Mozilla Releases Beta 8 of Firefox 4: Better Add-Ons Manager, Improved Sync and WebGL Support

Mozilla is slowly marching towards the general release of Firefox 4. Today, the non-profit launched the 8th beta version of its flagship browser. As expected, after 8 betas, there aren’t any major new features in this latest version (though Mozilla promises to add a “do not track” feature before the final release). Instead, Mozilla is now focussing on fit and finish. In today’s new version, the focus is on making it easier to set up Firefox Sync and the new look and feel for the add-ons manager.

The new version also offers improved support for WebGL for 3D graphic visualizations on the Web.

Sync, Add-Ons and a Cool WebGL Demo

The new Sync interface, which allows users to keep their bookmarks, history, passwords and open tabs in sync across different machines and platforms, makes it easier for users to get going with Sync.

The add-ons manager received a nice interface overall and now feels far more polished than before.

As for WebGL, just give this demo a try after installing the new version. It’s easy to see why Mozilla thinks that WebGL, in combination with HTML5, will allow for a whole new range of highly graphical and interactive apps on the Web that don’t need to resort to third-party plugins like Flash.

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