3 seems a bit slower, and I don't really like what they did to the tabs, it takes up more room. Which is why I'll definitely be bothered by the specialty tabs. 
But I need the bookmarks. My bookmarks toolbar is completely overflowing and its really convenient for the sites we use daily. Is it really efficient, if users can't access the sites they want quickly? 
I almost "rely" on this toolbar. Most of the sites I visit are on the toolbar. 
 I also use the menu bar quite a bit, all these features on firefox is one of the reasons I switched in the first place! Most programs I use have a menu bar, so firefox would be odd without it..

I hope the proposals, for the most part, don't become reality.

feduniewicz · Answer

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Alex · Answer

I don't care about the bookmark feature but I need  a home button as that's where all my bookmarks are.
So, no home button no new firefox for me.

What do you think about the proposed changes for Firefox 3.7 and 4.0?

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