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Firefox 57 Will Hide Search Bar and Use a Uni-Bar Approach, Like Chrome (bleepingcomputer.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bleeping Computer: Mozilla will drop an iconic section of its UI -- the search bar -- and will use one singular input bar atop the browser, similar to the approach of most Chromium browsers. This change will go live in Firefox 57, scheduled for release on November 14, and will be part of Photon -- the codename used to describe Firefox's new user interface (UI) -- also scheduled for a public release in v57. Mozilla engineers aren't removing the search bar altogether, but Firefox will hide this UI element by default. Users can still re-enable it by going to "Preferences -> Search -> Search Bar" and choosing the second option. The current Firefox search bar is redundant since most of its features can be performed by the URL address bar.
I keep hearing about things Mozilla is doing that is upsetting much of is key Firefox User base (I was an early early adopter and back then a friend of the "tree"). At one point Mozilla was an open company that listened and talked to its key users. Now they can say they are open source all they want, but that does not mean they are open to other ideas. Not even sure they are even open to the ides that made them popular.
As a long time Firefox user I want key Mozilla staff to come out and truly explain their logic and clearly answer some of the very logical and specific concerns that have been brought up. Mozilla staff (not marking) need to step up and listen and reconsider some steps. I know the search bard can be turned back on, but all in all just seems like will be getting a Chrome by Mozilla instead of Firefox by Knowledgeable Users.
Some people won't ever go out of their way to use different web browser. They will use Internet Explorer, Edge, Safari, or whatever was on the desktop at the beginning. So the fight is really to get the people that actually make choices and have some knowledge about choices.
No, it's not redundant. The search bar/URL address bar split permits some level of privacy as what's entered on the URL bar isn't sent to a search engine, and what's placed in the search bar is, in real time.
And that is precisely why I've stuck with Firefox and limited my use of Chrome to things specific to my Google account. When I type in a URL on my own LAN, I really *don't* to be feeding that URL into a search engine - doubly so if it's something I've made IPv6-accessible so I can bring it up on my cell phone. (Firefox on Android has a single bar for space reasons, but it at least doesn't do a search until you tell it to.)
On the desktop, if they make it NOT do a search without asking, I'd be a lot less hostile to this, but there's so much "because fuck you, that's why" on the net these days that I'm not optimistic.
Oh, no! You have walked into the slavering fangs of a lurking grue!
if they really crave a UI change, they should integrate "Tree Style Tab" functionality into firefox.
i only have 3 remaining reasons for using firefox:
* tree style tab extension (not gonna work in new version; all replacements are a joke compared to this extension)
* privacy (the amount of addons to help me with this and the mindset of mozilla foundation are unmatched elsewhere. mozilla have repeatedly demonstrated they care about privacy and openness of the interwebs. i simply don't trust chrome/chromium)
* being able to disable search in the address bar (so that i can type git/plex/etc.. and go to a server on my LAN)
ALL 3 of these reasons will have gone when current firefox ESR loses support next year. f**k them.
On the contrary, the only reason I still use Firefox part of the time is because way back around version 2 or 3 (back when it had the configurable drag and drop UI), I took some time to configure it to my liking. When I upgraded computers, I used Firefox's built-in backup utility to backup bookmarks but didn't uncheck any options. That's when I accidentally discovered that it also backed up my UI configuration as well.
For about a decade now, I've been restoring this backup and it's been mostly successful at undoing many of the pointless UI changes Mozilla has been making to turn FF into a clone of Chrome. Being able to remove or change around UI elements is exactly what browsers need - so long as it's the user who is in control of these changes. Not some faceless designer who decides which changes to make and forces it onto all users.
Going back months, I've made several attempts to get Firefox devs to put together some stats they gathered through telemetry, to tell me how many Firefox users out of the total, are running plugins that will become unusable once FF 57 is released. They will fob you off with every manageresque excuse possible, to avoid giving out this one single stat - in a way which displays clear contempt for the request, and for the general userbase of Firefox. The public need to directly engage through official Firefox communication channels, and make themselves heard, in large numbers - and demand (extremely loudly) proper public engagement and transparency - and for an actual primary voice/influence, on the future direction of Firefox (not just a secondary/tertiary "we'll consider what you say (but ignore you completely)" voice).