Live data from Hacker News

Firefox 153.0 Beta

firefox.com

51–60 of 66 posts

Re: Firefox 153.0 Beta

#51
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's a function of the endless tussle between browser-as-an-OS and the OS they run on. For example, I absolutely hate that there's no option in Firefox to only use the OS print dialog. Instead I am force to click print, then click "use system print dialog" every time. I seems to remember reading a bug report where Firefox deemed this intentional and wontfix. After all, if you leave Firefox to print something,…

print.prefer_system_dialog = true in about:config does what you want, i think.

Ooh, thanks! Will try that out.

Edit: yes it does - perfect!

Re: Firefox 153.0 Beta

#52
post #29

> It is now possible to merge multiple PDFs by dragging a PDF into the PDF sidebar. > It is now possible to add images as new pages within PDFs using the Firefox PDF editor. I have always found it odd that browsers are also PDF editors increasingly.

Many URLs start with http(s): and end in .pdf . If we define web browser as http browser rather than html browser , then viewing PDFs fits the concept. My web browser also displays plain text, video, audio, etc., so http browser seems accurate and html browser plainly inadequate. And regardless of logical fit for geeks (who understand the paragraph above), users clicking a .pdf URL may find it much more convenient if…

Users absolutely can edit HTML/CSS/JS without any other tools. That's what the entire dev-tools section of the browser is about.

Re: Firefox 153.0 Beta

#53
post #35

> Containers let you keep separate parts of your online life (work, shopping, personal, banking) logged into different accounts in the same browser window, but keep your cookies and ad tracking isolated inside each container. What's new here? Containers have been an add-on, at least, for a long time? Is it integrated into core Firefox for the first time? > Quickly pick and copy a color from any page by typing "pick c…

Devtools are built-in on Firefox, and this one is probably useful to more people than want to be looking at the JS console. I can't imagine the maintenance burden is unreasonable, it's just a combination of features that Firefox already has.

Re: Firefox 153.0 Beta

#54
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many URLs start with http(s): and end in .pdf . If we define web browser as http browser rather than html browser , then viewing PDFs fits the concept. My web browser also displays plain text, video, audio, etc., so http browser seems accurate and html browser plainly inadequate. And regardless of logical fit for geeks (who understand the paragraph above), users clicking a .pdf URL may find it much more convenient if…

Users absolutely can edit HTML/CSS/JS without any other tools. That's what the entire dev-tools section of the browser is about.

Dev tools are not for 99% of end users and not realistically available to them (even if they stumble across dev tools, they don't know what they've found or how to use them). PDF editing is for end users and is realistically available.

Re: Firefox 153.0 Beta

#56
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it's still a weird scope creep. Browsers can view a lot of things (HTML document, various pictures, sounds, videos), but they don't typically include editing functionality.

> they don't typically include editing functionality. Not true. The original Mozilla Internet Suite was a combined browser, email/newsgroups client, and web-page editor. It was an open-sourced version of Netscape Communicator which did the same things. Seamonkey is the modern fork. Firefox is the result of a project to cut down the Mozilla suite to something smaller, simpler and more focused, but its parent program a…

I stand by the statement. Modern browsers typically do not include all that functionality. For instance, consider... well, as you say - Firefox supposedly was the cut down version that didn't include all that stuff. If Mozilla wants to make seamonkey a major part of their product suite, I'd be basically on board with that, but that thing's niche.

Re: Firefox 153.0 Beta

#57
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think in case of Firefox it's done purely with JS ( https://mozilla.github.io/pdf.js/ ), no native code. So that feels fine (assuming it runs in same sandbox like any page), just bundled HTML/JS being changed.

No, it's still a weird scope creep. Browsers can view a lot of things (HTML document, various pictures, sounds, videos), but they don't typically include editing functionality.

This seems like an arbitrary line to draw. Should your photo viewing software also not provide editing tools? If it's useful, why not?

Re: Firefox 153.0 Beta

#58
post #34
post #2

> Firefox now verifies and displays Qualified Website Authentication Certificates (QWACs) in accordance with eIDAS regulations. Interesting that they just buried this in the middle without even a screenshot, considering how hostile Mozilla has been to the proposal in the past[0]. Considering that they previously made quite strong arguments that implementing QWAC would undermine security by completely bypassing the ex…

Has Firefox not had containers until now????

I've been using containers in Firefox for years

Re: Firefox 153.0 Beta

#59
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's odd and I'm not sure I love it compared to a nicely-done dedicated viewer (macOS Preview, SumatraPDF, whatever comes with GNOME or KDE). That said, I'll pick the in-browser tools over Adobe Reader every time.

> nicely-done dedicated viewer The problem is the edge cases. PDF has lots. In $DAYJOB-1 we used PDFs as part of the official feedback process for technical documentation: subject-matter experts sent their comments as PDF annotations. Most FOSS viewers can't show them. Form filling also is a tricky area. Conversion, searching, accessibility tools (screenreaders often can't read PDFs), comments, annotations, editing,…

Oh yeah. Once or twice a year I have to install Adobe Reader to handle some weird edge case around printing, DRM, or the like. I usually uninstall it right afterward.

But for general document reading, Reader's UI has been awful for years. The amount of unnecessary toolbars, popups, upsell offers, and (recently) AI assistant recommendations pile up and block the one thing I actually want the app to do.

Re: Firefox 153.0 Beta

#60

> It is now possible to merge multiple PDFs by dragging a PDF into the PDF sidebar. > It is now possible to add images as new pages within PDFs using the Firefox PDF editor. I have always found it odd that browsers are also PDF editors increasingly.

PDF got attached to the browser when the browser needed a printing mechanism that worked in JS. PDF.js was the best approach. Creating PDFs is also part of the same approach. And merging PDFs is part of the same approach. PDF is now a first class child of the web.
Post reply on HN