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Coming pretty quickly after the official release of Firefox 3.5, Mozilla has given us a glimpse of what we may expect with Firefox 4.0 in the form of a few screenshots.  Now, first things first, this does not mean Firefox 4.0 is coming out anytime soon, nor does it mean this is exactly what it is going to look like.  In fact, Mozilla has made a point to state that these images are just mockups.

Aside from moving toward what seems to be a slight Chrome like appearance, Firefox is also considering combining the Stop, Refresh and Go buttons, which sounds like a good move, especially considering that more people are surfing on smaller displays such as those found on netbooks.  A few other ideas that are being thrown in the mix include a Bookmarks widget that will serve as a replacement for the Bookmarks menu/Bookmarks toolbar.  Of course, that was noted as being an option that users can turn on or off based on their needs.

Additionally, as seen in the below image, they are also considering moving the tabs to the top of the browser, above the address and navigation bar.  According to the Mozilla Wiki, here are some positives and negatives in regards to the “tabs-on-top concept.”

Positives

• Save Vertical Space
• Efficiency/Remove Visual Complexity - Right now the tabs have to be connected to something. So we are adding an extra visual element for them to connect to.
• Shorter Mouse Distance to Page Controls

Negatives

• Breaks Consistency/Familiarity - Moving things confuses existing users.
• Title is MIA - With the space removed from the titlebar you only get the truncated version in the tab.
• Longer Mouse Distance to Tabs - Takes longer to mouse to a tab.
• Lost Space - Sandwiched in between the application icon and the window widgets you lose some space.

Personally, I like the new tool bar with the combination stop, refresh and go buttons, but as far as the tabs-on-top not so much. That said, I am sure it would just be a matter of time to get used to it.

Read [Mozilla Wiki]  Via [Lifehacker]