Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Reynard: A real Firefox web browser for iOS 13 or later

github.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 57 posts

Re: Reynard: A real Firefox web browser for iOS 13 or later

#41

Post by wolvoleo »

ghusto wrote: post #15
jeroenhd wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One reason is that Apple does not permit regional binaries, so you cannot use the same listing in the EU/Japan/Brazil/whatever other place may force Apple to act sociable and the rest of the world. Creating a separate app would work, but all existing Firefox users would have to download a second Firefox browser app, probably sync their accounts if they want to keep their data, and then remove the old one manually. Yo…

Sorry, but I don't buy any of that. I've been defending Mozilla for years, but enough's enough. > but all existing Firefox users would have to download a second Firefox browser app, probably sync their accounts if they want to keep their data, and then remove the old one manually. You'd end with a Google Meet/Microsoft Teams situation (where one app is labeled "new" and it confuses the hell out of everyone) You're ma…

> You're making it sound like a problem, but those actions are trivial. You tell someone who's dying for a non-webkit browser on iOS "well okay, but you know you'll have to download another browser! And even sign-in again!". You really think they care?

Yeah this, I honestly couldn't care less. On Android I have switched between nightly and regular several times. It's a 2 minute job.

Re: Reynard: A real Firefox web browser for iOS 13 or later

#42

Post by wolvoleo »

lmorchard wrote: post #37
ghusto wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, but I don't buy any of that. I've been defending Mozilla for years, but enough's enough. > but all existing Firefox users would have to download a second Firefox browser app, probably sync their accounts if they want to keep their data, and then remove the old one manually. You'd end with a Google Meet/Microsoft Teams situation (where one app is labeled "new" and it confuses the hell out of everyone) You're ma…

> I'd say Mozilla should take the money they're spending on their current nonsense and spend it here instead. Mozilla makes roughly $500m per year with maybe $1.5b in the bank. That's about 1-2 orders of magnitude short of what would be required to poke Apple in the eye and make them feel it.

Yeah but what they'd be paying to Apple would be a tiny part of that.

Re: Reynard: A real Firefox web browser for iOS 13 or later

#43

Post by wolvoleo »

05 wrote: post #17
nar001 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want to have a browser with a different engine you need a whole different developer account org, you need to maintain two different code bases and you need to very specifically set everything up to pass all of Apple's tests, which are incredibly onerous in time and work, so it doesn't make sense for Mozilla to do so for such a small market share (hell Google doesn't either, and they're a lot bigger than them)

> hell Google doesn't either, and they're a lot bigger than them It’s more likely that Google is trying to boycott EU initiatives to the extent it can since giving them any support would only turn the public opinion more favorable towards more US tech regulation, and that’s very much against Google’s own interests.

Also, Google is quite comfortable with the current duopoly in the EU market which works in their favour. The last thing they want is chrome becoming even more dominant on the mobile market there.

Re: Reynard: A real Firefox web browser for iOS 13 or later

#47

Post by saghm »

ComputerGuru wrote: post #33
BoppreH wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The other requirements are also pretty vague and give Apple full discretion to remove browsers they don't like: https://developer.apple.com/support/alternative-browser-engi... > Use memory-safe programming languages, or features that improve memory safety within other languages, within the alternative web browser engine at a minimum for all code that processes web content; > Adopt the latest security mitigations (for…

Why do I have a sneaky feeling Safari for iOS isn’t fully written in a fully memory safe language?

"We're smart enough to safely use these languages but you're not" is a bold claim that just happens to end up with the exact same consequences of their earlier rule that was deemed anticompetitive, there's no conspiracy here!

Re: Reynard: A real Firefox web browser for iOS 13 or later

#48

Post by hagbard_c »

wolvoleo wrote: post #40
hagbard_c wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, there's a solution to this: ditch that fruit phone until the fruit factory allows owners to use their hardware with the software they want. Let them click some boxes that yes, they understand that they'll leave the boundaries of fruity fruitland and beyond this checkbox dragons abide so abandon all hope all who enter here but otherwise let them install the software they want . ... Yes, I thought so too, they wo…

I'm on Android for this reason but it's not ideal either, Google is clamping down a lot. But yeah an Apple phone just won't work for me, there are wayyy too many things I need daily that won't work on Apple.

Yes, it seems Google has been oogling that juicy fruity profit margin thinking mine!. I recently got a new phone and given that I tend to use the things for about 8-10 years it might well be my last Android device if they make it (close to) impossible to avoid them. The new phone - a Motorola G75 - is de-Googled just like all my other devices, I did not allow it any internet access before taking off (as in 'disabling', the thing is not rooted yet) everything Moto and Google and replaced it with everything F-Droid. It is still on Android 14 and does not try to get me to install any updates 'cause the updater is also disabled - something which many people seem to think is impossible. I got another G75 and will try to get something like Lineage or maybe most of Graphene to run on it.

Should Android become too distasteful I guess the next step will be a Linux device of some sorts. I have about 8-10 years to find or build one assuming these G75s hold up like the Redmi Note 5 Pros did (used them for 8 years) and the Motorola Defy/Defy+ before that (used for 9 years). All those devices still work, one of the 2 Redmis is my new 'dangerous work phone', the other plays Linux server since it no longer has a screen (which is what happens when you lend it out...). One of the Defy's is in use as a trailer camera, also without a screen. Android devices remain useful long after the market has given up on them.

Re: Reynard: A real Firefox web browser for iOS 13 or later

#49

Post by hagbard_c »

ebiester wrote: post #36
hagbard_c wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, there's a solution to this: ditch that fruit phone until the fruit factory allows owners to use their hardware with the software they want. Let them click some boxes that yes, they understand that they'll leave the boundaries of fruity fruitland and beyond this checkbox dragons abide so abandon all hope all who enter here but otherwise let them install the software they want . ... Yes, I thought so too, they wo…

Or, perhaps, apple users are rational actors that have different weights to their tradeoffs than you. The last time I checked Android, the security and privacy story was much worse than Apple. Further, it's not just me who has to make the change - it's the family I share photos and videos and other things. Yes, I would prefer to have other App Store options, but it is balanced against other issues. (And yes, I have o…

Nope, they're not rational actors by supporting marketing-driven limitations. These limitations are not needed to create a well-working device, they're only there to keep the profits up because heavens forbid, someone might offer an alternative which allows users to get their software fix without paying their pound of flesh to the app store.

The example you gave on it not just being you who needs to change but the family I share photos and videos and other things [with] is all the more proof that you shouldn't touch these mobile prisons with a 3-metre pole. I share my photos and videos and other things with family as well but I don't care what they're using to access them 'cause I use a (self-hosted, but that is not essential) web service for it. No lock-in, no nothing. If you want to view those photos on your Commodore-64, have at it. There's even apps you can use, including one for those stuck on fruit phones.

I don't believe the 'security and privacy' story the fruit factory pushes, there've been far too many examples to disprove the narrative. Not that I trust Google, mind you. I use Android but I do not use Google, do not have a Google account, don't have Google services (etc.) on my devices.

Re: Reynard: A real Firefox web browser for iOS 13 or later

#50

Post by wolvoleo »

jeroenhd wrote: post #18
ghusto wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, but I don't buy any of that. I've been defending Mozilla for years, but enough's enough. > but all existing Firefox users would have to download a second Firefox browser app, probably sync their accounts if they want to keep their data, and then remove the old one manually. You'd end with a Google Meet/Microsoft Teams situation (where one app is labeled "new" and it confuses the hell out of everyone) You're ma…

> You tell someone who's dying for a non-webkit browser on iOS Firefox has struggled to get the sliver of market share they have today. I highly doubt that there are that many people like you and me who crave a real Firefox engine on iOS. > which is what they should be testing anyway Having a large part of your team be unable to reproduce bugs is a significant development issue. Some of these operating system feature…

> I highly doubt that there are that many people like you and me who crave a real Firefox engine on iOS.

Let's put this another way, would many people be interested in a full blown adblocker like ublock origin? Because that's what I have on Firefox on Android.

Post reply on HN