12 ms·

Firefox And Pixar Animation Studios team up to help you show your true colors

96 points by up6w6 5y ago

lkxijlewlf 5y ago
Grumps: Why is FF losing market share!? Mozilla: Does stuff to gain market share. Grumps: Pissed off Mozilla does stuff to gain market share. It's a freaking browser. Browsers peaked like 30 years ago. They're ALL on maintenance at this point.
- brimble 5y ago
  How is pushing ads at users going to gain them market share? I know it'll get them more money, but it'll annoy users and I've not seen evidence that the reason they're struggling is because they're capital-constrained.
- Nextgrid 5y ago
  How does this gain market share? It's still a knockoff, slower version of Chrome, just that you can install a Disney theme. In its default configuration, it doesn't bring anything to the table that Chrome doesn't already have, and making it actually privacy-respecting requires being tech-savvy enough to configure it and install the right third-party ad blocking add-on - which if you are tech-savvy enough, chances are that you're already running it. > Browsers peaked like 30 years ago. They're ALL on maintenance at this point. The web is changing and is getting more user-hostile every day. A browser that's actually a user-agent would be a great tool to fight back. Unfortunately Mozilla only claims to be on your side but actually does very little at the technical level.
  - yoasif_ 5y ago
    > In its default configuration, it doesn't bring anything to the table that Chrome doesn't already have That is clearly false, and you have replied to my comments referencing this demonstrating that you ought to know better. See: https://blog.mozilla.org/en/products/firefox/firefox-now-available-with-enhanced-tracking-protection-by-default/ https://blog.mozilla.org/en/products/firefox/firefox-now-ava... https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2020/01/07/firefox-72-fingerprinting/ https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2020/01/07/firefox-72-fing... https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2021/03/23/introducing-smartblock/ https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2021/03/23/introducing-sma... No opt-ins required, and features that Chrome doesn't have at all.
butz 5y ago
Not sure how many new users last colorways experiment has brought, but I think Mozilla should prioritize working on actual browser features to catch up with Chrome. There are still problems with chat/video conferencing apps, e.g. MS Teams, that work even on Safari. And there are smaller things too: https://wpt.fyi/compat2021?feature=summary https://wpt.fyi/compat2021?feature=summary
- gtirloni 5y ago
  It's not either/or. They can do both. AFAIK, marketing people aren't coding C/C++/Rust browser engines so they're free to do their own thing.
  - Nextgrid 5y ago
    Marketing people aren't free either. I'd rather have that money go towards browser development.
    - afavour 5y ago
      Marketing people can be free if their work generates enough revenue for the company that it exceeds their salary. They can literally be profit generators. Same goes for any employee, really.
      - dleslie 5y ago
        That reasoning applies to all employees, of all roles. However, the behaviour of certain employees can undermine the profitability of others. Mozilla appears to be on the path of being a reseller of services and marketer of brands, at the expense of attracting FOSS developers.
  - dleslie 5y ago
    Mozilla let go a large number of developers recently.
    - 5y ago
swalls 5y ago
'We're committed to an open web - that's why we're teaming up with Disney, the company that locks all their content behind DRM.'
- ramesh31 5y ago
  Mozilla died years ago. Sad to see what a zombie org it has become.
  - dijonman2 5y ago
    Mitchell Baker needs to step down.
- SubiculumCode 5y ago
  What media company does not use DRM?
  - dleslie 5y ago
    GOG, Weightless Books and Bandcamp immediately spring to mind.
    - SubiculumCode 5y ago
      What movie company?
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
      - dleslie 5y ago
        Drafthouse
        Shared404 5y ago
        Sounds like you've got a decent list of companies where you can purchase DRM free media, do you have one released publicly somewhere?
rank0 5y ago
I'm never giving any more money to this BS organization unless they can get back to their roots and focus on making a competitive web browser.
- ct0 5y ago
  Kind of curious, how much money have you given them and how did you give it?
  - fuzzer37 5y ago
    Kind of curious, how much money has Mozilla spend on BS unrelated to their core product over the last 10 years?
    - Nextgrid 5y ago
      When it comes to donations, all of it. As far as I know, donations go to the Mozilla Foundation while the browser is developed by the Mozilla Corporation.
    - ct0 5y ago
      I am sure you could look that up and spin it anyway you see fit. Generally curious if donation support is commonplace considering the income of these companies based on gsearch payments is quite large. Mozilla has tried a number of things, which is quite common for any tech company as the talent needs to build to learn and grow. Based on your posting history, I am sure you would just throw gas on the closest fire you see.
  - rank0 5y ago
    Definitely less than $100 via past pocket subscription and Firefox vpn. Wanted to support the org but canceled both. I hated pocket and realized the vpn service is just a mullvad resale.
    - ct0 5y ago
      I didnt realize that pocket was a subscription service. What did you hate about it? I took the other approach, recently subscribed for a year of nextDNS and starting paying for mullvad.
eitland 5y ago
As long as it doesn't get in the way of fixing it it cannot hurt to spread awareness of Firefox. (Not saying it is worse than anything else, just that it used to be better.)
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
nimbius 5y ago
if history is any indication of progress, expect Microsoft to secure the ever coveted 'Edge sponsored by Raid Shadow Legends' soon.
vernie 5y ago
Damn, I was hoping this had to do with color calibration.
- gap 5y ago
  Me too. I was hoping that video color management is finally coming to Firefox. I have to use a Chromium-based browser for YouTube and such, since Firefox is unusable for video on wide-gamut displays. But no, it’s wallpapers.
- chrismorgan 5y ago
  I expected this to be related to colour gamuts or calibration or something like that.
AnEro 5y ago
Why is this being hated on? It's a revenue model for them to make the competitive browser we want... Having these large branded cosmetic additions to firefox is kinda a genius non-intrusive or at least less intrusive way to do advertisements.
- marginalia_nu 5y ago
  I'm frustrated with Mozilla because they talk really big, but their actions time and time again fail to line up with what they are actually saying. They can't open their mouths without talking about how much they care about privacy, but at the same time making it nearly impossible to opt out of their telemetry. For Mozilla, invasion of privacy only appears to be bad when other people are doing it. This just comes off as sanctimonious and hypocritical. What's really frustrating is that they absolutely could do good. If they actually managed to live up to even half their words, they'd be amazing. But for some reason, they just... don't.
  - yoasif_ 5y ago
    > but at the same time making it nearly impossible to opt out of their telemetry It is one checkbox in the settings. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/share-data-mozilla-help-improve-firefox https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/share-data-mozilla-help... Two if you don't want to be put into studies - I don't think Origin Trials in Chrome can be opted out of at all (if you know how, it'd be nice to tell us).
    - marginalia_nu 5y ago
      No, that only disables some telemetry. Here are some of the options you need to disable: https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxquestions/comments/joef72/is_there_any_way_to_disable_firefox_telemetry/ https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxquestions/comments/joef72/is_t... Be sure to read the top comment. They are also doing this bullshit, which isn't even a little bit OK: https://mozilla.github.io/normandy/index.html https://mozilla.github.io/normandy/index.html > Two if you don't want to be put into studies - I don't think Origin Trials in Chrome can be opted out of at all (if you know how, it'd be nice to tell us). What Chrome does is completely irrelevant. I don't want a browser that is less bad than Chrome, I want one that is good.
slg 5y ago
This article is blatantly just an ad for a Disney movie with almost no interesting content. I'm not sure I have ever seen something like this rank so highly on HN. What am I missing? Why are people upvoting this?
- Nextgrid 5y ago
  It's yet another example of Mozilla's insanity.
- PKop 5y ago
  Posts aren't only made for positive portrayal of their subject... it could just as easily have been made as a criticism of what Mozilla is doing.
  - slg 5y ago
    I guess I am missing the criticism then. What is the problem with a sponsored content blog post? This will have zero impact on the average Firefox user. If people want to engage with this content, they can. If they don't, they are free to ignore it.
ravenstine 5y ago
Why in the heck is Firefox trying to sell itself as something you use to "show your true colors"? That promotional video tells me nothing other than that Disney has another movie coming out. Is it referring to installing themes/skins? This just seems way out of touch, in which case Disney is the right company for Mozilla.
- Tabular-Iceberg 5y ago
  I thought it was colours as in pride colours, as damage control after the Brandon Eich thing. Which also made me chuckle a bit when they said “be brave”.
  - waffle_maniac 5y ago
    They are still worried about something that happened years ago?
NazakiAid 5y ago
I see 0 problems with this. Disney gets their exposure. Mozilla gets some money (I hope) and exposure. The users don't really get negatively affected. I hope this helps increase Firefox's market share to make it more competitive to Chrome. The fact that Disney use DRM means that Mozilla should not have done this is a weak point at best. DRM is used by most media companies. I feel like people just get angry at Mozilla for the hell of it without understanding that they have to pay their employees somehow. Also Mozilla could "team up" with any org and someone would find a way to get angry over it.
- Nextgrid 5y ago
  > they have to pay their employees somehow What are their employees doing though? If they're churning out BS like this, are they even necessary? Most Firefox features that gave it marketshare long ago have been left to rot if not outright deprecated. What remains is a terrible Chrome knockoff. --- Edit: this comment is rage/venting so I'll elaborate: my problem with Mozilla's recent (~5 years?) evolution is that Firefox's power-user features that not only gave it its original marketshare but are the last line of defense in an increasingly user-hostile web are being left to rot if not outright killed off while being replaced by useless garbage like this and while their marketshare continues to dwindle (no surprise there considering any differentiating features are on the back-burner), their CEO increased their compensation to ridiculous levels. Firefox is the most user-hostile FOSS software I know of - on-par if not worse than a lot of paid, proprietary software. Upon first run it'll load several tabs with Google Analytics spyware, has Pocket, ads/sponsored links and telemetry enabled by default (the latter is in breach of the GDPR) and makes bold claims about privacy while it doesn't even come with a built-in adblocker (even its strongest tracking protection is inferior to uBlock Origin and not even enabled by default). Every update will interrupt your flow with a useless "what's new" tab (and I think the recent "Colorways" update had its own tab/modal in addition to the usual update). I'm worried this new development will also have its own annoying notification next time I start the browser.
  - yoasif_ 5y ago
    > What are their employees doing though? This really isn't hard to find: https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/ https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/
meetups323 5y ago
What's interesting here is that "good different, different good" is both completely meaningless, and also the exact argument that comes up on HN whenever firefox is brought up as an alternative to chromium browsers.
afavour 5y ago
HN: Mozilla depends way too heavily on revenue from Google paying to be the default engine. They need to find other ways to make money. Also HN: why is Mozilla wasting time promoting a Disney movie?
- Nextgrid 5y ago
  Maybe it should just align the incentives and get the users to pay for it? The Enterprise™ spends millions on very dubious security products. On the other hand, the browser is on the front line when it comes to online attacks - a paid browser with enterprise-level features such as ad, malware & phishing blocking or DLP could sell for decent money and actually provide tangible security benefits.
  - micromacrofoot 5y ago
    > get the users to pay for it Unless they switched to a subscription-only model (which I don't think aligns with their mission) this would almost definitely doom them... users don't want to pay for shit, especially with freely available alternatives.
    - Nextgrid 5y ago
      You could offer a free version and lock out the enterprise-specific features behind a subscription, or just sell support - a lot of companies seem to do fine on an open-source product and selling support or managed services.
      - tmottabr 5y ago
        then enterprise will just not use firefox.. they will use chrome that will have enterprise features available for free.. not that many enterprises use firefox to begin with..
        Nextgrid 5y ago
        Does Chrome have ad/malware blocking or DLP (for which companies currently use expensive middleboxes that break TLS and can cause problems)? The point isn’t that they would pay for a Chrome equivalent, it’s that they would pay for something better than Chrome which Google won’t replicate as it’s against their entire business model. The amount of money companies spend on various security products (some of which are dubious) suggests there's definitely an appetite for security and doing so at the browser level makes sense and could be a successful strategy.
akersten 5y ago
Phew, it's just a sponsored Firefox theme. I was so worried when I saw the headline that they were doing something like Proprietary Disney+ HDR...
matt321 5y ago
Showing true colors? No thanks, I prefer people wear their masks of polite discourse in public.
bee_rider 5y ago
> In celebration of “Turning Red,” streaming on Disney+ on March 11th, we are creating new Firefox desktop colorways and mobile wallpapers based on the movie as an optional way to show your personality through your browser. We’ve also created a destination for all things 2002 nostalgia and will be having conversations with people about their journeys to embrace their true colors online. Making a couple themes and an ad site couldn't have been a big project, presumably this is the sort of thing a couple marketing interns can throw together in a couple months, right? If this got Mozilla a nice check from The Mouse which they can use to fund browser development, I don't see any downsides here.
- thibran 5y ago
  > I don't see any downsides here. I do. Next time I see a blog.mozilla.org post here I will ignore it and maybe miss a great technology blog post.
  - bee_rider 5y ago
    The headline is posted here, it should be possible to determine if it is a technical post or not. If you've decided to impose some extra downside on yourself... I think that's a bad idea, but the rest of us don't suffer for it.
  - roblabla 5y ago
    The great tech posts are mostly on hacks.mozilla.org. I think blog.mozilla.org is mostly for firefox update stuff and Mozilla Foundation stuff.
- acomjean 5y ago
  I'll agree. It also seems like taking good advantage of a coincidence: The movie main character looks like a red panda (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_panda https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_panda) which I think is the mythical firefox.
- jdkjs 5y ago
  What makes you think this money is going to development of the browser instead of… everything else they do?
kome 5y ago
hacker news is so frustrating with firefox, if it's love, it's toxic love :) whatever mozilla do or don't, it's not good.
spike021 5y ago
>Firefox has a soft spot for red pandas thanks to our logo I'm confused. Isn't the animal on the logo a... (fire) fox? Not a red panda?
thecrumb 5y ago
How ironic - two once innovative companies that have completely lost their imagination and become basically corporate shills.
endisneigh 5y ago
Mozilla leadership is an embarrassment. They just need to make things that Google cancels - RSS/news aggregator, Google Inbox like email client, etc. Make it and sell it, generate revenue and get off Google’s tit.
digitalsin 5y ago
So bold. So brave. Good grief.
ldjb 5y ago
Although I don't have a problem with this kind of promo, I think it's a shame the sweepstake page [0] does not clearly explain that only US residents who haven't previously subscribed to Disney+ are eligible. To find this out, you have to click a tiny link to the official rules [1] which are full of legalese. It personally feels a bit deceitful that they're, in a sense, tricking people into signing up for Firefox news under the guise of a sweepstake that many people won't be eligible for. [0] https://truecolors.firefox.com/contest https://truecolors.firefox.com/contest [1] https://truecolors.firefox.com/contest/rules https://truecolors.firefox.com/contest/rules
sebow 5y ago
Well well.. seems like I really nailed this one [0] 2 days ago we had a thread about FF losing market share and what some would do to help that.I was right in pointing out Mozilla's priorities: color themes & data-collecting extensions, definitely not for fueling ad-based companies with data which trickle down in profit for both parties. I guess nobody even at Mozilla gives a damn anymore, just make the browser an equivalent of a mobile app for browsing tiktok and consuming media already, because between that and pushing color themes, there's nothing on the horizon for people who just want an usable browser.At this point i expect even Edge to catch-up heavily, at least we're expecting consistent garbage from Microsoft so in that regard there won't be any surprises. [0] (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30336317 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30336317)
- kyleee 5y ago
  ceo is getting paid so what do they care? i'm sure there are some other c levels pillaging the coffers as well
up6w6 5y ago
For those who didn't find, there is actually a sweepstake of 500 disney+ subscriptions sponsored by Mozilla Corporation. https://truecolors.firefox.com/contest https://truecolors.firefox.com/contest

96 points by up6w6 5y ago

Grumps: Why is FF losing market share!? Mozilla: Does stuff to gain market share. Grumps: Pissed off Mozilla does stuff to gain market share. It's a freaking browser. Browsers peaked like 30 years ago. They're ALL on maintenance at this point.

brimble 5y ago
How is pushing ads at users going to gain them market share? I know it'll get them more money, but it'll annoy users and I've not seen evidence that the reason they're struggling is because they're capital-constrained.
Nextgrid 5y ago
How does this gain market share? It's still a knockoff, slower version of Chrome, just that you can install a Disney theme. In its default configuration, it doesn't bring anything to the table that Chrome doesn't already have, and making it actually privacy-respecting requires being tech-savvy enough to configure it and install the right third-party ad blocking add-on - which if you are tech-savvy enough, chances are that you're already running it. > Browsers peaked like 30 years ago. They're ALL on maintenance at this point. The web is changing and is getting more user-hostile every day. A browser that's actually a user-agent would be a great tool to fight back. Unfortunately Mozilla only claims to be on your side but actually does very little at the technical level.
- yoasif_ 5y ago
  > In its default configuration, it doesn't bring anything to the table that Chrome doesn't already have That is clearly false, and you have replied to my comments referencing this demonstrating that you ought to know better. See: https://blog.mozilla.org/en/products/firefox/firefox-now-available-with-enhanced-tracking-protection-by-default/ https://blog.mozilla.org/en/products/firefox/firefox-now-ava... https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2020/01/07/firefox-72-fingerprinting/ https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2020/01/07/firefox-72-fing... https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2021/03/23/introducing-smartblock/ https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2021/03/23/introducing-sma... No opt-ins required, and features that Chrome doesn't have at all.

butz 5y ago

Not sure how many new users last colorways experiment has brought, but I think Mozilla should prioritize working on actual browser features to catch up with Chrome. There are still problems with chat/video conferencing apps, e.g. MS Teams, that work even on Safari. And there are smaller things too: https://wpt.fyi/compat2021?feature=summary https://wpt.fyi/compat2021?feature=summary

gtirloni 5y ago
It's not either/or. They can do both. AFAIK, marketing people aren't coding C/C++/Rust browser engines so they're free to do their own thing.
- Nextgrid 5y ago
  Marketing people aren't free either. I'd rather have that money go towards browser development.
  - afavour 5y ago
    Marketing people can be free if their work generates enough revenue for the company that it exceeds their salary. They can literally be profit generators. Same goes for any employee, really.
    - dleslie 5y ago
      That reasoning applies to all employees, of all roles. However, the behaviour of certain employees can undermine the profitability of others. Mozilla appears to be on the path of being a reseller of services and marketer of brands, at the expense of attracting FOSS developers.
- dleslie 5y ago
  Mozilla let go a large number of developers recently.
  - 5y ago

swalls 5y ago

'We're committed to an open web - that's why we're teaming up with Disney, the company that locks all their content behind DRM.'

ramesh31 5y ago
Mozilla died years ago. Sad to see what a zombie org it has become.
- dijonman2 5y ago
  Mitchell Baker needs to step down.
SubiculumCode 5y ago
What media company does not use DRM?
- dleslie 5y ago
  GOG, Weightless Books and Bandcamp immediately spring to mind.
  - SubiculumCode 5y ago
    What movie company?
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - dleslie 5y ago
      Drafthouse
      - Shared404 5y ago
        Sounds like you've got a decent list of companies where you can purchase DRM free media, do you have one released publicly somewhere?

rank0 5y ago

I'm never giving any more money to this BS organization unless they can get back to their roots and focus on making a competitive web browser.

ct0 5y ago
Kind of curious, how much money have you given them and how did you give it?
- fuzzer37 5y ago
  Kind of curious, how much money has Mozilla spend on BS unrelated to their core product over the last 10 years?
  - Nextgrid 5y ago
    When it comes to donations, all of it. As far as I know, donations go to the Mozilla Foundation while the browser is developed by the Mozilla Corporation.
  - ct0 5y ago
    I am sure you could look that up and spin it anyway you see fit. Generally curious if donation support is commonplace considering the income of these companies based on gsearch payments is quite large. Mozilla has tried a number of things, which is quite common for any tech company as the talent needs to build to learn and grow. Based on your posting history, I am sure you would just throw gas on the closest fire you see.
- rank0 5y ago
  Definitely less than $100 via past pocket subscription and Firefox vpn. Wanted to support the org but canceled both. I hated pocket and realized the vpn service is just a mullvad resale.
  - ct0 5y ago
    I didnt realize that pocket was a subscription service. What did you hate about it? I took the other approach, recently subscribed for a year of nextDNS and starting paying for mullvad.

eitland 5y ago

As long as it doesn't get in the way of fixing it it cannot hurt to spread awareness of Firefox. (Not saying it is worse than anything else, just that it used to be better.)

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

nimbius 5y ago

if history is any indication of progress, expect Microsoft to secure the ever coveted 'Edge sponsored by Raid Shadow Legends' soon.

vernie 5y ago

Damn, I was hoping this had to do with color calibration.

gap 5y ago
Me too. I was hoping that video color management is finally coming to Firefox. I have to use a Chromium-based browser for YouTube and such, since Firefox is unusable for video on wide-gamut displays. But no, it’s wallpapers.
chrismorgan 5y ago
I expected this to be related to colour gamuts or calibration or something like that.

AnEro 5y ago

Why is this being hated on? It's a revenue model for them to make the competitive browser we want... Having these large branded cosmetic additions to firefox is kinda a genius non-intrusive or at least less intrusive way to do advertisements.

marginalia_nu 5y ago
I'm frustrated with Mozilla because they talk really big, but their actions time and time again fail to line up with what they are actually saying. They can't open their mouths without talking about how much they care about privacy, but at the same time making it nearly impossible to opt out of their telemetry. For Mozilla, invasion of privacy only appears to be bad when other people are doing it. This just comes off as sanctimonious and hypocritical. What's really frustrating is that they absolutely could do good. If they actually managed to live up to even half their words, they'd be amazing. But for some reason, they just... don't.
- yoasif_ 5y ago
  > but at the same time making it nearly impossible to opt out of their telemetry It is one checkbox in the settings. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/share-data-mozilla-help-improve-firefox https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/share-data-mozilla-help... Two if you don't want to be put into studies - I don't think Origin Trials in Chrome can be opted out of at all (if you know how, it'd be nice to tell us).
  - marginalia_nu 5y ago
    No, that only disables some telemetry. Here are some of the options you need to disable: https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxquestions/comments/joef72/is_there_any_way_to_disable_firefox_telemetry/ https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxquestions/comments/joef72/is_t... Be sure to read the top comment. They are also doing this bullshit, which isn't even a little bit OK: https://mozilla.github.io/normandy/index.html https://mozilla.github.io/normandy/index.html > Two if you don't want to be put into studies - I don't think Origin Trials in Chrome can be opted out of at all (if you know how, it'd be nice to tell us). What Chrome does is completely irrelevant. I don't want a browser that is less bad than Chrome, I want one that is good.

slg 5y ago

This article is blatantly just an ad for a Disney movie with almost no interesting content. I'm not sure I have ever seen something like this rank so highly on HN. What am I missing? Why are people upvoting this?

Nextgrid 5y ago
It's yet another example of Mozilla's insanity.
PKop 5y ago
Posts aren't only made for positive portrayal of their subject... it could just as easily have been made as a criticism of what Mozilla is doing.
- slg 5y ago
  I guess I am missing the criticism then. What is the problem with a sponsored content blog post? This will have zero impact on the average Firefox user. If people want to engage with this content, they can. If they don't, they are free to ignore it.

ravenstine 5y ago

Why in the heck is Firefox trying to sell itself as something you use to "show your true colors"? That promotional video tells me nothing other than that Disney has another movie coming out. Is it referring to installing themes/skins? This just seems way out of touch, in which case Disney is the right company for Mozilla.

Tabular-Iceberg 5y ago
I thought it was colours as in pride colours, as damage control after the Brandon Eich thing. Which also made me chuckle a bit when they said “be brave”.
- waffle_maniac 5y ago
  They are still worried about something that happened years ago?

NazakiAid 5y ago

I see 0 problems with this. Disney gets their exposure. Mozilla gets some money (I hope) and exposure. The users don't really get negatively affected. I hope this helps increase Firefox's market share to make it more competitive to Chrome. The fact that Disney use DRM means that Mozilla should not have done this is a weak point at best. DRM is used by most media companies. I feel like people just get angry at Mozilla for the hell of it without understanding that they have to pay their employees somehow. Also Mozilla could "team up" with any org and someone would find a way to get angry over it.

Nextgrid 5y ago
> they have to pay their employees somehow What are their employees doing though? If they're churning out BS like this, are they even necessary? Most Firefox features that gave it marketshare long ago have been left to rot if not outright deprecated. What remains is a terrible Chrome knockoff. --- Edit: this comment is rage/venting so I'll elaborate: my problem with Mozilla's recent (~5 years?) evolution is that Firefox's power-user features that not only gave it its original marketshare but are the last line of defense in an increasingly user-hostile web are being left to rot if not outright killed off while being replaced by useless garbage like this and while their marketshare continues to dwindle (no surprise there considering any differentiating features are on the back-burner), their CEO increased their compensation to ridiculous levels. Firefox is the most user-hostile FOSS software I know of - on-par if not worse than a lot of paid, proprietary software. Upon first run it'll load several tabs with Google Analytics spyware, has Pocket, ads/sponsored links and telemetry enabled by default (the latter is in breach of the GDPR) and makes bold claims about privacy while it doesn't even come with a built-in adblocker (even its strongest tracking protection is inferior to uBlock Origin and not even enabled by default). Every update will interrupt your flow with a useless "what's new" tab (and I think the recent "Colorways" update had its own tab/modal in addition to the usual update). I'm worried this new development will also have its own annoying notification next time I start the browser.
- yoasif_ 5y ago
  > What are their employees doing though? This really isn't hard to find: https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/ https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/

meetups323 5y ago

What's interesting here is that "good different, different good" is both completely meaningless, and also the exact argument that comes up on HN whenever firefox is brought up as an alternative to chromium browsers.

afavour 5y ago

HN: Mozilla depends way too heavily on revenue from Google paying to be the default engine. They need to find other ways to make money. Also HN: why is Mozilla wasting time promoting a Disney movie?

Nextgrid 5y ago
Maybe it should just align the incentives and get the users to pay for it? The Enterprise™ spends millions on very dubious security products. On the other hand, the browser is on the front line when it comes to online attacks - a paid browser with enterprise-level features such as ad, malware & phishing blocking or DLP could sell for decent money and actually provide tangible security benefits.
- micromacrofoot 5y ago
  > get the users to pay for it Unless they switched to a subscription-only model (which I don't think aligns with their mission) this would almost definitely doom them... users don't want to pay for shit, especially with freely available alternatives.
  - Nextgrid 5y ago
    You could offer a free version and lock out the enterprise-specific features behind a subscription, or just sell support - a lot of companies seem to do fine on an open-source product and selling support or managed services.
    - tmottabr 5y ago
      then enterprise will just not use firefox.. they will use chrome that will have enterprise features available for free.. not that many enterprises use firefox to begin with..
      - Nextgrid 5y ago
        Does Chrome have ad/malware blocking or DLP (for which companies currently use expensive middleboxes that break TLS and can cause problems)? The point isn’t that they would pay for a Chrome equivalent, it’s that they would pay for something better than Chrome which Google won’t replicate as it’s against their entire business model. The amount of money companies spend on various security products (some of which are dubious) suggests there's definitely an appetite for security and doing so at the browser level makes sense and could be a successful strategy.

akersten 5y ago

Phew, it's just a sponsored Firefox theme. I was so worried when I saw the headline that they were doing something like Proprietary Disney+ HDR...

matt321 5y ago

Showing true colors? No thanks, I prefer people wear their masks of polite discourse in public.

bee_rider 5y ago

> In celebration of “Turning Red,” streaming on Disney+ on March 11th, we are creating new Firefox desktop colorways and mobile wallpapers based on the movie as an optional way to show your personality through your browser. We’ve also created a destination for all things 2002 nostalgia and will be having conversations with people about their journeys to embrace their true colors online. Making a couple themes and an ad site couldn't have been a big project, presumably this is the sort of thing a couple marketing interns can throw together in a couple months, right? If this got Mozilla a nice check from The Mouse which they can use to fund browser development, I don't see any downsides here.

thibran 5y ago
> I don't see any downsides here. I do. Next time I see a blog.mozilla.org post here I will ignore it and maybe miss a great technology blog post.
- bee_rider 5y ago
  The headline is posted here, it should be possible to determine if it is a technical post or not. If you've decided to impose some extra downside on yourself... I think that's a bad idea, but the rest of us don't suffer for it.
- roblabla 5y ago
  The great tech posts are mostly on hacks.mozilla.org. I think blog.mozilla.org is mostly for firefox update stuff and Mozilla Foundation stuff.
acomjean 5y ago
I'll agree. It also seems like taking good advantage of a coincidence: The movie main character looks like a red panda (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_panda https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_panda) which I think is the mythical firefox.
jdkjs 5y ago
What makes you think this money is going to development of the browser instead of… everything else they do?

kome 5y ago

hacker news is so frustrating with firefox, if it's love, it's toxic love :) whatever mozilla do or don't, it's not good.

spike021 5y ago

>Firefox has a soft spot for red pandas thanks to our logo I'm confused. Isn't the animal on the logo a... (fire) fox? Not a red panda?

thecrumb 5y ago

How ironic - two once innovative companies that have completely lost their imagination and become basically corporate shills.

endisneigh 5y ago

Mozilla leadership is an embarrassment. They just need to make things that Google cancels - RSS/news aggregator, Google Inbox like email client, etc. Make it and sell it, generate revenue and get off Google’s tit.

digitalsin 5y ago

So bold. So brave. Good grief.

ldjb 5y ago

Although I don't have a problem with this kind of promo, I think it's a shame the sweepstake page [0] does not clearly explain that only US residents who haven't previously subscribed to Disney+ are eligible. To find this out, you have to click a tiny link to the official rules [1] which are full of legalese. It personally feels a bit deceitful that they're, in a sense, tricking people into signing up for Firefox news under the guise of a sweepstake that many people won't be eligible for. [0] https://truecolors.firefox.com/contest https://truecolors.firefox.com/contest [1] https://truecolors.firefox.com/contest/rules https://truecolors.firefox.com/contest/rules

sebow 5y ago

Well well.. seems like I really nailed this one [0] 2 days ago we had a thread about FF losing market share and what some would do to help that.I was right in pointing out Mozilla's priorities: color themes & data-collecting extensions, definitely not for fueling ad-based companies with data which trickle down in profit for both parties. I guess nobody even at Mozilla gives a damn anymore, just make the browser an equivalent of a mobile app for browsing tiktok and consuming media already, because between that and pushing color themes, there's nothing on the horizon for people who just want an usable browser.At this point i expect even Edge to catch-up heavily, at least we're expecting consistent garbage from Microsoft so in that regard there won't be any surprises. [0] (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30336317 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30336317)

kyleee 5y ago
ceo is getting paid so what do they care? i'm sure there are some other c levels pillaging the coffers as well

up6w6 5y ago

For those who didn't find, there is actually a sweepstake of 500 disney+ subscriptions sponsored by Mozilla Corporation. https://truecolors.firefox.com/contest https://truecolors.firefox.com/contest