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Firefox Quantum and the future

Started by humbert, October 27, 2017, 05:31 AM

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humbert

For all you Firefox users, you're probably aware that FF57 will hit the streets on Nov 14, 2017. It will be called Firefox Quantum. This is not just an upgrade, it's a major rewrite. It's aging engine will be replaced completely. Not only will Quantum use multiple processes, it will also take advantage of multiple processor cores for parallel processing - something that Chrome still doesn't do.

As usual everybody is complaining about most addons being imcompatible. This is due to the fact that, on order to work with Quantum, a simple upgrade won't work -- the addon has to be rewritten from scratch. Many developers have already said they won't bother to do this an will officially cease support when Quantum is out, but others are on board and inevitably the number will increase. If anything, this is further proof that upgrades are an inevitable fact of life - either move on or the tide will sweep you away. I will upgrade the very day it's out and immediately throw out the old addons, replacing them with new ones as they appear.

I should also mention that an added benefit of Quantum and its compatible addons is that this old Firefox problem of an addon not working after an upgrade will become a thing of the past. This problem is now forever fixed.

This topic, I believe, would be a nice place for people to post and rate compatible addons as they begin to appear so we can all be aware of the latest ones that are out.

Vasudev

Quote from: humbert on October 27, 2017, 05:31 AM
For all you Firefox users, you're probably aware that FF57 will hit the streets on Nov 14, 2017. It will be called Firefox Quantum. This is not just an upgrade, it's a major rewrite. It's aging engine will be replaced completely. Not only will Quantum use multiple processes, it will also take advantage of multiple processor cores for parallel processing - something that Chrome still doesn't do.

As usual everybody is complaining about most addons being imcompatible. This is due to the fact that, on order to work with Quantum, a simple upgrade won't work -- the addon has to be rewritten from scratch. Many developers have already said they won't bother to do this an will officially cease support when Quantum is out, but others are on board and inevitably the number will increase. If anything, this is further proof that upgrades are an inevitable fact of life - either move on or the tide will sweep you away. I will upgrade the very day it's out and immediately throw out the old addons, replacing them with new ones as they appear.

I should also mention that an added benefit of Quantum and its compatible addons is that this old Firefox problem of an addon not working after an upgrade will become a thing of the past. This problem is now forever fixed.

This topic, I believe, would be a nice place for people to post and rate compatible addons as they begin to appear so we can all be aware of the latest ones that are out.
Web extensions are snappier than classic add-ons, only downside is there is no alternative for downthemall addon, which is very sad. I can say FF56 RAM usage dropped by 200MB on Web Externsion, only legacy addon is DTA. I can't find an alternative for it.

humbert

#2
Quote from: Vasudev on October 27, 2017, 11:05 AM
Web extensions are snappier than classic add-ons, only downside is there is no alternative for downthemall addon, which is very sad. I can say FF56 RAM usage dropped by 200MB on Web Externsion, only legacy addon is DTA. I can't find an alternative for it.

I installed the beta version of Quantum on Windows 7 running under Virtualbox for and it's awesome. It's fast as hell, very stable, and, as you said, it eats less RAM. Another thing I noticed: I've installed some 20 extension so far and as yet none have given me this message of having to reboot Firefox to complete the installation. Also, Flash is still supported. The player has to be downloaded and installed externally. Java and Silverlight are no longer supported, and flash is scheduled to be scrapped in 2019 (finally!).

As you know, the problem with the extensions is that they have to be re-written, not just updated. I'm also missing a few but the most important are there (Ublock Origin, Disconnect, Privacy Badger). You can bet borrowed money that, with time, more extensions will be re-written or replaced. Quantum is the future - adapt or die.

With respect to downloads, I'm thinking you're the only guy on the planet who uses Down Them All instead of IDM. Get IDM! It works like a champ and is fully compatible with Quantum. 

Vasudev

Quote from: humbert on October 29, 2017, 04:38 AM
Quote from: Vasudev on October 27, 2017, 11:05 AM
Web extensions are snappier than classic add-ons, only downside is there is no alternative for downthemall addon, which is very sad. I can say FF56 RAM usage dropped by 200MB on Web Externsion, only legacy addon is DTA. I can't find an alternative for it.

I installed the beta version of Quantum on Windows 7 running under Virtualbox for and it's awesome. It's fast as hell, very stable, and, as you said, it eats less RAM. Another thing I noticed: I've installed some 20 extension so far and as yet none have given me this message of having to reboot Firefox to complete the installation. Also, Flash is still supported. The player has to be downloaded and installed externally. Java and Silverlight are no longer supported, and flash is scheduled to be scrapped in 2019 (finally!).

As you know, the problem with the extensions is that they have to be re-written, not just updated. I'm also missing a few but the most important are there (Ublock Origin, Disconnect, Privacy Badger). You can bet borrowed money that, with time, more extensions will be re-written or replaced. Quantum is the future - adapt or die.

With respect to downloads, I'm thinking you're the only guy on the planet who uses Down Them All instead of IDM. Get IDM! It works like a champ and is fully compatible with Quantum.
I'm using 12 extension on FF56 with custom tweaks to enable Stylo and e10s on FF56 and so far it faster than chrome crapware/bloatware.
You can retire Disconnect since FF already has it built in.
I'm not the only one using DTA there are several others https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/downthemall/
I prefer cross platform compatibility. So one possible outcome would be to switch to jdownloader.

humbert

Quote from: Vasudev on October 29, 2017, 07:51 AM
I'm using 12 extension on FF56 with custom tweaks to enable Stylo and e10s on FF56 and so far it faster than chrome crapware/bloatware.

You're still on FF56? How much longer? For me FF56 was generally slow, FF57 beta is infinitely faster. Chrome isn't as bad as you think. Much of the bloat can be removed or disabled, and it's also got plenty of addons. Certainly faster than FF56, only slightly slower than FF57ß.

Quote from: Vasudev on October 29, 2017, 07:51 AM
You can retire Disconnect since FF already has it built in.

If so then why did they take the time to rewrite it to make it Quantum compatible? And why does the icon at the top continue to report it's blocking tracking attempts?

Here's another question. What password manager are you guys using? I'm using Lastpass on Chrome. There's a Lastpass beta that'll work with Quantum, but unfortunately it's buggy (doesn't save settings). All the others I've checked out are garbage and/or require an external app to be installed. Any suggestions?

Quantum, like everything else, has growing pains. I've run into quite a few addons that don't work despite the fact that their Chrome counterparts work great. As always, patience and always look ahead.

Vasudev

Quote from: humbert on October 30, 2017, 02:55 AM
Quote from: Vasudev on October 29, 2017, 07:51 AM
I'm using 12 extension on FF56 with custom tweaks to enable Stylo and e10s on FF56 and so far it faster than chrome crapware/bloatware.

You're still on FF56? How much longer? For me FF56 was generally slow, FF57 beta is infinitely faster. Chrome isn't as bad as you think. Much of the bloat can be removed or disabled, and it's also got plenty of addons. Certainly faster than FF56, only slightly slower than FF57ß.

Quote from: Vasudev on October 29, 2017, 07:51 AM
You can retire Disconnect since FF already has it built in.

If so then why did they take the time to rewrite it to make it Quantum compatible? And why does the icon at the top continue to report it's blocking tracking attempts?

Here's another question. What password manager are you guys using? I'm using Lastpass on Chrome. There's a Lastpass beta that'll work with Quantum, but unfortunately it's buggy (doesn't save settings). All the others I've checked out are garbage and/or require an external app to be installed. Any suggestions?

Quantum, like everything else, has growing pains. I've run into quite a few addons that don't work despite the fact that their Chrome counterparts work great. As always, patience and always look ahead.
Disconnect add-on embedded in FF is disabled by default and only enabled in Private browsing.
Lastpass web extension is buggy and needs 2FA every time eventhough I have ticked Trust my PC for 30 days. I contacted them and they asked me to download 4.2 from mozilla addon store development channel https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/lastpass-password-manager/versions/beta Its marked as legacy because some components use older add-on tech. In fact, Lastpass 4.x is a web extension according to their blog or forums and FF simply marks it as Legacy. I am unsure what to say.
FF56 is slower but with these tweaks you can speedup FF by 10-15%. I'd like to Chrome Store Foxified add-on because I need Chrono download manager from Chrome web Store.

humbert

So are you still running FF56 or what? I see no reason to run it unless there's an incompatible addon you very badly need. Besides, Mozilla will automatically upgrade you to 57 in another 15 days or so unless you've disabled automatic updates. I run FF57 beta and Chrome depending on what site I want to visit. Some work better with Chrome, for some reason.

Incidentally, the only addons I'm missing that still haven't been upgraded are Tab Mix Plus, Menu Wizard and Lastpass. Once those are upgraded or replaced by something else, we're all good.

humbert

So are you still running FF56 or what? I see no reason to run it unless there's an incompatible addon you very badly need. I've been running 57 beta for several days now and honestly it's rock solid. Besides, Mozilla will automatically upgrade you to 57 in another 14 days or so unless you've disabled automatic updates. I run FF57 beta and Chrome depending on what site I want to visit. Some work better with Chrome, for some reason.

Incidentally, the only addons I'm missing that still haven't been upgraded are Tab Mix Plus, Menu Wizard and Lastpass. Once those are upgraded or replaced by something else, we're all good.

Vasudev

Quote from: humbert on November 01, 2017, 04:33 AM
So are you still running FF56 or what? I see no reason to run it unless there's an incompatible addon you very badly need. I've been running 57 beta for several days now and honestly it's rock solid. Besides, Mozilla will automatically upgrade you to 57 in another 14 days or so unless you've disabled automatic updates. I run FF57 beta and Chrome depending on what site I want to visit. Some work better with Chrome, for some reason.

Incidentally, the only addons I'm missing that still haven't been upgraded are Tab Mix Plus, Menu Wizard and Lastpass. Once those are upgraded or replaced by something else, we're all good.
Still on FF56 and is definitely faster than stock FF56. I would say FF57 is faster by 30-40%. There is one or two add-on's like DTA and Translate This! that doesn't have replacement.

humbert

Quote from: Vasudev on November 01, 2017, 08:53 AM
Still on FF56 and is definitely faster than stock FF56. I would say FF57 is faster by 30-40%. There is one or two add-on's like DTA and Translate This! that doesn't have replacement.

Have the developers of these addons already officially announced there will be no rewrite? If not just keep an eye out. HTTP Everywhere [for example] was updated today, more will come.

Are you planning to disable automatic updates on FF56 so it won't upgrade you automatically on the 14th?