
Firefox for Windows 8 preview build now available for download - ViolentJason
http://www.winbeta.org/news/firefox-windows-8-preview-build-now-available-download#.UG3Zk8SD9A8.hackernews
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TazeTSchnitzel
Well, thanks to Microsoft not allowing anyone except themselves access to the
Win32 APIs on Windows 8 RT, ARM tablets aren't going to have Firefox on them.

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MatthewPhillips
? I don't think this is correct. The version of Firefox that this article is
talking about should run on ARM. What you won't get on ARM is a desktop
version of Firefox.

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compilercreator
No, this version will not run on ARM. This is not a regular Metro app. On x86
systems, Microsoft has made a special exception for third-party browsers to
utilize Win32 APIs. So both Chrome and Firefox under x86+Metro are still using
their underlying desktop codebase, just with a different UI.

On ARM, only MS apps are allowed to access Win32 APIs.

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MatthewPhillips
Aside from legacy code, why do they need the Win32 APIs?

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compilercreator
There are also technical limitations on Metro apps. For example, JIT
compilation is not possible for pure Metro apps because Metro APIs do not
allow marking memory as executable.

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freehunter
Here's an issue: this doesn't blend in all that well with the Windows 8
environment. The tabs, for example, are rounded. It looks nice, but the whole
idea of the Windows 8 interface is to do away with needless skeumorphism.
Making browser tabs look like real-life folder tabs is just that. They're
going the distance by making the buttons in Windows 8 style, Windows 8 style
start page, touch features, etc. Why would they go with rounded tabs?

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nigelsampson
It's certainly looking more "metro" than Chrome attempt so far. I kinda like
that it's a bit of a fusion of both, still keeping some elements identifiable
as Firefox.

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darklajid
Can we install this version in parallel? Would this work just as well on
Windows Server 2012?

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darklajid
So - yes, it can be installed in parallel (installs as 'Nightly').

It cannot be run in parallel - it seems to reuse the FF session and fight for
a shared 'is the app already running' mutex. So you need to quit FF to start
'Nightly'.

And it's the only app so far that I've found that doesn't work with the
builtin Administrator account (I'm running a Windows Server 2012 instance here
for tests and fooling around. Everything works fine with that account,
including IE. This browser refuses to start in Metro mode). Hmmm

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listic
The tabs are huge. Is this Metro Style?

