Expected new look for Firefox 3 getting noticed

As we mentioned more than a month ago, Firefox 3 is expected to sport a new look. Some of the more popular online magazines are starting to take notice and helping to fan some excitement on the new look. On a blog at Wired a Firefox 3 related post can be found, Catch a Glimpse of Firefox 3's Sleek, Sexy New Digs.

Some of the changes planned for the final release of Firefox 3 include a complete visual makeover with platform-specific skins designed to integrate the look of Firefox into your OS of choice.

Alex Faaborg, one the interface designers for Firefox, has been posting mock-ups and soliciting feedback from the community for some time (see our previous coverage) and he’s back with a series of wireframe sketches that show some of the progress in the interface redesign.

The blog post focuses on the visuals for the Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, but also directs users to an Ars Technica article for those interested in Linux. The article of interest is A first look at the Firefox 3 visual refresh for Linux.

Mozilla ruffled some penguin feathers last month when the organization revealed that Firefox 3 would get an extensive visual refresh to maximize integration with Windows and Mac OS X, but not Linux. After the decision was widely criticized by Linux enthusiasts, Mozilla reversed its position and decided to revisit Linux theming. Work on the new Linux theme has progressed rapidly in the past month, and the earliest pieces are now included in the latest Firefox 3 nightly build. We took a good long look at the new theme—called Gnomestripe—and we like what we see.

By the way, I was one of those Linux users that had some feathers ruffled. It is nice to see that Mozilla still listens and is sensitive to browser user needs. Now, wouldn't it be nice if we could get Adobe to put it's fine Creative Suite software onto the Linux box? Now that would be true heaven for those that do both design and development work and prefer Linux.