Firefox with Windows 8 UI arrives in Nightly channel

After having published a first preview version of the Firefox edition for the Windows 8 "Metro" user interface in October 2012, Mozilla's Director of Firefox Asa Dotzler has now announced its release to the browser's Nightly release channel. Users of the Firefox Nightly channel will therefore get the "Metro" version of the browser on their Windows 8 devices.

Dotzler says while the work on the port is far from done, he now feels confident that this version of Firefox is ready to be tested by a wider audience. Mozilla is continuing to refer to the Windows 8 tile-based user interface as "Metro", even though Microsoft ceased using this name in 2012, allegedly following trademark concerns raised by the German retail chain Metro AG.

The Firefox version delivered by the Nightly channel is updated once a day and can be downloaded from the Firefox Nightly web site. Users who want to help test the new edition on their Windows 8 device but prefer less frequent updates can expect the new Windows 8 user interface to arrive in the browser's Aurora release channel next Tuesday, if Mozilla sticks to their usual release schedules. As with all test and preview software, The H reminds readers not to use the early development version of Metro Firefox in "mission-critical" or production scenarios.

Update 15-02-13: The article has been corrected to reflect that the new interface will arrive in Firefox's Aurora channel next Tuesday (19 February).

(fab)