Firefox 4 moves out of RC and is officially released to the public

It's been a long wait for web browser Firefox's fourth iteration, but today is the day.

Originally scheduled as a November 2010 release, Firefox 4 hit technical snags despite a beta period that started early last July. The final version was pushed back into a vague 'Early 2011' period before a solid release date - March 22nd - was nailed down. Just last Friday its Release Candidate was improved, paving the way for the official launch.

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So, how much has changed within the popular browser?

One noticeable alteration that will likely split the fanbase is the new layout which finds tabs above the address bar (s0rry -- the "awesome bar") instead of below it. "Change is good" is a popular saying, but some Firefox fanboys may balk at the flip. At the least the switch will take some getting used to - especially for those who run numerous tabs.

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Personalizing your browsing experience is an area Firefox has some history with, and the new iteration continues support for personas, (PR-speak for downloadable backgrounds) themes and add-ons.

An obvious area for improvement is speed, and the company boasts that Firefox 4 is much quicker than 3.6. Web applications will see across the board improvements thanks to the JavaScript engine, JägerMonkey. Enhanced all-around speed thanks to hardware acceleration rounds out the promised performance boost.

The new version also takes strides in protecting users. Much like competitor IE9s security improvements, Firefox 4 pushes a 'Do Not Track' feature in addition to several other security fixes to reduce the possibility of unauthorized access to personal information. However, the addition of Firefox Sync promises a smoother transition for people who use the browser across multiple devices.

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So far the new browser seems like a hit. Mozilla set up a site that updates in real-time to keep track of just how many downloads Firefox 4 nets. As of press time, it's been downloaded over 1.5 million times. It seems possible Firefox 4 will surpass IE9's impressive 2.3 million downloads in 24 hours claim.

If you haven't downloaded Firefox 4 yet, you can find it here in addition to more details on the new version. Let us know what you think of it.

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