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Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions to enterprise users

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Re: Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions to enterprise users

#412
post #150
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why it’s so unfortunate and frustrating that people are depending so much on Chromium/Blink. Electron, various browsers that are just skins over the embedded framework... We were still dealing with legacy IE6 (and IE 7/8 by that point also) in 2013! Almost a decade since we got Firefox and the first version of Chrome. The web has empirically suffered through homogeneity and the lack of strong competitors in t…

I ditched Chrome and came back to Firefox, next step is to donate to Mozilla.

I'm willing to stay if we can get something mutual. Mineral rights payouts, or an end to Adsense bans.

Open source the platform behind their entire revenue.

What? They scared or something?

I know they have investors, and research into new medicine and energy depend on consumer driven revenue.

Instead of:

"In the long run, we are all dead."

I see it as:

"Until further notice, unless someone gets really really good at math, we are going to die in horrible horrible agony. Loosing all your wealth is the last of your concerns."

Burn the boats. Get that hunger back.

Re: Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions to enterprise users

#413
post #150
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why it’s so unfortunate and frustrating that people are depending so much on Chromium/Blink. Electron, various browsers that are just skins over the embedded framework... We were still dealing with legacy IE6 (and IE 7/8 by that point also) in 2013! Almost a decade since we got Firefox and the first version of Chrome. The web has empirically suffered through homogeneity and the lack of strong competitors in t…

I ditched Chrome and came back to Firefox, next step is to donate to Mozilla.

Yep, I'm about to ditch Chrome altogether now. I gritted my teeth and just handled a few of the more bone-headed changes the Chrome team made, but this latest change is a deal breaker.

The truth is, I actually don't need Chrome for anything. Firefox is faster now, gives me more freedom and has less corporate affiliations. I'll stick with Mozilla.

Re: Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions to enterprise users

#414
post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every application has privacy implications, and it isn't difficult to manage this one. Having a giant warning around installing extensions with this level of access would be a good way to protect people while also allowing them to make their own decisions.

Because warning people has historically worked well with PCs not to mention Android. See Also Vista UAC. It’s kind of amazing for people to say that they care about their privacy and then they install extensions that can record their entire browsing history and install VPN software on their phones that intercept all of their internet communications.

There's a mountain of difference between "can" and "will", and it's called "trust".

For decades, people have been using software on their PCs which can essentially delete all their data or worse, yet what are the chances of that actually happening? Of course malware would exist, but at the same time, the unrestricted nature lead to a seamless exchange of data and creativity unhindered by any bureaucratic permission-maze.

A world of "perfect" security in which malware and cybercrime cannot exist is basically a dystopian police state.

Re: Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions to enterprise users

#415
post #353
post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I ditched Chrome and came back to Firefox, next step is to donate to Mozilla.

Note that charitable donations (of the 501(c)(3) variety) in the U.S. can only be employed for a very specific whitelist of purposes, and software development and marketing are not among those (the Mozilla Foundation uses donations to fund things like education programs instead). If you're a software developer who's interested in the health of Firefox specifically, consider instead donating your time by volunteering…

The Mozilla Foundation's education programs and the dozens of other things they do are actually worthwhile enough to justify donations, IMO.

Re: Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions to enterprise users

#416
post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, then it could be played a little harder, for example by introducing a (small) performance penality for visitors that use chrome.

> Ok, then it could be played a little harder, for example by introducing a (small) performance penality for visitors that use chrome. Good luck convincing your product owner of the necessity of that change. Most large enterprises won't do something like this.

You could just add more intrusive ads to your site. The site owner will be thrilled, and the users not thrilled at all. It would work very well for all concerned!

Re: Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions to enterprise users

#418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did give Firefox a _serious_ exclusive try for the past two months. It's terrible for heavy websites. Clickup, PivotalTracker, JIRA, Zeplin - the browser just chokes on these sites and get janky. On Chrome they are butter smooth. I don't know what to do. I want to use anything other than Chrome, but I also want a sane workday and not have the browser jank my day up constantly. I would use Brave but they don't have…

This has got to be some bullshit shilling. I use all those sites all day every damn day with no problem in Firefox whatsoever.

No shilling. Verified slow as balls on imac 2017, macbook air, macbook pro 2017 and macbook pro latest. Using ff developer edition.

Re: Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions to enterprise users

#419

I've been a Firefox user throughout - never made the switch to Chrome. But here's what worries me, what I'm wondering now: As far as I'm aware, Mozilla/Firefox tried to follow Google for extensions, deprecated their own API for Google's/Chrome's instead. How likely is it that Mozilla will further "follow the spec" so to speak, doing a change like this for compatibility or whatever?

Seems unlikely. It's in opposition to Mozilla's clearly stated stance toward privacy.

In addition, their reasons for deprecating their old extension API was purely technical. Even then, they were extremely conservative in their deprecation timetable, waiting long past when the old API was massively harming performance. But once they made the decision to replace it, it made sense that they would choose an existing API as a base, not make a separate incompatible API.

But do note that, while Firefox and Chrome share the same base extension API, Firefox has APIs Chrome doesn't. It's reasonable to believe that this new deprecation will just become another thing that Firefox has and Chrome doesn't.

Re: Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions to enterprise users

#420
post #83

Google is essentially saying that Chrome will still have the capability to block unwanted content, but this will be restricted to only paid, enterprise users of Chrome. Never heard of a paid version of Chrome before! Can anyone elaborate on this? I gotta say I'm kind of glad Google is doing this. It will force me to finally abandon Chrome, something I should have done awhile ago.

People were predicting this as the Chrome endgame years ago. It's playing out exactly as everyone cynically expected. It's time to eliminate Google from your life as much as possible if you haven't already. Too many wake up calls. They are not a tech company, they are data monopolists. Stop giving them your data.

> People were predicting this as the Chrome endgame years ago. It's playing out exactly as everyone cynically expected.

Would you happen to have any links to previous discussions anticipating this exact endgame?

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