Personas for Firefox
Encyclopedia
Personas for Firefox is a feature in the browser Mozilla Firefox
that allows a user to select simple-to-use themes, known as "Personas", more easily than normal themes. Although at first only available as an extension, the feature was built-in to Mozilla Firefox 3.6
. Persona themes differ from normal themes over the fact that Personas are more basic, easier to create, and easier to install, but are limited to changing the header and the status bar
of the browser. They cannot alter the shape or appearance of toolbar items or tabs
in the way that normal themes can. In regards to installation, Personas can be installed and activated with one click, while normal theme installations are more complicated and require a browser restart.
There are currently more than 220,000 Personas available on the GetPersonas.com website, compared with the less than one thousand normal themes available on the Mozilla Add-On website. A free extension exists titled Personas Plus, which in addition to the normal features of Personas, enables the user to keep track of different Personas more efficiently and more easily create designs for personal use.
Although the feature was met with general favor, TechCrunch
has criticized Mozilla
for focusing on developing eye candy
for the browser rather than placing more attention on improving the speed and usability of Firefox.
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...
that allows a user to select simple-to-use themes, known as "Personas", more easily than normal themes. Although at first only available as an extension, the feature was built-in to Mozilla Firefox 3.6
Mozilla Firefox 3.6
Mozilla Firefox 3.6 is a version of the Firefox web browser released in January 2010. The release's main improvement over Firefox 3.5 is improved performance . It uses the Gecko 1.9.2 engine , which improves compliance with web standards...
. Persona themes differ from normal themes over the fact that Personas are more basic, easier to create, and easier to install, but are limited to changing the header and the status bar
Status bar
A status bar, similar to a status line, is an information area typically found at the bottom of windows in a graphical user interface.A status bar is sometimes divided into sections, each of which shows different information. Its job is primarily to display information about the current state of...
of the browser. They cannot alter the shape or appearance of toolbar items or tabs
Tab (GUI)
In the area of graphical user interfaces , a tabbed document interface is one that allows multiple documents to be contained within a single window, using tabs as a navigational widget for switching between sets of documents...
in the way that normal themes can. In regards to installation, Personas can be installed and activated with one click, while normal theme installations are more complicated and require a browser restart.
There are currently more than 220,000 Personas available on the GetPersonas.com website, compared with the less than one thousand normal themes available on the Mozilla Add-On website. A free extension exists titled Personas Plus, which in addition to the normal features of Personas, enables the user to keep track of different Personas more efficiently and more easily create designs for personal use.
Although the feature was met with general favor, TechCrunch
TechCrunch
TechCrunch is a web publication that offers technology news and analysis, as well as profiling of startup companies, products, and websites. It was founded by Michael Arrington in 2005, and was first published on June 11, 2005....
has criticized Mozilla
Mozilla
Mozilla is a term used in a number of ways in relation to the Mozilla.org project and the Mozilla Foundation, their defunct commercial predecessor Netscape Communications Corporation, and their related application software....
for focusing on developing eye candy
Attractiveness
Attractiveness or attraction refers to a quality that causes an interest or desire in something or someone. The term attraction may also refer to the object of the attraction itself, as in tourist attraction.-Visual attractiveness:...
for the browser rather than placing more attention on improving the speed and usability of Firefox.