The Firefox 4.0 Experience: Strata40 For Firefox 3.6+

UPDATE: Firefox 4 Beta is out. Check it out here.

I am a Chrome user, since Chrome 3. It's minimalistic design and simplicity sets the new standard of how a browser should be. And lately other browsers seem to follow the trend, minimizing the toolbars and maximizing space for the web page itself, as they realized that people just want to surf the Internet, not marveling at what the browser can do with buttons and widgets filling up the top.

So we've seen mockup themes for Firefox 4.0, looking cleaner and less intrusive with the Aero interface for a sense of elegance. Firefox 4.0 seems to be quite a long way ahead (scheduled for November 2010), but we can get approximately the same look now with Strata40, for Firefox 3.6+.

Strata40 screenshot on Windows 7

The theme must be at least coupled with StrataBuddy, which gives you some extra features planned for Firefox 4.0, such as the App Button and the Aero interface (XP users can use the Default/Luna/Royale/Silver interface). Either way, the theme looks very much at home with Firefox, that people can mistake it as the new official theme.

For a fuller experience, install Fission, Tab Progress Bar, and App Tabs as well. Fission gives you the streamlined progress bar under the URL bar, and Tab Progress Bar gives you the progress bar on top of the tabs, both with the help of StrataBuddy. Should it not look like the one in the screenshot above, go to Theme Options (its inside the orange App Button), look under Misc, and check the Progress lines. You may need to disable and re-enable Tab Progress bar in order to get the right look. App Tabs allows you to pin favicon sized tabs, which saves tab space and quite handy for frequently opened websites. It is also a proposed function in Firefox 4.0.

I put on a few more configurations to make it look better (and less intrusive). I've removed the Menu Bar (the App Button replaces it), Bookmarks Toolbar (I don't use it), and the Home button (replaced by the Home tab). Other than that, most configurations are available inside the Theme Options. Go and experiment.

So far I've been using this theme, it doesn't slow down Firefox. Even if they do, its not really noticeable. My verdict? Recommended.

Also: Strata40 Lite to retain compatibility with some other extensions, as Strata40 is known to break compatibility with some extensions. Should be coupled with AeroBuddy for the Aero interface.

Goodbye Jaunty, Hello Lucid

A couple of days ago, Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, codenamed Lucid Lynx, finally hits final release. Seeing it as an LTS (Long Term Support) release, I decided to give it a try. Besides, Lucid looks kinda slick compared to the previous versions, thanks to the new default theme, Ambiance. So I waved my old Jaunty (Ubuntu 9.04) goodbye, and welcomed Lucid. Installation was pretty smooth and quick, things were up and running in less than 30 minutes.

Among the first things I've noticed is the new theme, which has a dark color scheme. It's a welcome change over the old Human theme, which is mundane brown. Another change is the buttons for maximize, minimize, and close are now placed on the left side, similar to Mac OS X. It might be the most controversial change ever in Lucid, but I have no problems with it. I'm pretty much used to both Mac and Windows, so either way it doesn't feel too awkward. Give it some time and pretty much anyone can get used to it.

The old Human theme (Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope)

The new Ambiance theme (Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx)

Add that with Compiz Fusion and it cool enough to put Windows to shame.

Another change is Empathy now replaces Pidgin as it's IM client. I thought I'm going to complain on this at first, but after trying it out, I think it kinda rocks. Its very similar to Pidgin, setting up the accounts were easy, and the buddy list is just as identical to Pidgin. The interface too was simplified yet feels more polished. It even supports Facebook Chat, one up over Pidgin (although Pidgin can connect to Facebook Chat through a plugin or the XMPP protocol).

A not so new addition is the Ubuntu Software Center, introduced in Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala. It basically helps users, especially those who were new to Linux OS, to manage and install software for Ubuntu. The Synaptic Package Manager is still there, but is sure to cause headaches to beginners.

Even with all the oh-so-cool improvements, I still find some downsides. First is a bug in Gwibber which doesn't allow me to add my Facebook account. How sad. Otherwise I can just look at my notifications through the desktop. It appears that I'm the only one who is having this problem though. Second is that Lucid still can't play proprietary audio formats out of the box, requiring us to download the necessary plugins. But come to think about that again, even Windows doesn't have all the codecs for common formats out of the box. So in goes VLC media player. Saves a lot of trouble.

And finally, the last complaint is about Linux distros being too reliant to an Internet connection. Without a good Internet connection, it's painful to work on Ubuntu, such as installing softwares. In fact I can hardly imagine having Ubuntu working without the Internet. So yeah, please do make it offline-friendly as well, as the Internet doesn't actually reach every computer in the world.

But alas, Lucid Lynx is a great OS. I've installed a few extra stuffs of my own, such as Flash Player, Adobe Reader, and Google Chrome, and it's working pretty well so far. A few downsides still won't hinder me, and who knows if Ubuntu will really get its place among beginners finally. The Terminal isn't something a beginner would be brave enough to fiddle around, so they would need something more graphical to aid them. I'll be looking forward to see what else will Ubuntu offer in the future :D