Update: Firefox 52.0 released

[HansV]

Mozilla has released version 52.0 of the Firefox browser. See the Release Notes.

[viking33]

Got it. Looks OK. Thanks.

[TonyE]

One important change in this one is NPAPI plugins other than Flash are no longer supported.

This means plugins such as Java, Silverlight and Acrobat will no longer work. For more details on this see https://support.mozilla.org/t5/Problems ... ta-p/31069" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[HansV]

Version 52.0.1 was released on the 17th of March, 2017. It contains security fixes.

[BobArch2]

Not sure when the feature was added to Firefox but when I went to check my version I found that it had already been updated as per a new (?) setting in FF. Setting found in Options | Advanced.

[HansV]

I don't know how it works. My home PC and work PC have the same settings:

S107.png

On my home PC, Firefox updated itself automatically (and silently) to 52.0.1. On my work PC, I had to select Help > About Firefox... to make it update.

[stuck]

Here's another oddity. My ancient XP desktop says it's on 52.0.1 and up to date but my Win 7 netbook says it's only on 52.0 and that it too is up to date.

Ken

[TonyE]

To add to the confusion, Firefox 52 is the final version to support Windows XP and Windows Vista. Mozilla will be automatically switching those users to Firefox 52ESR (Extended support release) which will be supported until 2018.

For more details on the ESR releases see https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/o ... tions/faq/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[HansV]

Version 52.0.2 was released on the 28th of March. See https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/5 ... easenotes/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[TonyE]

Thanks, got it. I see it is a very minor update.

Just a heads up, a major change is planned for Firefox 57 due out in November. They are changing the add-on system and nearly all current Firefox add-ons will cease to work.

The current legacy system add-ons allows them to do virtually anything, they are switching to an almost identical add-on system to Chrome. On the plus side it will make porting add-ons between Chrome and Firefox much easier, but on the downside they are limited in what they can do.

Current add-on developers will have to rewrite their add-ons if they want them to work with the new system. It is anticipated that many will just abandon their old add-ons.

[HansV]

I wonder what impact that will have. I still like Firefox, but the difference with Chrome is getting less...

[TonyE]

I currently use Firefox as the default browser mainly due to the versatility of its add-ons. When that goes I will be considering changing my default browser to Chrome.

[viking33]

When something gets too good, it's time to abandon it. Why do they feel they HAVE to emulate Chrome? This is Firefox not Chrome. Like GM & Ford? They both have their fans and customers because they are a little different.

[BobArch2]

Eliminating all add-ons will sure play havoc with password managers. I use 1Password and have over 150 accounts setup. I will forward TonyE's information concerning v57 to the 1Password authors.

[jonwallace]

I've mentioned this before, but it's always worth mentioning again. I switched to Pale Moon to escape the Chromeification of Opera. Pale Moon is fully forked off Firefox and one of its aims is to retain the stuff that Mozilla are dropping from Firefox, including the more flexible extension system.

As a browser, it's had its ups and downs, but these days I use it as my daily browser and find very few sites that I have to switch browsers to use.

It has a lively forum and is usually favourably mentioned on ghacks

[viking33]

I've mentioned this before, but it's always worth mentioning again. I switched to Pale Moon to escape the Chromeification of Opera. Pale Moon is fully forked off Firefox and one of its aims is to retain the stuff that Mozilla are dropping from Firefox, including the more flexible extension system.

As a browser, it's had its ups and downs, but these days I use it as my daily browser and find very few sites that I have to switch browsers to use.

It has a lively forum and is usually favourably mentioned on ghacks

John, At your suggestion, I downloaded Pale Moon to give it a try once again. Going over the options list under Security, I wanted it to remember passwords but the box was greyed out.Looked around the PM forum and didn't see this topic mentioned. ( at least I didn't see it?) Checked under about:config, again no luck.
Any ideas for me to try?

It does seem a bit faster to load than Fx but I;m not sold as yet.

[jonwallace]

John, At your suggestion, I downloaded Pale Moon to give it a try once again. Going over the options list under Security, I wanted it to remember passwords but the box was greyed out.Looked around the PM forum and didn't see this topic mentioned. ( at least I didn't see it?) Checked under about:config, again no luck.
Any ideas for me to try?

It does seem a bit faster to load than Fx but I;m not sold as yet.

I read a couple of suggestions, first is to check you're not browsing in private browsing mode.

Second is to check the the prefs value. Type "about:config" In URL bar and enter "signon.rememberSignons" in search box and make sure the value is set to true.

I use the Secure Login extension version 1.2.5 from http://firefox.add0n.com/secure-login.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, but a portable Pale Moon installation without this extension still allows me to tick the box.

[viking33]

John,
I've decided to give Pale Moon a pass for a while.
Besides the problems I mentioned, there are some other incompatible add-ons that I use and though I tried the Fx versions, it was a no go. I realize that PM is trying to breakaway from Fx but there should be some way to swap add ons and not have to rely on the authors to write new code for PM. But who knows? I'm not a coder.
Thanks for your suggestions.

[TonyE]

I respect the work done on Pale Moon, but it's not for me. For me the project is too heavily dependent on an individual.

Regarding Firefox 57
The add-on change is not the only big change planned for Firefox 57. There are 3 major changes planned, though they could slip to a later version.
1/ Add-ons. As mentioned above Firefox is moving to only using WebExtensions. This can have benefits relating to speed and security over the old system.
2/ New theme. There is little official information on this.
3/ The first part of a series of major update to the gecko rendering engine. For some information on that see https://medium.com/mozilla-tech/a-quant ... b7174b3c12" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[HansV]

Thanks, Tony. We'll have to wait and see how it all works out.