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Firefox 55 Arrives With WebVR on Windows, Performance Panel, and Click-to-Play Flash (venturebeat.com)

Posted by msmash on from the browser-updates dept.

Mozilla today made available a new update to Firefox for Windows to introduce support for WebVR, that the company says, will enable desktop VR users to dive into web-based experiences with ease. Firefox 55 also includes performance panel, faster startup when restoring multiple tabs, a quicker way to search across various search engines, and click-to-play Flash by default. From a report: WebVR is an experimental JavaScript API that provides support for virtual reality devices, such as the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Google Cardboard. As its name implies, the technology is meant for browsers. If you find a web game or app that supports VR, just click the VR goggles icon visible on the web page to experience it using your VR headset. WebVR supports navigating and controlling VR experiences with handset controllers or your movements in physical space. [...] Firefox 55 also allows users to adjust the number of processes and how much resources they want to allocate to any of them. This setting is at the bottom of the General section in Options. In fact, if your computer has more than 8GB of RAM, Mozilla recommends "bumping up the number of content processes that Firefox uses" because it will make Firefox faster, though at the expense of using more memory. In its own tests on Windows 10, the company found that Firefox uses less memory than Chrome, even with eight content processes running.

4 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. "world of web-extensions"? by NettiWelho · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What "world"? Out of 15 extensions I have enabled 14 are currently are showing [LEGACY] flag on the options page.

    Looks to me like firefox is about to die.

  2. Are your extensions flaged as [LEGACY]? by williamyf · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Well, welcome to the wonderfull world of FireFox ESR.

    Firefox ESR 52 will allow you to keep your old time extensions until Aprox April next year.

    Also, your NPAPI plug-ins (Like the ones you have to use for SabaMeeting, Cisco WebEx, and al sorts of ILO plugins for server and network gear).

    Just install (or downgrade to) Firefox ESR52.

    While this is not optimal, It will bid you time so that your Plug-ins and AdOns are ported to the new FireFox framework (which is SIMILAR BUT NOT EQUAL to that of chrome). Or ported to chrome, or whatever other solution your provider of said Plug-ins or AdOns considers...

    I've been on the ESR channel since its inception (I can not have my workflow disrupted every three months or so, when the firefox devs decide to change another thing).

    While is not a bed of roses (specially at the end of the life of the ESR, when pretty much all sites believe your browser is "out of date and insecure" [which it is NOT]), is better than the alternative for people like us who use the browser as a WORK tool first and foremost, with recreational uses in the backseat...

    Having said that, I believe that the Direction Firefox is taking under the hood (I will NOT enter a UI/UX holly war) in order to increase performance and security is the right one, and a little pain in the short term is whorthwile for the performance and security rewards that will be collcted later on....

    --
    *** Suerte a todos y Feliz dia!
  3. List of extensions I use: by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 3, Interesting
    "Broken extensions will no doubt anger many of Firefox's few remaining users."

    Broken extensions will be EXTREMELY destructive to Firefox, in my opinion. Broken extensions will be as though Mozilla Foundation spent $100 million on advertising to kill Firefox. Extensions are the main reason I use Firefox and Pale Moon (Pale Moon had a 64-bit version before Firefox).

    I installed Google's Chrome browser a long time ago. I discovered Chrome had installed 3 system services. So Chrome and Google had more control over my computer than I normally allow myself. Now, no more Chrome on any of my computers.

    Why do software company managers become self-destructive? Firefox managers are EXTREMELY self-destructive, in my opinion. Google is rapidly traveling from "Do no evil" to "Do evil if it make money" if that initially makes money, in my opinion.

    My Firefox and Pale Moon extensions

    The first is a Pale Moon ad-blocker. Some Firefox extensions don't work in Pale Moon:
    1. Adblock Latitude For Pale Moon browser only. Blocks display of ads. "Adblock Latitude is a direct fork of Adblock Plus made specifically for the Pale Moon browser."
    2. BetterPrivacy Deletes Local Shared Objects, LSOs. LSOs are files placed on your computer by the Adobe Systems Flash plug-in. Use of Adobe Flash allows web sites to track you, permanently even though your browser is configured to delete the files known as "Cookies" after each re-starting of your operating system.
    3. CanvasBiocker Prevents websites from using the Javascript <canvas> API to fingerprint them.
    4. Classic Theme Restorer Quoting 3 paragraphs:

      "This add-on will stop working when Firefox 57 arrives in November 2017."

      "This add-on will stop working when Firefox 57 arrives in November 2017 and Mozilla drops support for XUL / XPCOM / legacy add-ons. It should still work on Firefox 52 ESR until ESR moves to Firefox 59 ESR in 2018 (~Q2).

      "There is no 'please port it' or 'please add support for it' this time, because the entire add-on eco system changes and the technology behind this kind of add-on gets dropped without replacement."

    5. Cookies Manager+
    6. Disconnect
    7. Facebook Blocker Prevents Facebook from following you everywhere there are Facebook "Like" buttons.
    8. Firebug "Firebug integrates with Firefox to put a wealth of development tools at your fingertips while you browse. You can edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript live in any web page..."
    9. Ghostery DON'T UPDATE. New versions don't allow sufficient user control.
      USE THIS: ghostery-5.4.10-sm+an+fx.xpi Link: Version 5.4.10
      Ghostery sells data it collects. (Business Insider, Jun 18, 2013)
      Ghostery web site
    10. MozArchiver For Pale Moon browser only. Like Mozilla Archive Format that is used with Firefox. Saves web pages.
    11. Mozilla Archive Format For Firefox only. Saves web page
  4. I like the update... by Lothsahn · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've been trying to use firefox again due to privacy concerns with Chrome. I've been really frustrated by the poor performance, despite the new multi-process.

    I just realized, now that there's a GUI (performance panel) that I multi-process wasn't enabled because I had a single legacy addon. I disabled that addon and now FireFox is MUCH faster.

    I know everyone hates that the legacy addons are going away--and I do think FireFox needs to do something about this--support them longer, fund development of the most popular addons, something... but MultiProcess FF is amazingly faster than before. I would never want to go back...

    --
    -=Lothsahn=-