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Firefox 76

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Re: Firefox 76

#131

Post by roca »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #117
prophesi wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indifference shouldn't be surprising for a minute detail. I didn't even know about the feature until I saw this thread (clicking address bar expands it), since I normally immediately start typing once I open a new tab. I'd even argue that indifference should be the goal when making design changes; make subtle changes over time instead of the complete overhauls that are common today.

I totally agree, but only if there's also either (A) some people who actually like the change or (B) the change is addressing a specific UX problem. If everyone is indifferent, why did you change anything?

It is possible to fix UI problems without people noticing.

Also, people quickly get used to suboptimal UI and all kinds of UI bugs. Fixing those bugs improves the experience for new users while acclimatized users will be indifferent or even hostile to the change. It's a classic dilemma for long-lived products.

Re: Firefox 76

#132

Post by sj4nz »

So far my only gripe for picture-in-picture is no closed captioning from sites like YouTube. Otherwise, fantastic as has been usual for Firefox.

Re: Firefox 76

#133

Post by asdff »

frosted-flakes wrote: post #60
jhymn wrote: post #45

Whenever I start up Firefox it tells me to wait a few moments while it updates. The browser obviously doesn't care about me. It has its own agenda. This is why I won't use it.

I like how Visual Studio code auto-updates when you close it. It never slows me down. Both Firefox and VSCode take about 3 seconds to install updates on my PC, so it hardly matters anyway.

If only other microsoft products had the same thinking. Microsoft Autoupdate needs to die.

Re: Firefox 76

#134

Post by roca »

zamadatix wrote: post #70
minikites wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is that addressed by a more traditional version number? There are many examples of major software upgrades reflected by a change in minor version number, minor software updates reflected by a change in major version number, or a major new release having less functionality than the previous version (e.g. Final Cut Pro X). With mature software like Firefox, what even is a "major change"? Calling it Firefox 13.17.6…

Firefox and Chrome already release on a fixed date schedule instead of a feature based schedule. The proposal is to simply use the date in the version directly instead of indirectly.

The commenter at the top of this thread wanted to know whether this version of Firefox is a "major release". Using the date doesn't change that.

Re: Firefox 76

#135

Post by roca »

chrismorgan wrote: post #16
influx wrote: post #11

Firefox made a huge mistake following in Chrome's trail with the version numbering scheme. I just don't care about Firefox 76, is it a big change? Is there some new feature I would want to try? Who knows, I'm sure Firefox 77 will be out soon though!

I want to figure out who to talk to on both Firefox and Chrome sides to beg that they adopt a scheme like YYYY.MM.minor for their version numbering. I believe that would be superior for basically everyone —web developers, users, &c. (In the case of Firefox, it works especially well since they’re releasing approximately monthly now. I could imagine people on Chrome puzzling over why some month numbers got skipped—not…

Releases are almost always date-based, but once in a while a release is delayed. I guess that's a bit easier if the release number is not a date.

Re: Firefox 76

#136

Post by Wowfunhappy »

alpaca128 wrote: post #98
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #30

> The shadow around the address bar field is reduced in width when a new tab is opened; I mean, at least they're trying, I guess. Still seems to me like lipstick on a pig. I'm still trying to figure out what UX problem the expanding bar was intended to address.

Honestly after getting used to it I like the change. Why? Because before it was often not easy to see if the input focus was on the address bar or somewhere else, and often I'd start typing and the input land somewhere I didn't expect. Now at least it's very clear, although I agree they could have done it better.

...am I seeing the same thing as others?

I'm using up-to-date Firefox, but I toggled the about:config flag to get the old address bar, figuring I may as well use it while I can. Here is what the address bar looks like for me:

Focused: https://i.ibb.co/TWDw9WL/Screen-Shot-2020-05-05-at-5-30-57-P...

Unfocused: https://i.ibb.co/QHd0SBm/Screen-Shot-2020-05-05-at-5-31-01-P...

Do you not see the blue focus outline? It's pretty thick!

Re: Firefox 76

#137

Post by imagetic »

I have been loving Firefox for the last year. The only shortcoming for me is that video playback and animation playback (svg/js) is highly CPU intensive in comparison to Safari/Chrome. I basically open Chrome to watch any videos.

Re: Firefox 76

#138

Post by Wowfunhappy »

roca wrote: post #127
dblohm7 wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are not OS-native, but they use OS theming information.

Right. Browsers can't use the OS control implementations, because the demands of DOM/CSS simply can't be handled by those native implementations. But Firefox is trying to emulate the look and feel of the OS controls, using native theme drawing APIs when possible. It is very hard to get 100% right, which is why no browser does.

Huh. I wonder if that applies even to Safari on Mac and iOS, given how integrated Apple likes to be with their UI controls.

Re: Firefox 76

#139

Post by roca »

freeAgent wrote: post #35
nathancahill wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really nice. Better than any other browser password manager. I've resisted using the browser's until now (I have 1Password) but the sync feature is slick for iOS.

Two things prevent me from switching away from 1Password: 2FA token support and shared credentials between multiple users (a shared family vault in 1Password). I could probably deal without the latter, but I definitely don't want to give up my auto-fillable 2FA codes.

Ideally sites would switch to FIDO/WebAuthn now so you don't have to enter 2FA codes at all. Most of my 2FA sites have.

Re: Firefox 76

#140

Post by Wowfunhappy »

RandomBacon wrote: post #130
roter wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Confirmed [0]. [0] https://www.ghacks.net/2020/04/08/how-to-restore-the-old-fir...

I can handle about:config, but if they take it away, that will be very frustrating. For me, the bigger address bar is just as bad as an advertisement: it's trying to steal my attention, except in this case no one else is benefiting from doing so. If they remove the option, I hope someone smarter than me can come-up with an add-on to fix it.

There's no "if" they take it away, it's already gone in Nightly builds.

Furthermore, Firefox extensions don't have the capability to mess with the address bar.

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