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I'm not the previous commenter, but on Android Mozilla is removing the ability to install extensions from third parties (think GitHub, etc.) and will trim the o

by fwn 6y ago

I'm not the previous commenter, but on Android Mozilla is removing the ability to install extensions from third parties (think GitHub, etc.) and will trim the only left official extension store down to a few extensions. (I think it's below 20 right now.) An ecosystem where all extensions need to be channelled through one central power broker is pretty much the main requirement to allow them to do what Google is doing in the linked Pushbullet case. edit: this is all factual, sadly downvotes won't change it.

mintplant 6y ago
This is temporary while the Android team builds out and stabilizes the add-on APIs supported in the new Firefox for Android. Otherwise it'd be a total crapshoot whether an add-on you tried to install worked or broke randomly (potentially in gnarly ways).
- fwn 6y ago
  If locking down on the extension ecosystem were only temporary they could just defer the nearing downgrade of their main line browser until their replacement is fully functional. But that's not what they do. Instead we do have a clear announcement on a feature removal and a vague hint that they might add it again in the future. It's absolutely not sure that disabling non-store extensions is only a temporary defect. If you have evidence that suggests otherwise, feel free to add it. It does not help that their marketing language feels designed to consistently avoid any meaning whatsoever.
  - mintplant 6y ago
    > If locking down on the extension ecosystem were only temporary they could just defer the nearing downgrade of their main line browser until their replacement is fully functional. The update is going ahead because the new Firefox for Android is such a dramatic improvement along all other axes, and because, from a development perspective, the incarnation it's replacing is saddled with legacy and technical debt. It never received most of the benefits from Quantum, for example.
    - fwn 6y ago
      > The update is going ahead because Firefox Preview is such a dramatic improvement along all other axes. ...and even the extension axis, from a power-aware Mozilla position. That's what makes it suspicious in the first place. A few years ago they had a bug that added seconds to every page load that they didn't fix for half a year, but once an update coincidentally consolidates power at Mozilla it needs to be pushed for all its supposed benefits and despite all its known drawbacks asap. We wouldn't buy that if it were Google or Microsoft and we shouldn't buy it in Mozillas case either. ... If they even announced that they plan to reopen the extension system, which they (to my knowledge) did not. Personally I don't notice any grave difference between Firefox and preview. Apparently scrolling should be different, but my mid-range phone scrolls just fine in both apps.
      - roca 6y ago
        > A few years ago they had a bug that added seconds to every page load that they didn't fix for half a year, What are you talking about?
input_sh 6y ago
They've rebuilt their browser from scratch and are re-adding the APIs. It makes total sense to prioritize the most frequently used ones now and expand to the other ones later on. For me personally, Privacy Badger and uBlock Origin are already there. I don't think I need a third one at all.
- fwn 6y ago
  You're not challenging anything of what I wrote. You seem to be more confident on their reestablishment of the extension ecosystem but didn't explain how you arrived at that conclusion.

by fwn 6y ago

mintplant 6y ago

This is temporary while the Android team builds out and stabilizes the add-on APIs supported in the new Firefox for Android. Otherwise it'd be a total crapshoot whether an add-on you tried to install worked or broke randomly (potentially in gnarly ways).

fwn 6y ago
If locking down on the extension ecosystem were only temporary they could just defer the nearing downgrade of their main line browser until their replacement is fully functional. But that's not what they do. Instead we do have a clear announcement on a feature removal and a vague hint that they might add it again in the future. It's absolutely not sure that disabling non-store extensions is only a temporary defect. If you have evidence that suggests otherwise, feel free to add it. It does not help that their marketing language feels designed to consistently avoid any meaning whatsoever.
- mintplant 6y ago
  > If locking down on the extension ecosystem were only temporary they could just defer the nearing downgrade of their main line browser until their replacement is fully functional. The update is going ahead because the new Firefox for Android is such a dramatic improvement along all other axes, and because, from a development perspective, the incarnation it's replacing is saddled with legacy and technical debt. It never received most of the benefits from Quantum, for example.
  - fwn 6y ago
    > The update is going ahead because Firefox Preview is such a dramatic improvement along all other axes. ...and even the extension axis, from a power-aware Mozilla position. That's what makes it suspicious in the first place. A few years ago they had a bug that added seconds to every page load that they didn't fix for half a year, but once an update coincidentally consolidates power at Mozilla it needs to be pushed for all its supposed benefits and despite all its known drawbacks asap. We wouldn't buy that if it were Google or Microsoft and we shouldn't buy it in Mozillas case either. ... If they even announced that they plan to reopen the extension system, which they (to my knowledge) did not. Personally I don't notice any grave difference between Firefox and preview. Apparently scrolling should be different, but my mid-range phone scrolls just fine in both apps.
    - roca 6y ago
      > A few years ago they had a bug that added seconds to every page load that they didn't fix for half a year, What are you talking about?

input_sh 6y ago

They've rebuilt their browser from scratch and are re-adding the APIs. It makes total sense to prioritize the most frequently used ones now and expand to the other ones later on. For me personally, Privacy Badger and uBlock Origin are already there. I don't think I need a third one at all.

fwn 6y ago
You're not challenging anything of what I wrote. You seem to be more confident on their reestablishment of the extension ecosystem but didn't explain how you arrived at that conclusion.