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This is beyond welcome. The title doesn't really convey what they're doing here, though I'm not sure how I'd phrase it either. This is blocking the sort of ext

This is beyond welcome. The title doesn't really convey what they're doing here, though I'm not sure how I'd phrase it either. This is blocking the sort of extensions that get installed with other desktop software. So, like, for whatever god damn reason Microsoft thinks it needs to install Office addons into Firefox when I install Office. That wouldn't fly in Chrome now.

mtgx 14y ago
Interesting. I guess Microsoft wants you to believe that "you can read Office docs on the web" or something, when in fact it's the plugin opening them in the browser. This is what worries me about Windows 8, too. That they will try to tie too many "HTML5" apps with OS-related plugins.
- kevingadd 14y ago
  Why does that worry you? They started out with all plugins, including their own, entirely disabled on Windows 8 and only added plugin support back after much begging and crying from Flash developers. How do you make the leap from that to Microsoft secretly sneaking proprietary plugins into HTML5 applications?
- drivebyacct2 14y ago
  Yeah I'm not entirely sure I understand what you're referring to either. the only plugins in Windows 8 are in the IE RT app. And that's just Flash. There aren't really plugins for JS apps though there are obviously WinRT specific APIs and some CSS models that are only implemented in IE...
- derleth 14y ago
  > That they will try to tie too many "HTML5" apps with OS-related plugins. ActiveX failed back when Microsoft had a monopoly on practically all end-user systems. Now, with Android devices and iPads and Mac laptops some people actually use and so on, how well could it possibly work these days?
donniezazen 14y ago
Yeah, I really hated Skype extension that would install itself without my explicit consent or considering the fact that I don't use laptop to make phone calls.
- cheald 14y ago
  The Skype extension also significantly slows down page renders. It needs to die in a fire.
  - duskwuff 14y ago
    It also has a nasty habit of inserting its markup in places it doesn't belong, like textareas and inline editable elements (WYSIWYG editors).
    - cheald 14y ago
      I'd never run into that, but yowza, that's ugly.
      - duskwuff 14y ago
        One instance of this behavior (involving the Firefox toolbar) is referenced here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki:Abusefilter-warning-skype http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki:Abusefilter-warning-s... Administrators on the English Wikipedia set up a filter to simply block edits which were tainted by that bug.
jaredsohn 14y ago
Your post doesn't fully convey what they're doing here either. According to the article, it is still possible to package extensions with a software installer, but now when the user runs their browser they will be asked to confirm that they want the extensions to be added. So it isn't really blocking those extensions, which I think is a good thing.
azakai 14y ago
> This is blocking the sort of extensions that get installed with other desktop software. So, like, for whatever god damn reason Microsoft thinks it needs to install Office addons into Firefox when I install Office. That wouldn't fly in Chrome now. As someone else commented below, Firefox has blocked this for a while now. So this will no longer fly in any major desktop browser (except perhaps IE, but in your example it's made by the same company installing the addon ;)

mtgx 14y ago

Interesting. I guess Microsoft wants you to believe that "you can read Office docs on the web" or something, when in fact it's the plugin opening them in the browser. This is what worries me about Windows 8, too. That they will try to tie too many "HTML5" apps with OS-related plugins.

kevingadd 14y ago
Why does that worry you? They started out with all plugins, including their own, entirely disabled on Windows 8 and only added plugin support back after much begging and crying from Flash developers. How do you make the leap from that to Microsoft secretly sneaking proprietary plugins into HTML5 applications?
drivebyacct2 14y ago
Yeah I'm not entirely sure I understand what you're referring to either. the only plugins in Windows 8 are in the IE RT app. And that's just Flash. There aren't really plugins for JS apps though there are obviously WinRT specific APIs and some CSS models that are only implemented in IE...
derleth 14y ago
> That they will try to tie too many "HTML5" apps with OS-related plugins. ActiveX failed back when Microsoft had a monopoly on practically all end-user systems. Now, with Android devices and iPads and Mac laptops some people actually use and so on, how well could it possibly work these days?

donniezazen 14y ago

Yeah, I really hated Skype extension that would install itself without my explicit consent or considering the fact that I don't use laptop to make phone calls.

cheald 14y ago
The Skype extension also significantly slows down page renders. It needs to die in a fire.
- duskwuff 14y ago
  It also has a nasty habit of inserting its markup in places it doesn't belong, like textareas and inline editable elements (WYSIWYG editors).
  - cheald 14y ago
    I'd never run into that, but yowza, that's ugly.
    - duskwuff 14y ago
      One instance of this behavior (involving the Firefox toolbar) is referenced here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki:Abusefilter-warning-skype http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki:Abusefilter-warning-s... Administrators on the English Wikipedia set up a filter to simply block edits which were tainted by that bug.

jaredsohn 14y ago

Your post doesn't fully convey what they're doing here either. According to the article, it is still possible to package extensions with a software installer, but now when the user runs their browser they will be asked to confirm that they want the extensions to be added. So it isn't really blocking those extensions, which I think is a good thing.

azakai 14y ago

> This is blocking the sort of extensions that get installed with other desktop software. So, like, for whatever god damn reason Microsoft thinks it needs to install Office addons into Firefox when I install Office. That wouldn't fly in Chrome now. As someone else commented below, Firefox has blocked this for a while now. So this will no longer fly in any major desktop browser (except perhaps IE, but in your example it's made by the same company installing the addon ;)