64 bit Firefox and Firefox add-ons support question
Solved! (edited to add this line)
Hi all,
I have just come across the news that add-on support is going away in all versions of Firefox, and that 64-bit Firefox is going to begin life with little add-on support.
My favorite setup for Firefox has been to customize how Firefox handles History:
In Tools -> Options (Edit -> Preferences) I tell Firefox to use custom settings for history, then to remember all cookies and keep until I close Firefox.
I like to use the Cookie Monster add-on and tell it to remember cookies for certain sites. (The site uses a cookie to remember my site preferences, to keep me signed in.) It is really handy to have that Cookie Monster on my right-click menu. If I have an issue develop with the site I can tell Cookie Monster to deny cookies from this site, with option set to erase all cookies from the site while doing so, then I set again to remember cookies.
I don't have to open an options tab, I don't have to search for the site and delete its cookies.
Will the Cookie Monster be supported after 2016?
AdBlock Plus is one add-on I could not do without. It, unlike another ad blocking add-on does allow sites to run unobtrusive ads by default. The site comes to an agreement with AdBlock Plus to only run unobtrusive ads and it gets whitelisted. I have opened up a browser without ad blocking support turned on and am overwhelmed with all the ad windows.
Because my Internet speed is among the slower speeds within the broadband category, oftentimes YouTube HD videos will not run smoothly, and I will download the MP4 video from YouTube and play it in my local player. I use an add-on for this download capability.
I've found an add-on that lets me put some color and contrast in my scrollbars so I can tell them apart from the Web page.
I happened across the news about the disappearance of add-ons through my use of a 64 bit computer, when it opened an HTML file in Internet Explorer and there was no Firefox to choose from in Program Files. I had to go find the 32-bit Program Files x86 to choose Firefox.
It will be neat if I can as easily accomplish all of these goals without add-ons.
How will I be impacted come 2017?
My old Windows computer died, this is my first time using a 64 bit machine.
Modified by Linux_Mint_Firefox
Chosen solution
This Addons support was referring to Plugins and not Extensions also.
The dropping of Plugins has started in Win64 Firefox already as Win64 Firefox only has 64-bit Flash Player and Silverlight Plugins white listed to run. The 32-bit Firefox on Windows can use other Plugins.
The Firefox 47.0 Release will have changes with Plugins as only the Flash Player will be allowed to be always activate as the other plugins will be click to activate. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Firefox/Releases/47#Security
Read this answer in context 👍 2All Replies (4)
Chosen Solution
This Addons support was referring to Plugins and not Extensions also.
The dropping of Plugins has started in Win64 Firefox already as Win64 Firefox only has 64-bit Flash Player and Silverlight Plugins white listed to run. The 32-bit Firefox on Windows can use other Plugins.
The Firefox 47.0 Release will have changes with Plugins as only the Flash Player will be allowed to be always activate as the other plugins will be click to activate. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Firefox/Releases/47#Security
Modified by James
Thank you for the clarification, James! I read between the lines to include "extensions" in the plugin discussion, as apparently did some "I have this problem also" contributors.
Cheers
Thank you Cor-el for the additional information. Mainly directed at extension developers, and looking like they can support several browser makes with a minimum of coding changes. It is further proof that extensions are going to remain a part of Firefox, with a better foundation laid to avoid the landmines associated with developers' planning and Firefox development going at cross-purposes. Good work!