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Firefox 49 For Linux Will Ship With Plug-in Free Netflix, Amazon Prime Video Support (mozilla.org)

Posted by msmash on from the plug-in-free-world dept.

Reader LichtSpektren writes: Widevine, the media protocol that allows users to watch videos on Netflix, is supported in Firefox for Windows and macOS. But until now, its users on Linux were required to use a plug-in. That changes with v49, which offers out-of-the-box support for Netflix.Mozilla plans to offer plug-in streaming for Netflix as well as Amazon Prime Video and other similar services. The v49 will be available on Linux in September. Mozilla adds that it will be removing support for NPAPI plugins from its browser in the near future, plugins that some video streaming sites rely on for playback. "Mozilla plan to support the Widevine CDM on Linux, letting users watch Netflix without plugins," the company said.

3 of 134 comments (clear)

  1. more features for the feature god. by nimbius · · Score: 4, Insightful

    for netflix viewers: ignore this update, you already likely see netflix on an embedded linux television.
    for non viewers: enjoy your free, mandatory DRM in the browser.
    for Firefox developers: get rid of pocket, get rid of sync, please work on fixing the bugs youre assigned, hustle up and get that godforsaken voice chat program out of the browser, restore cookie control functionality, quit mandating signed plugins to curtail adblock users, and ditch the targeted advertising tiles.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
    1. Re:more features for the feature god. by QuietLagoon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't use Sync and would prefer if it were a plug-in for those who do like to use it. The concept of mandatory options, i.e., plug-ins that are permanently plugged-in, runs counter to good security practices. When they are not used, they do little more than increase the attack surface.

    2. Re:more features for the feature god. by retchdog · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "OMG these sites i don't pay to use are advertising to me and that's evil!"

      okay, use noscript.

      "but that's hard and there are other ways i can be tracked."

      okay, i'll build and maintain a secure browser for $5 a month.

      "i can't afford that."

      okay, $5 a year.

      "information wants to be FREE, man!"

      okay, then i guess i'll go to work for an online advertising company.

      --
      "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky