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Firefox 77

mozilla.org

51–60 of 167 posts

Re: Firefox 77

#51
post #15

No Firefox, no! Please don't embed distraction directly into the browser (pocket recommendations)! I don't want to hear about Coronavirus or ongoing politics bullshit whenever I open a tab! I just want to ignore this noise.

Just turn off pocket in about:config.

Re: Firefox 77

#52
post #49

So... what kind of nonsense do I need to disable in about:config this time?

Oh, don't worry: more options have been removed again: setting browser.urlbar.update1 = false no longer gives you back the old, unintrusive urlbar behavior. Mozilla UX people have once again shown that they know best and you won't need to worry about getting a bad user experience just because you mistakenly thought you liked it. Edit: Changed 'disabled' to 'removed' in the first sentence, as it's probably clearer.

This is exactly one of the things I wasn't really looking forward to.

Re: Firefox 77

#53
post #41

So... what kind of nonsense do I need to disable in about:config this time?

What a pointless question; how can any of us know what your individual preferences are like? Mozilla aims to ship a default configuration that works well for a large number of users. Of course there'll be people -- like yourself, apparently -- who'd prefer some things to be configured differently, but what you'd like changed is entirely up to you. Maybe you should be grateful Firefox offers (quite a lot of) customisa…

It's not pointless to ask what long-standing behaviors are changed this time around. Mozilla has a history of making gratuitous UI changes that force existing users to re-learn something and have questionable benefits for new users. They also have a tendency to leave those changes (or at least the about:config workarounds) out of the release notes.

Re: Firefox 77

#54
And now my address bar expands on click, because browser.urlbar.update1 was removed from about:config. I knew this day was coming, but I'm still not happy it's here.

The movement is distracting, and the alignment of the bar's expanded state is terrible. There's a reason most graphic design follows a grid system.

We need a way to turn this off. I realize the old about:config flag was tied to a legacy code pathway, but now Mozilla should implement a new flag. I don't think that's an unreasonable ask.

Re: Firefox 77

#55

"Pocket recommendations, featuring some of the best stories on the web, will appear on the Firefox new tab for our users in the UK." I really hate to admit how often those darn Pocket recommendations get me! I don't know how they choose what shows up on my tab, but more often than not, there's at least one thing in there I end up reading.

I was curious about that too. I wasn't sure if it was targeted ads or a news aggregator. I think it's more of a news aggregator. From the Firefox New Tab FAQ ( https://help.getpocket.com/article/1142-firefox-new-tab-reco... ) > Are these stories personalized to me? For the most part, no. Most recommendations on your new tab come from a general list of the best of stories on the web. > Pocket occasionally partners wit…

>Are these stories personalized to me? For the most part, no.

If they wouldn't be personalized, the answer would be no, instead of "for the most part, no". Lawyer speak.

Re: Firefox 77

#56
post #24

Everyone not happy with pocket recommendations, what is the alternate source of revenue? Not enough will pay for the product. On the other hand Mozilla has to compete with Apple, Google & Microsoft, all of whom are fighting hard for the Web. Mozilla is doing good overall. They are doing some fundamental work to get back the technical edge, still trying to keep the future of the platform open with WebAssembly and thei…

I don't hate them because I like, trust and want to support Mozilla. I happily click on them.

I'd be happier if I knew how my data is being stored, however, since the recommendations seem to be well tailored to my interests.

Re: Firefox 77

#57
post #48
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. They are doing it with substantially less budget than their competitors. 2. Developers shouldn't have to build software for the greater good by sacrificing their livelihood. 3. I am pretty sure many people building all this amazing tech can definitely get paid better in other places 4. These days when someone like Facebook fails to be bold, I would prefer to support someone like Mozilla who walks the talk.

I don't think you get what I said. I said: if they stopped throwing money down the drain with the politised foundation and the executives stopped raising their salaries they wouldn't have to run ads and maybe they could even pay their engineers more money.

Can you elaborate on the ways in which you feel the Mozilla Foundation is politicized? Their advocacy page[1] feels incredibly vanilla: it emphasizes private communication, online safety, and collaboration with generally well-regarded groups like the EFF.

[1]: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/advocacy/

Re: Firefox 77

#58
post #49

So... what kind of nonsense do I need to disable in about:config this time?

Oh, don't worry: more options have been removed again: setting browser.urlbar.update1 = false no longer gives you back the old, unintrusive urlbar behavior. Mozilla UX people have once again shown that they know best and you won't need to worry about getting a bad user experience just because you mistakenly thought you liked it. Edit: Changed 'disabled' to 'removed' in the first sentence, as it's probably clearer.

I've been googling for the last 20 minutes trying to figure out how to re-disable this. Ugh, I can't stand it.

Re: Firefox 77

#60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was curious about that too. I wasn't sure if it was targeted ads or a news aggregator. I think it's more of a news aggregator. From the Firefox New Tab FAQ ( https://help.getpocket.com/article/1142-firefox-new-tab-reco... ) > Are these stories personalized to me? For the most part, no. Most recommendations on your new tab come from a general list of the best of stories on the web. > Pocket occasionally partners wit…

>Are these stories personalized to me? For the most part, no. If they wouldn't be personalized, the answer would be no, instead of "for the most part, no". Lawyer speak.

> When personalization does occur, recommendations rely on a process of story sorting and filtering that happens locally in your personal copy of Firefox.
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