Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Firefox 66 Arrives With Autoplaying Blocked by Default, Smoother Scrolling, and Better Search (venturebeat.com)

Posted by msmash on from the browser-updates dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Mozilla today launched Firefox 66 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. The release includes autoplaying content (audio and video) blocked by default, smoother scrolling, better search, revamped security warnings, WebAuthn support for Windows Hello, and improved extensions. The company says its main goal with this release is to reduce irritating experiences such as auto-playing videos, pop-ups, and page jumps. Firefox 66 for desktop is available for download now on Firefox.com, and all existing users should be able to upgrade to it automatically. The Android version is trickling out slowly on Google Play.

154 comments

  1. I'm so torn by zippo01 · · Score: 0

    I know firefox is a mature browser (same for opera) and I should use it for privacy reasons, but chrome just has such a better user experience. I kinda hate myself for it. Opera use to have it going on (mouse gestures and much more) but sigh, kinda the same as firefox.

    1. Re:I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Chrome = Google = collect as much of your personal data and habits as possible and sell to the highest bidder ... no thanks

    2. Re: I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except for the whole magically blocking screenshots of incognito windows on android thing.

    3. Re:I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Firefox works perfectly fine. People will always find reasons to complain, but I find reasons to not let Google into every aspect of my life.

    4. Re:I'm so torn by Anubis+IV · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Honestly curious: in what ways do you find Chrome's user experience to be better than Opera's? I just recently switched to Opera after finally getting annoyed at all of the privacy invasiveness of Chrome, and I found that it's indistinguishable from Chrome in the vast majority of cases once I installed Install Chrome Extensions and added all of my important Chrome extensions back that I had been missing.

    5. Re:I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      "chrome just has such a better user experience", Totally disagree. Firefox is simply faster and more reliable. At least under Windows 10. I've not tested on every platform but I use both on Android and various Windows versions XP to 10 (yes, I still have XP machines which simply can't handle 7).

      https://www.pcworld.com/article/3213031/best-web-browsers.html

    6. Re:I'm so torn by nwaack · · Score: 1

      I'd like to know this too. I find Firefox, Chrome and Opera to all have similar user experiences. UI-wise, I can't think of anything on Chrome that makes it head-and-shoulders better than the other two.

    7. Re:I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you are concerned about privacy and like the Chrome user experience, why not use Chromium instead?

    8. Re:I'm so torn by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I'm not the OP but I like how minimal the basic Chrome install is. Opera has a crypto wallet, currency converter, RSS reader and an ad blocker that I would probably not use (prefer uBlock Origin).

      Privacy wise, Chrome is pretty robust and Opera is Chinese-owned now, so I don't think that argument really works.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    9. Re:I'm so torn by Curtman · · Score: 1

      I've tried to go back to Firefox from chrome several times. For me it seems to consume a lot of cpu resources comparatively. On my PC (Ubuntu) the cpu fan runs at full whine. On my MacBook (OSX), the battery life is terrible with Firefox open, even when it is doing nothing. I saw no compelling features that make me want to put up with that.

    10. Re:I'm so torn by Luthair · · Score: 4, Informative

      For one thing its not owned by a private Chinese equity firm with unknown motives.

    11. Re:I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      How long has it been since you actually tried Firefox?

      This was very true several years ago, but it is total BS in 2019. I have them both installed and they are almost identical, I can use both efficiently. I'm not sure what user experience you're talking about that is so much better.

    12. Re:I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      agreed. I don't think some of these people have actually tried Firefox recently and have outdated opinions.

    13. Re: I'm so torn by triffid_98 · · Score: -1

      I hated myself for using Chrome too, but after Firefox into intentionally broke their last reason for existance, plugins, it was the least worst option...probably because they threw an enormous check at the guy who wrote Firebug.

    14. Re:I'm so torn by Anubis+IV · · Score: 0

      Last year I wanted to get away from Chrome, so I decided to embark on a tour of other browsers until I found an alternative that worked for me. I decided in advance that I'd give each one a month or two before deciding whether to move on, since I knew that there would be an adjustment period for any new-to-me browser as I tweaked settings, found solutions to problems I encountered, and discovered alternatives to the extensions I was used to. Firefox was the first I tried because I knew it had recently made some significant changes, it had been nearly a decade since I had last regularly used it (I fondly remember using it back when it was Phoenix and Firebird, and I off-and-on used it as my primary browser in its early years as Firefox), and I was eager to see it back in action.

      Sadly, I finally gave up on Firefox after what felt like death by a thousand cuts. None of the issues were significant in and of themselves, but the compounding effect of all of them was enough to put me off. One that stuck out to me is something simple and obvious that I couldn't believe any browser was still getting wrong in 2018: if I double-click a monetary amount like "$1,234.56", I expect that "1,234.56" (or "$1,234.56") will get highlighted/selected for copying, that way I can easily take that number and paste it in a budget app or spreadsheet. This is an extremely common use case that should be low-hanging fruit for any browser to get right.

      Chrome? Works as expected.
      Safari? Works as expected.
      Opera? Works as expected.
      Firefox? You get "1", "234", or "56", depending on where you double-click.

      Now, I expected a few little niggles like this, so I went looking for a fix and discovered that in about:config you can change layout.word_select.stop_at_punctuation to false, which gets around this particular issue. Unfortunately, that flag value disables using punctuation as a delimiter at all, which causes all sorts of other issues. For instance, you can no longer double-click to select a value in a Google Sheet formula: you'll get the entire formula instead if you try to do so.

      I might try doing a survey of browsers again in a few years (i.e. once Safari's extension ecosystem has more time to develop after Apple pushed the reset button on it not too long ago, since the lack of necessary-to-me extensions was its biggest turn off), but for now, I ended up on Opera and have been quite satisfied with it. Not only was it the most similar to Chrome right out of the box, I was also able to customize it the most to my liking once I discovered the Install Chrome Extensions extension that let me run almost all of my Chrome extensions natively in Opera.

    15. Re:I'm so torn by Anubis+IV · · Score: 2

      While that's true and is a great reason to not use Opera, it doesn't speak to the user experience differences that the OP says turned them off from Opera, which is what I was curious about.

    16. Re:I'm so torn by DarkRookie2 · · Score: 1

      Chrome and privacy do not belong in the same sentence.
      Its a Google product. Their whole business model requires a lack of it.

      --
      http://progressquest.com/spoltog.php?name=Son+Of+Son+Of+DarkRookie
    17. Re:I'm so torn by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

      [...] and an ad blocker that I would probably not use (prefer uBlock Origin).

      Just a quick note on this: Opera's ad blocker can be disabled in its settings, and I too prefer to use either uMatrix or uBlock Origin. I'm actually using both in Opera right now (the Chrome versions, since they're generally more up to date than the ones published in Opera's extension library). I use uMatrix to block everything by default, then use custom rules in uBlock Origin to hide a handful of individual page elements that I don't care to see.

    18. Re:I'm so torn by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I would believe you if there was a single shred of evidence that it was true.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    19. Re:I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Next time you go on the hunt, I would suggest trying out Brave as well. It is essentially Chrome with Google pieces pulled out and an add blocker put in (which can be disabled). It works with Chrome extensions without modification. Created by Brendan Eich.

    20. Re:I'm so torn by SomePoorSchmuck · · Score: 1

      I held onto that older late-aughts version of Opera for years because I do a lot of multi-thread research and parallel browsing, and the Opera mouse gestures made browsing practically RSI-proof. Was sad when Opera suddenly turned into yet another Chromium clone. Immediately lost interest in it.

      Chrome is a smooth user experience because it makes the interface simple.
      Opera had a smooth user experience because it made users powerful.
      I miss being powerful. (And not having to chase the damn mouse pointer all over a large/multiscreen display to tediously click on actual buttons and icons.)

      --

      Hollywood, Television, has become the dream machine. We need to take that back; each of us is a Dream Machine
    21. Re:I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you want the best browsing experience, you would be using Vivaldi. Chrome is a joke.

    22. Re:I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Chrome (even chromium) connects to google servers on startup, with no preference settings that I was able to find to disable this behavior.

      By comparison, Firefox also connects to Mozilla servers on startup, but with the correct preference settings this can be disabled.

    23. Re: I'm so torn by caution+live+frogs · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I keep hearing this from people ad nauseum but I’ve been using Firefox since Phoenix and there are exactly zero add-ones I use that are “broken”. What exactly is “broken” for you?

    24. Re:I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you sure it's not some extension? I've never never have that problem.

      Or maybe it's a specific website. Ive noticed some websites which make firefox run at 100% cpu. And also some which do the same for chromium (I don't use chrome proper since I think google sucks up enough of my data as is).

    25. Re: I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've become convinced that the major browsers are in cahoots with the ad companies. Otherwise, they'd all come with javascript, videos,single-pixel images from 3rd-party sites, and any other kind of remote code execution path blocked by default, and configurable options for whitelisting. There should be no need for something like Noscript. The fact that we still have popup windows and all the rest is just a symptom of collusion.

    26. Re:I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only in firefox can you tweak a setting to prevent the backspace key from navigating to the previous page.

      For other browsers, you must install a third party plugin.

      THAT is something I care about.

      The stuff you mentioned....I seriously couldn't care less.

    27. Re:I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Chromium also connects to Google servers. Better privacy than Chrome perhaps, but still less than I'm looking for.

    28. Re:I'm so torn by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

      Responding a second time, but your comment actually reminded me that I had meant to check out Vivaldi but had settled on Opera the last time I switched browsers, before ever giving Vivaldi a try. I'm trying Vivaldi out now, and my first impression is "Wow!". I've had a few hiccups, but it has several features baked into it that I typically have to install extensions to do, plus it runs Chrome extensions natively (including one that didn't work in Opera for me).

      I've only been using it a few hours so far, but already I think I have a new favorite browser. Thanks for the push over the edge!

    29. Re:I'm so torn by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

      Only in firefox can you tweak a setting to prevent the backspace key from navigating to the previous page.

      I just tried hitting Backspace in both Chrome on Windows and Vivaldi on Mac, and neither of them navigated to the previous page. I don't have any third-party extensions or plugins installed to change that behavior, though one of the first things I do in a new browser is disable hotkeys I don't intend to use, so it's possible I removed that hotkey because it's not something I would want to use either. Are there specific circumstances where they navigate to the previous page on Backspace? Because while I know it used to be a behavior I'd see in some browsers, it's not something that I've seen recently.

    30. Re:I'm so torn by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

      I actually decided to give Vivaldi a try after making that comment above (I glanced at Brave too, but figured I'd start with Vivaldi). So far, I'm very impressed with Vivaldi, and though I'm only a few hours into it, I think I may have a new favorite browser.

    31. Re:I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you got it wrong... on chrome you need an extension to *enable* backspace key:
      https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/go-back-with-backspace/eekailopagacbcdloonjhbiecobagjci

    32. Re: I'm so torn by triffid_98 · · Score: 1

      Other than the plugin I listed by name you mean?

    33. Re: I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You have to be trolling right?

    34. Re:I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I also wanted to switch to Vivaldi (on one of my machines I'm still using it) but some sites I visit don't render properly (mostly embedded videos) and some sites (like newatlas.com) cause it to essentially crash even though they render fine in other browsers. Worst of all though is the asinine bookmark system. Right clicking on a bookmark in the toolbar immediately opens web page instead of giving you option to delete or whatever. Managing bookmarks have become incredibly tedious.
      Sadly right now Opera is my favorite. I forgot why I didn't like Firefox but I tried it many times.

    35. Re:I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think maybe they want to use backspace? Chrome is Alt-LeftArrow now. Firefox lets you change the setting yourself.

    36. Re:I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Firefox also connects to Google servers, connecting to servers without discussing the content means nothing.

    37. Re: I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What, Firebug? It didn't break, they integrated it with the FF dev tools. So now it's built in...

    38. Re:I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perhaps I was unclear. Chromium connects to Google servers at the 1e100.net domain at startup without being asked. It would be reasonable to expect only Chrome to do so, not Chromium, and/or for there to be some setting to disable this.

      Firefox makes similar connections on startup to akamaitechnologies.com, amazonaws.com, and 72.21.91.29 which seems to be related to certificates. It does not connect to Google on startup. There are settings buried somewhere that can prevent these connections.

    39. Re: I'm so torn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Check out the Brave browser. Itâ(TM)s built on Chrome code.

    40. Re: I'm so torn by DeVilla · · Score: 1

      Oh! Challenge accepted.

      Chatzilla
      Disable Ctrl-Q Shortcut (No working Linux replacement)
      Paragrasp
      Tab Groups (Abandoned twice)
      Tab Mix Plus
      Task Manager (It sucked, but it was better than the current built in one.)
      Self-destructing cookies (There are replacements, the one I use doesn't seem to work as nice)

      Some cookie manager I used to use to to view the cookies for the current page from page info. I haven't found a replacement. It was indispensable when I had a page being served by some jetty server when I have too many large cookies for the domain. I can only search by domain now or view everything. Well, or I can open the web debugger and dig through the request. In any case, the easy answer is gone and the available option suck and aren't something I could suggest to a coworker having similar trouble.

      There were better google tracking link blockers
      Super stop worked better
      I'm certain there are others I'm forgetting.

  2. Vivaldi? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivaldi_(web_browser)

  3. Irrelevant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Since Firefox started focusing on politics instead of programming, they have become irrelevant. Their market share reflects this.

    How I long for the days (and principles!) of the Phoenix browser!

    1. Re:Irrelevant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Basically this. Fuck the SJW tards.

    2. Re:Irrelevant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      and google doesn't? give me a break. they are the largest lobbyist in the world.

    3. Re:Irrelevant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seriously?! Firefox has always had a focus on politics. It is the reason it exists. You can't seriously separate FOSS from politics, in my honest opinion. Hell, Firefox came about because of a need to stick it to Microsoft in the late 90s/early 2000s.

      Don't be a tool.

    4. Re:Irrelevant by DarkRookie2 · · Score: 0

      No. It was when they decided to straight up copy Chrome. There is really not much in the way of difference between the two at this point beyond the back end I think.

      --
      http://progressquest.com/spoltog.php?name=Son+Of+Son+Of+DarkRookie
    5. Re:Irrelevant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's fine for not liking freedom or privacy. But you too do need them to be a productive citizen in the modern economy. I tend to not focus on any political messages but instead focus on the product and the Nightly browser has served me well since I switched to it at the version eleven. I'll use it until it removes the rest of the functionality I need for everyday use.

    6. Re:Irrelevant by Computershack · · Score: 1

      Hell, Firefox came about because of a need to stick it to Microsoft in the late 90s/early 2000s.

      Don't be a tool.

      I think you'll actually find it was Mozilla that pre-dated Internet Explorer.

      --
      I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either. - Scott Adams
    7. Re:Irrelevant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      First version of IE: 1995
      First version of FF: 2002

      Yep, you sure showed us.

    8. Re:Irrelevant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      I use Firefox as an alternative browser, because I'm trying to reduce Chrome usage... but I can't bring myself to fully commit. Not after what they did to Brandon Eich.

    9. Re: Irrelevant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He showed us that you don't know what Mozilla is, that's for sure.

    10. Re:Irrelevant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm afraid that you are confused. Netscape predated IE. Not Mozilla. Mozilla wasn't created until 1998, when Netscape opensourced their browser code.

  4. Were I not a developer. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Were I not a developer I would not have this shitware installed, but woe is me, as I must continue to support the shiteware of the centuries simply because I wish to have a presence online.

    Your time is drawing to a close. All of you browsers have just been a poor excuse for dynamic Postscript. Finally we come to the end game where smaller devices demand performance you can not give, and therefore Apps connect us to the internet rather than the web of data silos "the web" engendered.

    The internet is a peer to peer network able to withstand atomic war, with packets routed around disappeared cities in moments. But "The Web" is a mess of centralized data silohs which create needless pinch-points in order to monetize traffic. You will not be missed Browser Beasts. The mark of the Whore of Babylon be upon thee.

    Long Live The Internet, butt fuck the web.

    1. Re:Were I not a developer. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, you prefer all info to be channeled into a single silo (or a few of them) through its specific mobile app with its specific closed protocol, instead of having lots of different silos from different providers accessed through a common standard?

  5. Smooth scrolling? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: -1, Troll

    Fuck smooth scrolling. I don't want scrolling to lag behind what I'm doing with my mouse scroll wheel. We're in 2019, scrolling should be instantaneous, not smoothed-out for idiots who can't follow the pace of their own actions.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
    1. Re:Smooth scrolling? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yeah, what the fuck. If only there was a way to turn off smooth scrolling, for the whiny little bitches such as yourself...

    2. Re:Smooth scrolling? by grumpy-cowboy · · Score: 0

      The point is this is additional code to maintain, debug, additional "flag" to enable/disable it, ... KISS please.

      --
      Will $CURRENT_YEAR be the year of the Linux Desktop?
    3. Re:Smooth scrolling? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Smooth scrolling is literally the first thing I turn off on a Firefox install.

    4. Re:Smooth scrolling? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It sounds as if your complaint is about lag, not smooth scrolling, and I'd agree on that point. All response to input (keyboard, mouse, click, touch, pen, etc.) should be displayed instantaneously, or as nearly as possible. If the CPU can't keep up, it should skip frames rather than dragging out the rendering of lagging frames. I also hate animations that introduce delay for no purpose.

      That said, scrolling with a wheel or touch are naturally continuous with high resolution input devices. Even if the wheel has ruts, the rotation itself is continuous and can be directly transformed, resulting in smooth yet precise scrolling. (assuming the ruts aren't just a glorified page up/down key, in which case the hardware is garbage, and the application should not interpolate the discreet input with "smooth" scrolling.)

    5. Re:Smooth scrolling? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I believe this is literally "smoother scrolling" and not the laggy smooth scrolling feature, which can easily be turned off. Probably makes more of a difference on mobile, where scrolling has always been a little janky.

    6. Re:Smooth scrolling? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A typical wheel mouse is just a glorified page up/page down key. What mouse has a continuous input on the scroll wheel?

    7. Re:Smooth scrolling? by Xenolith0 · · Score: 1

      omfg so much THIS. first thing I do when setting up a new install of any browser is to go and disable smooth scrolling.

      Now if only firefox would give us an option to disable ctrl+q (without an addon), that would actually be useful! (who the hell makes ctrl+q close the entire program with no confirmation, then puts useful hot keys like ctrl+a, ctrl+w right by the deadly one!?!)

      /end rant

    8. Re:Smooth scrolling? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I like to use middle click scrolling, when sitting at a desk with a real, wired mouse. It consists in clicking and holding the middle mouse button then moving the mouse to scroll.
      Been using that for like 15 years and Firefox is consistent in supporting this.
      On laptop, two-finger scrolling seems to replace this.

    9. Re:Smooth scrolling? by DeVilla · · Score: 1

      You can't disable it on Linux. The addons haven't worked on Linux since they crippled addons.

  6. If Only Popup Layers Could be Destroyed by mssymrvn · · Score: 4, Informative

    The only true browser feature I want is to terminate all of the friggin' popup layers that harass for your email. In what way are these better/less intrusive than popup windows? No! I don't want to be on your mailing list.

    Chrome and Firefox devs: Please damn this blight to hell. It's on almost every site I visit and it's such a pain in the ass. Especially if you can't use to close them.

    1. Re:If Only Popup Layers Could be Destroyed by Luthair · · Score: 2

      For me I take the interstitial pop-ups my cue to leave the site. Though I'm not sure that this is more annoying than every site on the internet wanting to show you notifications now or your geo-location.

    2. Re:If Only Popup Layers Could be Destroyed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hear, hear! I totally agree.

    3. Re:If Only Popup Layers Could be Destroyed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Where are you seeing this? I certainly don't see this with FF or Chromium, both with uBlock Origin.

    4. Re:If Only Popup Layers Could be Destroyed by tsa · · Score: 1

      I do that too. It's a handy way to separate the chaff from the corn.

      --

      -- Cheers!

    5. Re:If Only Popup Layers Could be Destroyed by AmiMoJo · · Score: 0, Troll

      This functionality should not be in the browser, it should be in an ad-blocker add-on. Corporations are bound by things like anti-trust and competition laws so they can never build a powerful, strict enough ad-blocker to win that war. It has to be an open source effort.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    6. Re:If Only Popup Layers Could be Destroyed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      firefox is a non-profit open source effort.

    7. Re:If Only Popup Layers Could be Destroyed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can block things with uBlock Origin.
      Go even further with uMatrix and you can block certain components like scripts causing issues.

      Try a real browser like Pale Moon where you change the page style to no style like you could do in old IE, Netscape and Firefox versions.

    8. Re:If Only Popup Layers Could be Destroyed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seriously what morons modded this up? Beware the evil Firefox corporation!! :-/

    9. Re:If Only Popup Layers Could be Destroyed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Use this.

      If you still have issues, then you are going to the wrong websites.

    10. Re:If Only Popup Layers Could be Destroyed by mssymrvn · · Score: 1

      I will add... I do use Adblock Plus and have for years. And Privacy Badger. Neither does the trick. Will look into uBlock Origin and uMatrix though.

    11. Re:If Only Popup Layers Could be Destroyed by VanessaE · · Score: 1

      They have one advantage: A site can spawn as many of those as it wants, and they still stay on the one page. Close the tab and bye-bye interstitals. Can't really do that with "regular" popups.

    12. Re: If Only Popup Layers Could be Destroyed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ami I gave you some credit the other day. But Jesus Christ the past 2 days your comments have been off the rails and sometimes 100% false. It's like you don't even bother to do basic research before you post. You just post the first thing that pops in your head.

      Mozilla is not a corporation. It's a fucking non profit.

    13. Re:If Only Popup Layers Could be Destroyed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Firefox + noscript= FTW

  7. Just block annoying content w/ hosts... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    See subject & here's how: APK Hosts File Engine 1.0++ 64-bit for MacOS h t t p : / / a p k . i t - m a t e . c o . u k / A P K H o s t s F i l e E n g i n e F o r M a c O S . z i p

    Yields more security/speed/reliability/anonymity vs. any 1 solution (99% of threats use hostnames vs. IP address most firewalls use) more efficiently/FASTER + NATIVELY 4 less!

    Vs. "Bolt on 'MoAr' illogic-logic" slowing u hosts speed u up 2 ways: Adblocks + Hardcode fav. sites u spend most time @ vs. competition loaded w/ security bugs (DNS/AntiVir) + overheads slowing u (messagepass 'souled-out' to advertisers easily detected & blocked addons + firewall filtering drivers) & their complexity leads to exploitation!

    * ONLY 1 of its kind in GUI 4 MacOS!

    (Better vs. Windows model)

    APK

    P.S.=> Protects against ALL known & unknown vulnerabilities. Now supports port filters in hosts. My work is world-class & China copied it because they can't do better. I am God's gift to Slashdot... apk

  8. i prefer 'jumpy' pages. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i have smooth scrolling disabled.

    on 'lesser' systems, it's a performance hog..

    plus.. my mouse wheel 'clicks' (i hate ones that don't, and clicky wheels are also better for most games), i want my documents to 'jump' predictably with each 'click'.

    1. Re:i prefer 'jumpy' pages. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This isn't smooth scrolling.

      From the release announcement: 'improvements in scrolling to prevent pages "jumping" as images or ads load'

  9. That's priceless... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "main goal with this release is to reduce irritating experiences"

    Oh, what a grand joke! It is to laugh...

  10. Yay for Firefox by tsa · · Score: 2

    I've been using Firefox ever since it was Netscape 3 or so, and I still am convinced it's the best browser on the planet. I'm a bit worried about all the extra bits they keep developing that are not necessary in a browser or that exist from other companies already, like notes and a password manager. I'd rather see them spend time on Thunderbird.

    --

    -- Cheers!

  11. Who is the tool? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    You obviously don't know the history of Firefox. Go learn something before you make stupid comments, tool.

  12. But by DarkRookie2 · · Score: 2

    No Classic Theme Restorer. Or Download Statusbar. Or a status bar that will let me run things from it.

    --
    http://progressquest.com/spoltog.php?name=Son+Of+Son+Of+DarkRookie
    1. Re:But by PsychoSlashDot · · Score: 1

      No Classic Theme Restorer. Or Download Statusbar. Or a status bar that will let me run things from it.

      Download Manager S3 works fine and is mostly function-equivalent. CTR is more of an issue but I've been able to arrange enough of the UI to be content.

      --
      "Oh no... he found the .sig setting."
    2. Re:But by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      No Classic Theme Restorer.

      Nope. The time of the Firefox luddites is, quite appropriately, in the past.

    3. Re:But by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No Classic Theme Restorer.

      Nope. The time of the Firefox luddites is, quite appropriately, in the past.

      https://github.com/Aris-t2/CustomCSSforFx/releases/ same function but no gui, you need to turn the various flags on and off

    4. Re:But by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Download Manager S3 is an ugly hack that inject its html/js into every page loaded.
      I won't use it until mozilla provides proper web extension apis to implement it correctly.

    5. Re:But by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      No Classic Theme Restorer.

      Rearrange the UI elements. You'll get used to it.

      Or Download Statusbar.

      CTRL-SHIFT-Y to pop the downloads window.

      Also there's a UI element to show total download progress baked-in to the firefox interface. It's kinda small but if you really need to see details, that's what the downloads window is for.

      And if you really need it:
      https://addons.mozilla.org/en-...

      Or a status bar that will let me run things from it.

      Unsure what that is. If you miss the ability to run javascript: from the location bar, just press CTRL-SHIFT-K for the javascript console.

    6. Re:But by DarkRookie2 · · Score: 1

      1. Rather have the menu bars.
      2. That doesn't work. I have tried using that. I like double clicking on the bar to open things. Pictures. Audio. EXEs.

      --
      http://progressquest.com/spoltog.php?name=Son+Of+Son+Of+DarkRookie
    7. Re:But by DarkRookie2 · · Score: 1

      Just changes the colors really. Not enough.

      --
      http://progressquest.com/spoltog.php?name=Son+Of+Son+Of+DarkRookie
  13. uBlock Origin can stop most pop-up layers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Generally they can be blocked with uBlock Origin. It's been effective for me.

    Right-click when the pop-up shows and "Block Element". May have to do more than once, and may have to be careful what element is selected.

  14. Telemetry blocked by default? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Or is it still transmitting a metric fuckton of metrics to the mothership?

  15. Still autoplays silent video by tepples · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I saw "autoplaying content (audio and video) blocked by default" in the summary and jumped into the usual test suite. All still played. To learn why, I read the featured article and found this:

    Mozilla's main goal is to remove the annoyance of sound blaring from your speakers. On sites that automatically mute the sound, the Block Autoplay feature will not stop the video from playing.

    This means autoplaying video in floating ads will continue to drain your computer's battery and your monthly Internet cap.

    1. Re:Still autoplays silent video by Snotnose · · Score: 1

      Came here to say this. Autoplay video still plays.

    2. Re:Still autoplays silent video by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      I found settings here that allowed me to make the autoplay blocking work for muted videos as well.

      https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Media/Autoplay_guide#Browser_configuration_options

    3. Re:Still autoplays silent video by Tx · · Score: 1

      +1 informative if my mod points hadn't just run out.

      --
      Oh no... it's the future.
    4. Re:Still autoplays silent video by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does this actually work to block ALL autoplaying video whether muted or not? Seriously, who on earth wants annoying unsolicited auto-playing videos to slow down their devices, drain their batteries, and use their bandwidth or data plan? Certainly nobody I know. MAKE media.autoplay.allow-muted=FALSE THE DEFAULT SETTING PLEASE!

    5. Re:Still autoplays silent video by Perl-Pusher · · Score: 1

      I went to the TV guide listings to test this. It has an annoying video telling people what they should watch. And the stupid video came on with sound at max volume. So no it doesn't just play muted videos it also plays sound.

    6. Re:Still autoplays silent video by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 1

      This means autoplaying video in floating ads will continue to drain your computer's battery and your monthly Internet cap.

      It's still an improvement, so I'll take it.

      --
      Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
    7. Re:Still autoplays silent video by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 1

      I take that back. Just went to cnn.com, one of the worst offenders, and their videos auto-played with volume on. That's a disappointment.

      --
      Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
    8. Re:Still autoplays silent video by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even worse, in 65, you could set media.autoplay.default to 1 which blocks all videos from autoplaying. In 66, this no longer works and ALL videos now autoplay, just without sound. You can rollback to version 65 here: https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/65.0.2/

    9. Re:Still autoplays silent video by markdavis · · Score: 1

      >"This means autoplaying video in floating ads will continue to drain your computer's battery and your monthly Internet cap."

      You can change the settings to block ALL autoplaying media that can be blocked- muted or not (which is NOT the new default). The settings are in about:config. This means animated PNG, GIF, WEBP, and HTML5 video will not autoplay. There are some things that can not be blocked by any browser (yet, or perhaps ever) because they are based on crude javascript "flip" animations. Sites using such crap are really, really badly designed and very hostile.

      Anyway, try:

      media.autoplay.default;1
      media.autoplay.allow-muted;false
      image.animation_mode;never

      That last one will stop all animated GIF/PNG/WEBP from ever playing- there is no option to allow it to play selectively. You can change it to "once" if you want it to play once and not loop.

    10. Re:Still autoplays silent video by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Go to about:config and set the following, then it should work. These settings actually weren't pushed out immediately with 66 and are instead rolling out slowly to users over time. You can get them now by setting manually:

      media.autoplay.enabled.user-gestures-needed=true
      media.autoplay.ask-permission=true
      media.autoplay.default=2
      media.autoplay.allow-muted=false

    11. Re:Still autoplays silent video by tepples · · Score: 1

      That last one will stop all animated GIF/PNG/WEBP from ever playing

      Do these settings also prevent CSS-animated JPEG and PNG filmstrips like this one and this one from playing?

    12. Re:Still autoplays silent video by markdavis · · Score: 1

      >"Do these settings also prevent CSS-animated JPEG and PNG filmstrips from playing?"

      Unfortunately, no. Which is why in the post I said:

      "There are some things that can not be blocked by any browser (yet, or perhaps ever) because they are based on crude javascript "flip" animations"

    13. Re:Still autoplays silent video by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Setting these in about:config will actually stop it:
      media.autoplay.enabled.user-gestures-needed=true
      media.autoplay.ask-permission=true
      media.autoplay.default=2
      media.autoplay.allow-muted=false

    14. Re:Still autoplays silent video by tepples · · Score: 1

      I may have been confused because the examples I linked were CSS, not JavaScript.

  16. pale moon by gosand · · Score: 0

    Try Pale Moon . I've been using it for a year as my primary browser, on linux and on Windows. Or look into Firefox-esr. I run Devuan at home and use ff-esr as my backup browser.

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

    1. Re:pale moon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Firefox ESR 52.9.0 was the last great version.
      Pale Moon or some other alternative is the only way forward for now.

    2. Re:pale moon by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 1

      I use Waterfox, which is basically Firefox without all the Mozilla crapification of the last few years. Tried Pale Moon but it was always a long way behind Firefox in terms of bugfixes, I rediscovered years-old bugs in it, while Waterfox seems to be Firefox as it should be.

  17. a reason I don't use Chrome by gosand · · Score: 3, Interesting

    In firefox (and now with my preferred browser, pale moon), there is a "feature" I use all the time that is not in Chrome.

    When you create a bookmark in FF there are properties associated with it, e.g. Description. You don't have that in Chrome.
    I use the description to house my userid and password hints for the many sites I have that I need to log into. I never put the full info in it, so it is reasonably secure. I gave up on password managers years ago, and this system has served me very well. Bookmarks can be easily backed up and restored with descriptions fully in tact. Password gets updated, I just update the hint in the description.

    It doesn't sound like much, but I once tried to switch to Chrome and it was immediately something that I missed - and there was no equivalent feature.

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

    1. Re:a reason I don't use Chrome by Curupira · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Dude, Firefox has a good password manager. If you have an Firefox account, you can access your password in your desktop and your mobile device, without having to install extensions. With a good random password generator (Lastpass has one at their website, you're good to go.

    2. Re:a reason I don't use Chrome by gosand · · Score: 1

      Dude, Firefox has a good password manager. If you have an Firefox account, you can access your password in your desktop and your mobile device, without having to install extensions. With a good random password generator (Lastpass has one at their website, you're good to go.

      If you have a Firefox account... no thanks.

      --

      My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

    3. Re:a reason I don't use Chrome by e432776 · · Score: 1

      Note that it is possible to set up sync infrastructure yourself to keep all your information (passwords, bookmarks, history, open tabs, etc) on your machines. See here for a walk-through. I strongly doubt Google would allow you to do something like this with their browser since it contravenes their business model- almost entirely built around tracking you.

    4. Re:a reason I don't use Chrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why would I do that? I just use a password hasher and only have to remember a single master password instead of storing sensitive data all over the place.

    5. Re:a reason I don't use Chrome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Note, that sync up means shove that data to the cloud somewhere. So your data (passwords) just got sent OUT from your hopefully secure system for some other system to leak.

    6. Re:a reason I don't use Chrome by MobyDisk · · Score: 1

      I stopped reading at "password manager" - no thanks.

  18. Design by DrYak · · Score: 4, Informative

    The problem stems from stupid designers that require animated backgrounds
    (Why? Whyyy?!!!!?!?!?)

    Using silent videos is still the most efficient way to do these.
    If you disable silent videos, the websites will usually try to fall-back to some *other* less-efficient animated format (e.g.: .GIF animated image) instead of stopping the animation.

    If designer didn't insist on such backgrounds, Firefox could still block all videos.
    Instead, we have to rely on this conditional block to avoid even *more* damage to your monthly internet cap.

    But at least, uBlock can take care of the advertisements (be it autoplaying videos or not) and at least on Firefox, that works even in the mobile version (unlike Chrome where only the desktop version gets uBlock)

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
    1. Re:Design by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why not then allow the user to block GIFs past the initial frame? One could just download one frame and stop.

  19. Still IMPERSONATING me JEALOUS "Lil' Jowie"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    MacOS model's not done: Stop IMPERSONATING me lying & proof portfilter err's can't happen https://news.slashdot.org/comm... in my work!

    u ADMIT u have a /. acct & STALK me by UNIDENTIFIABLE ac https://hardware.slashdot.org/... - YOU got ISSUES.

    That's "best ya got"?

    u WISH u were ME (as ur POOR imitation = the sincerest form of flattery).

    WASTING ur life STALKING me by UNIDENTIFIABLE anon OR IMPERSONATING me?

    Make a Wheel https://isc.sans.edu/forums/di... as I did giving users more speed/security/reliability & anonymity NATIVELY doing more for less vs. ANY single 'solution' via the best hosts file multiplatform:

    APK Hosts File Engine 2.0++ 64-bit for Linux h t t p : / / a p k . i t - m a t e . c o . u k / A P K H o s t s F i l e E n g i n e F o r L i n u x . z i p

    APK Hosts File Engine 10++ SR-1 32/64-bit for Windows https://hosts-file.net/?s=Down...

    APK

    P.S.=> I BLOW U AWAY https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... + https://it.slashdot.org/commen... + https://yro.slashdot.org/comme...

    1. Re:Still IMPERSONATING me JEALOUS "Lil' Jowie"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The only thing you blow is trucker dong. I hear the line is getting awfully long down at the Pilot Travel Center, better get over there before you lose customers.

    2. Re:Still IMPERSONATING me JEALOUS "Lil' Jowie"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I see apk made you look as stupid as you prove you are again hahahaha https://games.slashdot.org/com...

  20. it doesn't block video auto-playing in Accuweather by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, it doesn't block auto video playing, nor a floating video window.
    On accuweather web, click into a Trending Now item on the right, the video will be auto-playing and floating if scrolled down.

  21. It won't always work, but its a start by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not being negative but it won't always work with every web site. I've tested like Edge's auto play option and its hit or miss if it works all the time. But its better then Chrome which doesn't really care about this stuff and I am still amazed how many defend Chrome. I don't see Chrome as that great of a browser. Its a total RAM hog, scrolling on a touchpad the worst in Chrome then any other browsers and it looks horrid and out of place unless your running Chrome OS.

  22. Have they fixed the Spinning Wheel of Death? by in10se · · Score: 1

    I really don't care about new features. I want to switch back to Firefox, but I just can't do it until they fix the spinning wheel of death issue.

    --
    Popisms.com - Connecting pop culture
  23. Damnit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That is the ONE thing I absolutely need. BLOCK ALL EFFING AUTO PLAY, PERIOD! Why the hell would I ever want some stupid video to auto-play just because it's muted? If I want to watch a damn video I'll click on it thank you very much! /me resumes using flaky extensions that attempt to do that, sometimes with limited success and sometimes also break things I actually want to work...

  24. Firefox consumes CPU power when not viewing it. by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 1

    "... some websites ... make Firefox run at 100% cpu."

    I see that problem, also. It seems that, after many years, that would have been fixed.

    Also, why does Firefox consume CPU power and add to memory usage when you are viewing something else?

    1. Re:Firefox consumes CPU power when not viewing it. by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      It used to do this in the past, but there have been many many updates since that point.

  25. Rust and C++ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How much assembly in Firefox is currently generated from Rust sources and how much from C++?

  26. View the CPU and memory usage in Windows. Free. by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 1

    In Windows, you can view the CPU and memory usage using the free Process Explorer.

    Mark Russinovich may be the best programmer Microsoft ever hired. My experience is that most Microsoft programmers leave obvious defects in what they write. Do Microsoft programmers do that so that there will always be more work for them to do?

  27. Pale Moon sometimes deletes the NoScript add-on. by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 1

    Pale Moon tries to convince you not to use the NoScript add-on, and sometimes deletes NoScript.

    Pale Moon also doesn't allow the use of the Ghostery add-on. It is necessary to use the Disconnect add-on, which has both a free and paid version, and has a much-less-useful user interface.

  28. Using it now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seems stable, they didn't screw with the UI, Ublock and Noscript eliminate most autoplay for me so I cannot immediately tell a difference. Good job.

  29. Still doesn't work. Not surprised. by stevegee58 · · Score: 1

    Video here still autoplays:
    https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal....

    This is a technological game of whack-a-mole. Every browser improvement is countered by some new trick. I'll stick with the auto-mute FF extension.

  30. Another deleted feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The feature appears to have disappeared in more recent versions of Firefox. Current version I'm running is 65. There's still a keyword field but this changes the case of anything you type (Quick Brown Fox turns to quick brown fox) since presumably keywords are case insensitive.

    1. Re:Another deleted feature by gosand · · Score: 1

      If that's true... then Firefox's chances of getting me back are slim to none. Keep on truckin' Pale Moon!!!!

      --

      My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

  31. Safari? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When Safari will do the same?

  32. NO. WRONG. IT does NOT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This feature was pulled from Firefox 66 about a month ago and won't be available until 67.

    Read the release notes.

    1. Re:NO. WRONG. IT does NOT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      *(Specific) citation needed.

      "New APIs/changes
      Autoplaying audio will be blocked by default soon after 66 becomes the release version of Firefox (bug 1487844, see bug 1535667 for rollout details). The feature will be rolled out gradually to users until everyone has it."

      In short, both you AND the article are both probably somewhat wrong, unless you have a specific, more recent, and definitive reference. It's being rolled out to 66 over time via Normandy.

      If you don't have it now, you can do it yourself in settings: // Switch block autoplay logic to v2, and enable UI.
      pref("media.autoplay.enabled.user-gestures-needed", true); // Allow asking for permission to autoplay to appear in UI.
      pref("media.autoplay.ask-permission", true); // Set Firefox to block autoplay, asking for permission by default.
      pref("media.autoplay.default", 2); // 0=Allowed, 1=Blocked, 2=Prompt

  33. Thanks! by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 1

    Thanks! I'm using an old version of Firefox because I need the add-ons.

    Soon I will try to find add-ons I need that work with the newest version. Hours of work.

  34. Hide Fixed Elements by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I have been using a firefox plugin called "Hide Fixed Elements". It works for some, but not all. Puts a simple toggle button on your toolbar.

  35. Still IMPERSONATING me JEALOUS "Lil' Jowie"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    MacOS model's not done: Stop IMPERSONATING me lying & proof portfilter err's can't happen https://news.slashdot.org/comm... in my work!

    u ADMIT u have a /. acct & STALK me by UNIDENTIFIABLE ac https://hardware.slashdot.org/... - YOU got ISSUES.

    That's "best ya got"?

    u WISH u were ME (as ur POOR imitation = the sincerest form of flattery).

    WASTING ur life STALKING me by UNIDENTIFIABLE anon OR IMPERSONATING me?

    Make a Wheel https://isc.sans.edu/forums/di... as I did giving users more speed/security/reliability & anonymity NATIVELY doing more for less vs. ANY single 'solution' via the best hosts file multiplatform:

    APK Hosts File Engine 2.0++ 64-bit for Linux h t t p : / / a p k . i t - m a t e . c o . u k / A P K H o s t s F i l e E n g i n e F o r L i n u x . z i p

    APK Hosts File Engine 10++ SR-1 32/64-bit for Windows https://hosts-file.net/?s=Down...

    APK

    P.S.=> I BLOW U AWAY https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... + https://it.slashdot.org/commen... + https://yro.slashdot.org/comme...

  36. mature? not with exploitable mic & camera supp by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Firefox, Chrome, etc can't we just get a browser which does not have any code accessing or supporting the camera and microphone inputs?

    I don't want to do face time via browser.

    I want to browse without the exploit risk of someone bypassing the software off switch for microphone and camera.

    Especially on mobile phones.

    Camera / mic support is a vulnerability and not a feature same reason not to get a smart TV with them or a Nest with a 'hidden' disabled microphone.

    Autoplay should be an easy on/off setting with OFF disabling autoplay of videos, audio and animated GIFS.

  37. Also FAIL at CNN.com by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I tested just now with Firefox 66, no add-ons, and even after setting media.autoplay.allow-muted=false but click pretty much any story at cnn.com and some obnoxious, usually only slightly related, video starts autoplaying at the top of the article, without fail. In comparison, the "Disable HTML5 Autoplay" extension actually does prevent those from playing, so I know it's possible. Firefox needs to try harder.

  38. HOW TO FIX IT! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Set the following in about:config and it will enable the new behavior right away (otherwise, you might need to wait for it to roll out to all users over time):

    media.autoplay.enabled.user-gestures-needed=true
    media.autoplay.ask-permission=true
    media.autoplay.default=2
    media.autoplay.allow-muted=false

    I've tested this and it works on accuweather. It doesn't stop the ads on the right (I tested with no extensions), but it does prevent the large auto-playing video in the main pane when you click a trending item. It also blocks CNN which is another really stubborn one.

  39. "Firefox works perfectly fine..." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Firefox works perfectly fine...", said the person with little standards. It's not perfectly fine, but it's best feature is that it is not made by Google. There is a lot of improvement needed before I would call it "perfectly fine". Same goes for Chrome, as well.

  40. Firefox Extended Support Release is better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://notabug.org/themusicgo...
    Search text "Palemoon"

  41. Mine won't play video at all now by Slugster · · Score: 1

    I had mine set to upgrade automatically. It did so to ver 66, and now no video will play on any website, at all, even if I want them to. If I click on them, they show a loading icon, then disappear.

    The only plugin I have is noscript, but even with that disabled, no videos work at all (and I had lots of sites cleared in NoScript before, to where the videos would play)...

    Ummm... how do I revert back to version 65?

  42. Okay then, back to #65 by Slugster · · Score: 1

    Everything working again. I was gettin kinda jittery without my cat videos and rule #34 children's cartoons.

    It was a nice idea, but NoScript does the job pretty well already quite frankly.

  43. Fail! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does not work on ESPN (http://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/26313639/dillashaw-gives-belt-suspended-nysac)

  44. On the subject of bookmarks... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is there a browser that allows any actual good management of bookmarks?

    Here's what I want
    - bookmarks accessible in a tab page, not (only) in a side bar, drop down menu (missing a scrollbar) or free-floating window
    - use all available screen space to show bookmarks. Use the 2D area. No giant fonts and spacing : a lot must fit, on many columns, with small separators for bunches of bookmarks

  45. GIT is just step 1 by DrYak · · Score: 1

    Why not then allow the user to block GIFs past the initial frame? One could just download one frame and stop.

    Because GIFs are just step 1 on the scale of horrendously ineficient way to get a stupid animated background.
    If web designer notice GIF don't work, they'll find alternatives:

    Much further down, you find horrors like a bunch of discrete frames that get loaded and animated without javascript, relying entirely on CSS.
    And if you start blocking CSS, half of the web (all these "modern design with panes" type of pages that attempt to do flashy things while you scrool) will become broken and unusable.

    Allowing mute video is the simple solution.

    For the rest, let WebExtension authors try to cook up a solution that works enough and is verstile enough to not break the web.

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]