Items tagged with Mozilla
Mozilla is taking the web browser experience to the next level. Mozilla has just released Firefox Reality, the first dedicated VR web browser. The browser is free and available to download for Viveport, Oculus Go, and Google DayDream headsets. This is the first web browser intended to be used entirely in a VR headset. Andre Vrignaud, Head of Mixed Reality Platform Strategy at Mozilla, remarked “We had to rethink everything, including navigation, text-input, environments, search and more... The result is a browser that is built for the medium it serves.” Users will be able to visit...
Read more...
Mozilla introduced its Test Pilot program to allow users to test experimental features on the desktop version of its Firefox web browser. Mozilla is now expanding Test Pilot to the mobile space with Firefox Lockbox and Firefox Notes. Both Lockbox and Notes are standalone mobile apps and are capable of syncing with their desktop Firefox counterparts. Lockbox is a password manager that helps you manage all of your online accounts. Given that Lockbox can sync between your desktop and your smartphone, you'll never have to worry about remembering a password you created on your laptop when...
Read more...
Data breaches have become way too common, and we are not just talking about personal accounts being compromised through phishing attacks, malware, and the like. Companies with an online presence (so pretty much every company in the world) are targets, and since many sites require that you register with an email account, there's a good chance your information has fallen into the wrong hands. As an added security precaution, Mozilla plans to test a new Firefox Monitor security feature using data from the 'Have I Been Pwned' (HIPB) website. Created by Troy Hunt, HIPB is a website where you can input...
Read more...
Digital assistants are now a part of everyday life for many users, whether it's barking out commands at Siri on an iPhone, summoning Google Now (or later Duplex) on an Android device, asking Cortana to look something up in Windows 10, shouting at Samsung's Bixby on a Galaxy device, or asking Amazon's Alexa to perform one of its many skills. So what's next in the AI assistant space? Mozilla is building a new voice-controlled web browser called Scout. We all know Mozilla as the developer of Firefox, one of the popular browsers that people turn to when they don't want to use Internet Explorer or Edge...
Read more...
Ads are what drive much of the web experience as we know it—without them, more websites would have to erect paywalls or figure out other ways of generating revenue. Typically that means seeing ads on webpages. However, a similar business model is creeping into Firefox, with Mozilla announcing plans to add sponsored content to new tabs in Firefox 60 in the US later this month. "We believe the Internet can do better. So earlier this year, we started to explore a new model and showed an occasional sponsored story in Pocket’s recommendation section on Firefox New Tab. Starting today, we’re...
Read more...
Mozilla has announced the launch of Firefox 59, which is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. The new release builds on Firefox Quantum and is a significant update for fans of the browser. Among the performance enhancements of the new browser include faster load times for content on the Firefox Home page. The faster page load times are thanks in part to loading from the networked cache or the cache on the user hard drive. Graphics rendering has been improved thanks to a move to Off-Main-Thread Painting (OMTP) for Mac users; this feature landed for Windows and Linux back in Firefox 58....
Read more...
Mozilla ended 2017 with a bang by retooling its Firefox browser with a focus on speed with the release of Firefox 57. Now called Firefox Quantum (it is okay to still refer to it as simply Firefox), Mozilla's browser is noticeably faster than previous versions—over twice as fast, according to Mozilla. It is a solid foundation to build upon, and Mozilla is doing that, with Firefox 58 bringing even more improvements to browser space. If you are a Firefox user, you can initiate an update to the latest release by clicking on the three horizontal lines in the upper-right corner, clicking on Help,...
Read more...
Isn't it nice when malware authors make it easy to remove their dirty code? Sometimes all you have to do is open the Control Panel and uninstall the offending program, just like any other application. And for browsers, simply nuke the extension that is causing trouble. Unfortunately, some recent browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox are making things difficult on users by cleverly hiding their whereabouts. The extensions in question hijack Chrome and Firefox to redirect web searches and drive up click counts on YouTube videos, presumably to generate ad revenue. That in and of itself is not...
Read more...
Mozilla surprised a lot of people with Firefox 57, also known as Quantum. While it is customary for browser makers to hype up speed improvements with each new major update, oftentimes it's tough to tell a difference outside of running some benchmarks. Not so with the new and improved Firefox browser. Mozilla retooled its browser in hopes of making up for lost ground against Chrome, and part of the perceptible speed increase is the result of how Firefox handles scripts from tracking domains. Specifically, Firefox delays loading scripts from tracking domains when possible during the time a webpage...
Read more...
We could have told Mozilla that installing an extension on its Firefox browser to promote a niche TV series would be a bad idea, but nobody from Mozilla asked us. Mozilla should have known this too. Now it does, on hindsight, following a backlash from angry Firefox users who discovered that an extension had been remotely installed on their machines, leading many to wonder if they had fallen victim to malware. Mozilla is now backpedaling from the bad business move. Image Source: Flickr via Johnathan Nighingale What happened is, Mozilla partnered with the team behind Mr. Robot, a television show...
Read more...
In geekier circles, Mr. Robot is one of the most popular television shows on the planet. It's well-written, well-acted, and most importantly, it's captivating. That said, the show isn't necessarily universally well-known and perhaps its most recent publicity effort just went a little too far. It was with great surprise in fact, that many Firefox users have found a mysterious "Looking Glass" extension installed in their browser, without their consent. To end the current season of Mr. Robot off with a little surprise, Mozilla teamed up with the team behind the show to create a little mini-game that...
Read more...
The public release of Firefox Quantum (Version 57) is finally here, and Mozilla is championing its credentials. According to Mozilla, Firefox quantum is roughly twice as fast as Firefox 52 from six months ago. In fact, the company feels that this is the most significant upgrade to the browser since Firefox 1.0 launched in 2004. There are a number of features that make Firefox Quantum a significant new entry in the browser wars, included its new CSS engine (Quantum CSS). Quantum CSS leverages the multi-core processors in our modern computing rigs, parallelizing work across all cores. While Mozilla...
Read more...
It might be time to look at a different web browser if you have been set in your ways with how you navigate the internet. A brand new beta version of Firefox has just landed and while technically it would be Firefox 57, the changes are so big that it's getting new branding and is called Firefox Quantum. Nick Nguyen from Mozilla wrote, "Engines are important, both in cars and in browsers. That’s why we’re so revved up this morning – we’re releasing the Beta of a whole new Firefox, one that’s powered by a completely reinvented, modernized engine. Since the version number – 57 – can’t really convey...
Read more...
If you’re a fan of Mozilla’s Firefox web browser, a big update is coming to the release channel tomorrow. Firefox 55 features support for WebVR, which is a platform for viewing virtual reality content from within a browser environment. Mozilla says that its current implementation of WebVR will be supported on both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR headsets. The company describes WebVR, writing: WebVR transforms VR into a first-class experience on the web, giving it the infinite possibilities found in the openness and interoperability of the Web Platform. When coupled with WebGL to render 3D graphics,...
Read more...
