On TuesdayMozilla launched the fourth beta of Firefox 4, adding bookmark and password synchronization as well as dealing with the problem many people have of wrestling with tabs.
The new addition is called “Panorama,” a new name for what Mozilla had been calling “Tab Candy.” Panorama lets users collect tabs into sets, graphically displays those sets, and when users open a tab, shows only those tabs within the group. Mozilla has argued that it’s the next step in the evolution of tabs.
Today’s browser is growing ever more important in the technology realm as cloud-computing services expand what’s possible through a browser. The down side, though, is that the browser can become a confusing sprawl of tasks. User interface improvements, such as Panorama can ease the pain.
Firefox Sync, the other major feature new to Beta 4, began its infancy in 2007 as a project called “Weave.” The service keeps bookmarks, passwords, browser history, open tabs and other data consistent across multiple computers and devices.
