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   Redesigned Firefox 29 Adds Sync Service

   Agen G. N. Schmitz

   Much like the 29-year-old who feels the need to get his or her life in
   order before the dreaded 30-something tag is applied, Mozilla has
   released [1]Firefox 29 with a refreshed look and new strategies to deal
   with adulthood, including an overhauled synchronization service and new
   customization tools.

   Firefox's redesign is a bit reminiscent of Google Chrome, with tabs
   placed closer to the top of the browser window and non-active tabs
   fading into the background to emphasize the active tab. The Bookmarks
   button has also moved and now produces a slimmer view of your
   bookmarks.

   Taking another design cue from Chrome, a Firefox menu button (three
   horizontal lines, sometimes called a hamburger button) now resides at
   the far right side of the toolbar, providing quicker access to basic
   browser controls, preferences, printing, and managing add-ons. At the
   bottom of the popover you'll find the new Customization button, which
   enables you to add and move icon buttons within the Firefox menu or on
   the toolbar. (If you miss the full tab titles at the top from the
   previous versions of Firefox, you can click the Title Bar button to
   bring them back.)

   [2][tn_FireFox-29-customize.jpg]

   Functionally, the most significant change is Mozilla's new Firefox Sync
   service, which uses [3]the recently announced Firefox Accounts to
   synchronize bookmarks, saved passwords, browsing history, and open tabs
   across computers and mobile devices, all with end-to-end encryption.
   The previous synchronization pairing method that required entering
   three sets of alphanumeric codes has been replaced by the more modern
   username/password combination offered by Firefox Accounts.

   If you update to Firefox 29 on one Mac that has already been paired to
   an older version of Firefox on another computer, synchronization using
   the previous account credentials will continue to work. In our testing,
   bookmarks, history, and passwords continue to be passed between the
   different version incarnations of Firefox on different computers.

   However, if you set up Firefox 29 on a Mac that hasn't been paired
   using the previous account method, you'll need to [4]unlink Firefox
   from your old credentials and create a new Firefox Account. (The
   username and password associated with the old syncing scheme are no
   longer recognized by an unpaired Firefox 29.) The decoupling occurs in
   Preferences > Sync, where you'll need to click Unlink This Device below
   the Device Name field. From the same Sync preference pane, click Create
   Account to set up your new Firefox Account credentials.

   After verification is sent via email, your new Firefox Account sync
   services become active. But you're not done yet. To get the benefit of
   the new sync services, you'll need to update all your previously paired
   computers to Firefox 29 (and any Android devices to the most current
   version of [5]Firefox Browser for Android), and then sign in using your
   new Firefox Account credentials.

   Firefox 29 is a free download from Mozilla (56.1 MB), and it requires
   Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or later. Check out this [6]blog post (or
   the full [7]release notes) for details on additions to Firefox's
   developer tools.

References

   1. http://www.mozilla.org/firefox/new/
   2. http://tidbits.com/resources/2014-04/FireFox-29-customize.png
   3. https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2014/02/07/introducing-mozilla-firefox-accounts/
   4. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-to-update-to-the-new-firefox-sync
   5. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mozilla.firefox
   6. https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2014/04/29/mozilla-introduces-the-most-customizable-firefox-ever-with-an-elegant-new-design/
   7. http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/29.0/releasenotes/

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