Firefox 3 Visual Refresh

Visual integration with Windows and Mac OS X is the primary objective for the Firefox 3 refresh. Alex Faaborg has posted interesting information on the objectives for the upcoming Firefox 3 refresh.

Here is an excerpt

-----
For OS X we are following the new unified style that is used consistently throughout all applications on Leopard. Firefox will look the same on 10.4 as it does on 10.5, similar to iTunes, and iLife 08. We are also looking into a variety of other little touches to visually integrate on the Mac, like the correct appearance of source lists (we call them sidebars), a cover flow-esque styling in the add-ons manager, and transparent panel styling (sometimes called HUD window styling) for the places drop down and the new identity button in the location bar (mockup coming soon).


One reason we want to focus to this level of detail on visual integration with various platforms is because the Web browser is an incredibly central piece of the user's operating system, and we don't want the user's initial reaction to be that they have modified their computer to add some type of strange, foreign application. For instance, after you install Firefox on a completely fresh installation of Windows, we want you to feel like Firefox is a very carefully crafted part of your OS. This is particularly important on the Mac, since brand new computers only contain software that has been designed by Apple. Also, since Apple does a great job of including all of the applications that regular consumers commonly need for interacting with their computer, Firefox is in many cases the only third party application users install on OS X.
-----