Firefox 76 Arrives With Password Management and Zoom Improvements (venturebeat.com) 75
Mozilla today launched Firefox 76 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Firefox 76 includes new Firefox Lockwise password functionality, Zoom improvements, and a handful of developer features. From a report: Lockwise, the password management service formerly known as Firefox Lockbox, is getting smarter. The Firefox feature already lets you generate, manage, and protect all those passwords for streaming services, grocery deliveries, and anything else that helps during the pandemic. If you share your device with family or roommates, Lockwise in Firefox 76 can now protect your saved passwords. When you try to view or copy a password from your "Logins and Passwords" page, you will be prompted for your device's account password.
[...] Firefox 76 adds support for Audio Worklets, which run custom JavaScript audio processing code for applications like VR and gaming on the web. Unlike their predecessor, ScriptProcessorNode, worklets run off the main thread in a similar way to web workers. Mozilla also notes Audio Worklets are "being adopted by some of your favorite software programs." The company specifically called out Zoom, which has become a phenomenon of its own during the pandemic. In short, you now join Zoom calls in Firefox without having to download or install the Zoom client.
[...] Firefox 76 adds support for Audio Worklets, which run custom JavaScript audio processing code for applications like VR and gaming on the web. Unlike their predecessor, ScriptProcessorNode, worklets run off the main thread in a similar way to web workers. Mozilla also notes Audio Worklets are "being adopted by some of your favorite software programs." The company specifically called out Zoom, which has become a phenomenon of its own during the pandemic. In short, you now join Zoom calls in Firefox without having to download or install the Zoom client.
Zoom improvements? (Score:1)
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Either way; its about darn time... we keep hearing of major unaddressed security vulnerabilities including Remote Code Execution issues in the way that Zoom works.
Oh wait; I think they are actually talking about a Zoom-In/Zoom-Out feature while displaying a webpage in Firefox.. oh well.
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No they're not talking about the visual rendering zoom, the summary even talks about it.
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I don't think the language in their release notes is talking about double-tap to video call...
Testing mobile interactions using DevTools’ Responsive Design Mode now mimics the device behavior for handling double-tap to zoom. This builds on previous improvements to correctly rendering meta-viewport tags, allowing developers to optimize their sites for Firefox for Android without a device.
Re: Zoom improvements? (Score:1)
No, Zoom should stay buggy. It should also become deadly.
Natural selection has been prevented for way too long. We need to pull the warning labels off of everything, and let the problem solve itself.
M(a)TCA - Make thinking cool again!
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Can't it just be hypertext viewer? (Score:2)
We already have software for running applications. It's called an OS.
And a network stack for network packet transfer.
A task bar for tabs.
VMs for virtualization.
A password manager for password managing.
And Jitsi for a Zoom improvement.
They should just call it FirefoxOS.
Oh, wait...!
Re:Can't it just be hypertext viewer? (Score:4, Funny)
No, because then what would systemd do?
Re:Can't it just be hypertext viewer? (Score:4, Funny)
FirefoxD
The main aim of FirefoxD is to unify service configuration and behavior across Linux distributions. FirefoxD's primary component is a "system and service manager" — an init system used to bootstrap user space and manage user processes. FirefoxD also provides replacements for various daemons and utilities, including device management, login management, network connection management, and event logging.
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Unify is just a polite way of saying, "genocide".
They mean killing off everything else. That's unification. One way, their way, and the peace of the grave for everyone else.
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It would be really nice if any desktop OS supported running applications in a sandbox - by default and in a user friendly fashion - no messing with VMs or config files, no requiring developers to opt in, etc. However while I don't know such an OS, I feel more comfortable running web apps in a somewhat sandboxed browser rather than downloading and installing random shit on my OS.
WebAssembly (Score:2)
Yep. That's what Mozilla and other members of the (weirdly-named) https://bytecodealliance.org/ [bytecodealliance.org] want WebAssembly to become.
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We've finally reached an era where the overwhelming majority of software we use is cross-platform, thanks to the fact that it runs in browsers. Perhaps we should just be thankful for that.
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No, because most of that JavaScript is proprietary. The correct way to make software cross-platform is to distribute source code.
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We've finally reached an era where the overwhelming majority of software we use is cross-platform, thanks to the fact that it runs in browsers. Perhaps we should just be thankful for that.
I agree about being thankful. I'm sure some platforms would have sunk by now had it not been for the web.
But I think maybe you mean the cloud. After all, web apps are just a view on all the models and controllers running in the datacentre. Web apps are just because you need a common engine to present those views. It's like the cloud version of PostScript.
If the web goes down, I can go back to my advanced 3D modelling software and continue some designs I'm working on.
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I agree. I made my OS choice a long time ago, and got used to how the OS presents/manages windows, tasks, apps, etc. It really affects productivity.
Now every other app is a tab in a web browser, every app is a bookmark, every app has to have the extra layer of menus for the browser itself -- all that OS finesse which was developed over many years, has gone down the drain.
I suppose I'm arguing in favour of Electron apps... and well if needs must, so be it.
I'd rather waste RAM than give up the last sane resem
Go to Firefox ESR, you will not regret it (Score:5, Informative)
If you use your browser for serious work, you owe it to yourself to move to FireFox ESR.
Instead of a barrage of changes, once every month, Firefox ESR is stable for a full year.
You get all the security patches. But no changes in UI or workflow for a year. Is the browser of choice for SW systems (SAP, Software AG, Oracle, Microfocus, Embarcadero, etc), for most IPMI implementations (Cisco, Dell, Huawei, HPE, Lenovo, etc).
What's not to like?
At this point, Desktop firefox is a Gamma test. Leave that to the common firefox users (if there are any left).
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Using Brave, because you can disable their BAT shit, and the rest is a pretty noninvasive build of Chrome.
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Using Brave, because you can disable their BAT shit, and the rest is a pretty noninvasive build of Chrome.
I hope you do not hit a problem with your IPMI or corporate SW while using brave, because the first thing tech support will ask is "are you using firefox ESR?" And if the answer is no, they'll tell you to install it and try again.
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I am the tech support. I don't need my hand held. I assume that if you're here, you don't either.
But I could be wrong. 30 years of doing this might just be a fever dream.
I always lie on the phone when companies ask about my browser or OS. If that was the issue, I wouldn't be calling them, because it could be handled myself. The only reason I'd call is to trigger some specific action on their part, like remotely resetting a modem.
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I actually like the changes. There are a lot of new features I take advantage of.
I find those features usseful too, but I can wait a while before getting them, in exchange for estability in my work environment. To each his own.
Thank you very much for your service gamma testing FireFox for us.
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I don't get the "move to" bit though.
My machine had Safari Pre-installed. I moved the bulk of my browsing to firefox ESR.
I hear that in the Windows world, machines come with Edgium Pre-installed. They owe it to themselves to move the bulk of their browsing to Firefox ESR.
I also hear that many linux distros come with NON-ESR fierfox pre-installed. They owe to themselves to move the bulk of their browsing to Firefox ESR.
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Instead of a barrage of changes, once every month, Firefox ESR is stable for a full year.
Why? Honestly I have yet to find a single example since the major change to Quantum a few years back where a Firefox release has either broken anything, or moved something to the point where I was confused about how to continue to use my browser.
Oh no there's some extra icon! whataatodo?
The URL bar shows a bit of history all of a sudden. CRISIS! Oh wait when I type a URL it still works. Meh.
And....
No that's it. I actually can't even think of any examples of things that have changed for day to day use of the
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Why? Honestly I have yet to find a single example since the major change to Quantum a few years back where a Firefox release has either broken anything, or moved something to the point where I was confused about how to continue to use my browser.
Ok, So you forgot the NPAPI blockage that destroyed every single NPAPI plugin except for flash? Many software providers did not have extensions or other options in place at the time. We, in the ESR channel, had no problem at all, as when this change hit us, all mitigations were in place.
Remember when XUL was disabled, and it took a long time for extensions and themes to come to restore part of the functionality? Again, when that change hit the ESR, the ecossystem had time to adapt, and all mitigations were
Why Venturebeat? (Score:1)
Re:"Awesome Bar" "enhancements" now mandatory? (Score:5, Informative)
Did they strip out the config option to disable the horrible new address bar behavior?
Guess I need to start looking into which flavor of Chrome is least cancerous.
I see people complain all the time about Firefox, and most of it is just whining. But this new "inflate the address box whenever it has focus" thing is genuinely ridiculous. Every time I open a new tab, all the bookmarks on the toolbar are halfway obscured by this bloated floating text box.
It's supposedly to hint noobs who don't know how to type URLs that they can do that. I would argue that there are other ways to highlight the URL text box without going outside the bounds of every UI convention ever conceived.
Hopefully they'll get enough negative feedback on this to motivate them to quickly relegate it to the dustbin of history.
Would be a first? (Score:5, Insightful)
Is there any instance of Mozilla ever having reverted a change due to user feedback? They seem to suffer from GNOME syndrome.
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Is there any instance of Mozilla ever having reverted a change due to user feedback? They seem to suffer from GNOME syndrome.
GNOME? You mean one of the most popular DEs in Linux? The thing a lot of people forget is that the vast majority of user feedback ends up being nothing more than a "vocal minority".
You don't hear from people who like a change or are indifferent about it.
Re:"Awesome Bar" "enhancements" now mandatory? (Score:5, Informative)
Did they strip out the config option to disable the horrible new address bar behavior?
I see people complain all the time about Firefox, and most of it is just whining. But this new "inflate the address box whenever it has focus" thing is genuinely ridiculous.
Add this to your "user.js" file (or set the value manually) to disable the resizing:
user_pref("browser.urlbar.update1", false);
(Love the descriptive name btw Mozilla.)
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Problem fixed. Thanks for the tip!
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I found it in .../appdata/roaming/mozilla/firefox/profiles//prefs.js
on windows, but it worked a treat when I added it (after exiting Firefix first...).
Thanks!
Re:"Awesome Bar" "enhancements" now mandatory? (Score:4, Funny)
I see people complain all the time about Firefox, and most of it is just whining. But this new "inflate the address box whenever it has focus" thing is genuinely ridiculous. Every time I open a new tab, all the bookmarks on the toolbar are halfway obscured by this bloated floating text box.
It's still not obvious enough. I think they need to incorporate BLINK and MARQUEE functionionality.
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Every time I open a new tab, all the bookmarks on the toolbar are halfway obscured by this bloated floating text box.
When I open a new tab the URL gets focus but doesn't inflate unless I type something. If I'm typing something it's usually not because I need a bookmark.
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Just checked again; that's not the way it works on my system. Without the helpful user.js fix posted above, new windows and tabs immediately expand the box here.
I give up (Score:5, Informative)
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Which direction is that?
Re:I give up (Score:5, Insightful)
Meanwhile competing browsers dumped their independent engines and just wrote skins for Chromium rather than a real browser. I am very concerned about the future of Firefox. Mozilla needs to co-operate with advanced users instead of ignoring them and they should be making it easier for developers to make Gecko based browsers instead of Chromium ones. If not then Google will eventually decide they can win any anti trust lawsuits and make Chrome a total monopoly (currently a defacto one) by killing off Firefox.
My proposal is to make an official "advanced users edition" of Firefox, maybe an enhanced ESR where all the bullshit in Firefox is turned off including telemetry, pocket, stupid bar and restore XUL. I've already tried the alternative Firefox forks out there, I want something official from Mozilla so they can be seen as listening to concerns.
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> enhanced ESR where all the bullshit in Firefox is turned off
What is bullshit for you, may be useful for others, the line is thin and very dynamic.
>including telemetry
Telemetry is asks the user to be turn on, it is not enabled by default
>pocket,
People keep complaining about pocket, but if you do not use it, if you do not create a account, it is just one icon, nothing more
> stupid bar
More advanced used may not use or like it, but several clueless users actually use it... my parents do use it
>
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Firefox has like 8% of the browser market now.
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I use Firefox as my primary browser on all my computers/devices. Why is it dying? What have I missed?
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Do you have a specific complaint?
I think Firefox is improving nicely. Even Firefox Preview on Android is excellent, I just had to give up on it because it does not yet support extensions.
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Firefox Preview comes with a single addon now: uBlock Origin. That's all I needed to switch to it.
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I have posted and complained about Firefox on Slashdot more than enough times
well then, you did all you could...
Mozilla turned on data collection - again - (Score:5, Interesting)
.
The Default Browser Agent is a Windows-only scheduled task which runs in the background to collect and submit data about the browser that the user has set as their OS default (that is, the browser that will be invoked by the operating system to open web links that the user clicks on in other programs). Its purpose is to help Mozilla understand user’s default browser choices and, in the future, to engage with users at a time when they may not be actively running Firefox.
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Re:Mozilla turned on data collection - again - (Score:4, Interesting)
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Even though I explicitly configure all telemetry to be disabled, this Windows Task was enabled after the upgrade to Firefox 76 --- Default Browser Agent ( https://firefox-source-docs.mo... [firefox-so...docs.mo...] ) .
For a good laugh check out Mozilla's website:
"Firefox is more than a browser"
"Meet our family of privacy-first products"
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What is the name of that task? I had a look before and after update and I couldn't find it in the Scheduled Tasks, although maybe I just missed it (there are 110 of them in my list, nothing with the terms 'firefox', 'mozilla', or 'browser').
Watching history repeat itself = Netscape (Score:5, Insightful)
I fondly recall the first time I used what would become Firefox, Mozilla Firebird - 0.6, sometime back in 2002?
I had been a Netscape user, until they lost the plot and Microsoft gained theirs with ie4.
I got the t-shirt, I drank the coolaid - as Firebird became Firefox and we all wanted to "Take back the Web", it was a breath of fresh air.
From the ashes of the unholy mess that Netscape had become - pheonix to firebird to firefox. What a time.
Yeah, so like so many others, Chrome became the new kid on the block as Firefox started to put on weight.
I wish, I really wish, they'd stop fucking around with it. Enough with new features already, just call it DONE and update when needed - it's a browser, FFS, let other software handle password management.
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When I say 'update when needed' - I mean core functionality, speed improvements, keeping up to date with new specifications.
I don't mean new features that hardly anyone will use.
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You're not interested in a screenshot tool, or a button to post something to social media more quickly? You don't want a built in video chat client or "pocket" whatever the hell that was even supposed to be.
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Repeat it again by making a new web browser like Phoenix!
So we can finally import/export passwords again? (Score:2)
Apparently not. Call me when we get that basic feature that Quantum took away. I don't want to store my passwords "in the cloud", let alone "in Firefox's Cloud".
Remove Pulseaudio Dependency (Score:1)
I favor Firefox as my browser of choice.
A very useful audio improvement would be to remove the dependency upon that Pulseaudio shit and interface directly with LibAlsa.
I know there exists the very useful apulse. Better apulse is low latency and less audio bugs for Firefox.
This is the proof that Pulseaudio is useless and that Firefox can interface with Alsa so now it is time to get rid of Pulseaudio.
Versioning insanity (Score:2)
Can someone please explaine to me Mozilla's boneheaded philosophy to versioning?
It seems every time they make 2 minor tweaks it somehow justifies incrementing the major version number. Every once in a blue moon they might advance the third dotted version (75.0.0 -> 75.0.1) but it rarely even gets to nn.0.2 before they decide that the latest bastardization of the address bar warrants yet another major version number bump.
When was they last time we had a Firefox version nn.1 ?
I swear every major version up
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See the versioning calendar:
https://wiki.mozilla.org/Relea... [mozilla.org]
You only get to see anything other than .0 for security fixes, basically.
Rgds
Damon
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Chrome started with big version numbers and Firefox had to follow suit. Chrome changes their UI around and oh look Firefox has done the same.
What are the Lockwise changes? (Score:1)
So far as I can tell everything in that article is already in Lockwise for Firefox 75.0. Is there a list of the actual improvements?
"I'm not a young program any more." (Score:2)
"We're all browsers now."
Copying passwords (Score:2)
Still SSD Checkbox (Score:2)
Direct link to release notes (Score:2)
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/... [mozilla.org]
Keep Seamoneky alive! (Score:2)
I installed it on my Linux Funtoo box and it's pretty fun, a bit retro, but amazing that it still works: a browser, mail client, HTML editor, ... this was the open web tool we used to love. Run it, use it, support it!
https://www.seamonkey-project.... [seamonkey-project.org]