Google Chrome placed a new emphasis on the tab as the repository for a Web browser, rather than the Web browser as the central location for tabs. A clean look at Shiretoko, the code-name for Mozilla's forthcoming Firefox 3.1. One of the features noted on the change log for Shiretoko is added support for dragging and dropping of tabs between open browser windows. A browser window that "listens" to more user events may, in future alpha builds, have the freedom to go beyond the ordinary browser window enclosure, operating as a more independent, more functional device. A bigger, better gathering place for tabs is one possibility.

Another major new feature being tested in Firefox 3.1 is its built-in video and audio codecs, which enable use of the <VIDEO> and <AUDIO> tags that will be part of the next XHTML HTML 5 standard.

Conversation between Mozilla's developers -- on a thread about drag-and-drop that really did start in 2001 -- has this week become heated, with some suggesting it may take a serious rethinking of the underlying tabbrowser class in order for developers to integrate some of the next concepts on their list.

Download: Shiretoko Alpha 2 - Windows | Mac OS X | Linux

Source:→ BetaNews