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Trying it with Firefox ESR... > Your current browser isn't supported > See Supported Browsers↗ https://support.apple.com/en-us/120585 https://support.apple.c

by neilv 2y ago

Trying it with Firefox ESR... > Your current browser isn't supported > See Supported Browsers↗ https://support.apple.com/en-us/120585 https://support.apple.com/en-us/120585 > On your Mac or iPad: Safari, Edge, Chrome > On your Windows PC: Edge, Chrome No platform other than Apple-Microsoft proprietary ones? No browser other than Chrome/Edge plus Safari? Apple should really be more sympathetic to open standards Web. They might be one regulatory decision away from Google Chrome taking over as the popular browser on Apple products as well. One defense is to hold Google-Microsoft and sites to Web open standards, not bless the proprietary Web.

eddieroger 2y ago
Maybe they will by the time they come out of beta? It only just launched. The page you reference even acknowledges this: >Availability varies depending on region. To start, Maps on the web is available only in English. Maps on the web will be available for additional browsers, platforms, and languages soon.
scblock 2y ago
Yes this is a huge miss. It's IE all over again.
yohannparis 2y ago
That is why it is named beta.
- hypeatei 2y ago
  Presumably if it's a beta then you'd want as much feedback from users as possible. How is blocking Firefox in a beta going to help get this in a production ready state?
- throwitaway1123 2y ago
  Unfortunately, many users will gather from this experience the following sentiment: "if I want to access the latest cutting edge betas, then I should be using something other than Firefox". The net result of this is less browser diversity.
burkaman 2y ago
It appears to work perfectly fine on Firefox. They are only applying the user agent check on the root path, so if you hit https://beta.maps.apple.com/anything https://beta.maps.apple.com/anything it will work on Firefox. I believe I've tried all the (pretty limited) functionality and I haven't found any justification for blocking Firefox.
- TremendousJudge 2y ago
  >I haven't found any justification for blocking Firefox They don't want to spend on QA for another browser
  - HumblyTossed 2y ago
    Struggling company like Apple simply can't afford to.
    - bobbob1921 2y ago
      They don’t have the technology
- riffic 2y ago
  there's absolutely NEVER any justification for blocking firefox except just like, complete hostility. It's Apple though so of course, they get a pass.
dawnerd 2y ago
That’s weird because you’ve been able to use their embedded web maps for a few years now just fine with Firefox. Wonder what gotcha they ran into implementing the full thing that needed a browser check? Edit: their browser check is just bad. I get it in safari too.
- diggan 2y ago
  > That’s weird because you’ve been able to use their embedded web maps for a few years now just fine with Firefox. Wonder what gotcha they ran into implementing the full thing that needed a browser check? Likely nothing. "Unsupported" messages like that are usually not written based on what the website/webapp can run on, but rather what they have/not have testing for. So if they're only testing it on Windows/macOS/Chrome/Safari, even if their developers probably confirmed it works in Firefox/Linux, they'll add that message/block as their QA doesn't include Firefox or Linux.
_fat_santa 2y ago
I just tried it in Chrome on Linux and it didn't work. Even tried switching my user agent so it would look like i was on Windows but that didn't work either.
- xet7 2y ago
  At Linux, I used Firefox AddOn "UserAgent Switcher and Manager" to change User Agent to macOS Safari. Then it worked.
layer8 2y ago
It feels like back in the “optimized for Internet Explorer” days.
kevinak 2y ago
I saw this same issue on MacOS... in Safari, so probably just a bug.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
teruakohatu 2y ago
Doesn’t even work with alternative web browsers on iOS which are just using embedded Safari.
mort96 2y ago
Yeah this isn't a web app... this is a Chrome+Safari app
andylynch 2y ago
Amusingly, it’s also unsupported on Mobile Safari.
ajross 2y ago
So weird to see a demand for adherence to open standards justified by... the desire to see Apple preserve the dominance of its decidedly-closed device ecosystem.
- philistine 2y ago
  Life is weird. And in this weird case, Apple’s monopolistic insistence on denying other rendering engines on its phone has prevented the web from devolving into a monoculture. C’est la vie.
- neilv 2y ago
  Agreed it's weird. But it's not the justification in general. Apple is so accustomed to leveraging proprietary stranglehold, including sometimes being an outright totalitarian, that they need to realize the precariousness of their position of strength, and learn why most other parties have to at least pretend to believe in non-proprietary interoperation. A school bully shouldn't wait until they get a debilitating sports injury, and they are suddenly the one getting stuffed into the trash cans, to start preaching&practicing the good word that no one should be stuffed into trash cans.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
Anthony-G 2y ago
Under the Helpful? option on that page, I chose No and submitted a comment expressing my disappointment that there was no support for Firefox or any other browser for GNU/Linux users. While I can access Apple Maps on my iPhone, I prefer to be able to view maps on my large desktop monitor.

by neilv 2y ago

eddieroger 2y ago

Maybe they will by the time they come out of beta? It only just launched. The page you reference even acknowledges this: >Availability varies depending on region. To start, Maps on the web is available only in English. Maps on the web will be available for additional browsers, platforms, and languages soon.

scblock 2y ago

Yes this is a huge miss. It's IE all over again.

yohannparis 2y ago

That is why it is named beta.

hypeatei 2y ago
Presumably if it's a beta then you'd want as much feedback from users as possible. How is blocking Firefox in a beta going to help get this in a production ready state?
throwitaway1123 2y ago
Unfortunately, many users will gather from this experience the following sentiment: "if I want to access the latest cutting edge betas, then I should be using something other than Firefox". The net result of this is less browser diversity.

burkaman 2y ago

It appears to work perfectly fine on Firefox. They are only applying the user agent check on the root path, so if you hit https://beta.maps.apple.com/anything https://beta.maps.apple.com/anything it will work on Firefox. I believe I've tried all the (pretty limited) functionality and I haven't found any justification for blocking Firefox.

TremendousJudge 2y ago
>I haven't found any justification for blocking Firefox They don't want to spend on QA for another browser
- HumblyTossed 2y ago
  Struggling company like Apple simply can't afford to.
  - bobbob1921 2y ago
    They don’t have the technology
riffic 2y ago
there's absolutely NEVER any justification for blocking firefox except just like, complete hostility. It's Apple though so of course, they get a pass.

dawnerd 2y ago

That’s weird because you’ve been able to use their embedded web maps for a few years now just fine with Firefox. Wonder what gotcha they ran into implementing the full thing that needed a browser check? Edit: their browser check is just bad. I get it in safari too.

diggan 2y ago
> That’s weird because you’ve been able to use their embedded web maps for a few years now just fine with Firefox. Wonder what gotcha they ran into implementing the full thing that needed a browser check? Likely nothing. "Unsupported" messages like that are usually not written based on what the website/webapp can run on, but rather what they have/not have testing for. So if they're only testing it on Windows/macOS/Chrome/Safari, even if their developers probably confirmed it works in Firefox/Linux, they'll add that message/block as their QA doesn't include Firefox or Linux.

_fat_santa 2y ago

I just tried it in Chrome on Linux and it didn't work. Even tried switching my user agent so it would look like i was on Windows but that didn't work either.

xet7 2y ago
At Linux, I used Firefox AddOn "UserAgent Switcher and Manager" to change User Agent to macOS Safari. Then it worked.

layer8 2y ago

It feels like back in the “optimized for Internet Explorer” days.

kevinak 2y ago

I saw this same issue on MacOS... in Safari, so probably just a bug.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

teruakohatu 2y ago

Doesn’t even work with alternative web browsers on iOS which are just using embedded Safari.

mort96 2y ago

Yeah this isn't a web app... this is a Chrome+Safari app

andylynch 2y ago

Amusingly, it’s also unsupported on Mobile Safari.

ajross 2y ago

So weird to see a demand for adherence to open standards justified by... the desire to see Apple preserve the dominance of its decidedly-closed device ecosystem.

philistine 2y ago
Life is weird. And in this weird case, Apple’s monopolistic insistence on denying other rendering engines on its phone has prevented the web from devolving into a monoculture. C’est la vie.
neilv 2y ago
Agreed it's weird. But it's not the justification in general. Apple is so accustomed to leveraging proprietary stranglehold, including sometimes being an outright totalitarian, that they need to realize the precariousness of their position of strength, and learn why most other parties have to at least pretend to believe in non-proprietary interoperation. A school bully shouldn't wait until they get a debilitating sports injury, and they are suddenly the one getting stuffed into the trash cans, to start preaching&practicing the good word that no one should be stuffed into trash cans.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

Anthony-G 2y ago

Under the Helpful? option on that page, I chose No and submitted a comment expressing my disappointment that there was no support for Firefox or any other browser for GNU/Linux users. While I can access Apple Maps on my iPhone, I prefer to be able to view maps on my large desktop monitor.