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Since Plug-ins are no longer supported when many sites still use them what is the benefit of firefox anymore?

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  • Last reply by cor-el

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Firefox made the announcement a while back it would no longer support plugins. At the time I thought that was fine, they'd have new solutions to sites that still rely on plugins and whatnot soon. To this day though I cannot use things like google hangouts. And today I could not even edit my video on youtube. So I've reached this point after using firefox for years. Perhaps even a decade at this point, I'm not sure.

What incentive do I have to keep using firefox? I need plugins, they are a necessity and many many sites still use them. Without them firefox strikes me as an inferior browser choice.

Firefox made the announcement a while back it would no longer support plugins. At the time I thought that was fine, they'd have new solutions to sites that still rely on plugins and whatnot soon. To this day though I cannot use things like google hangouts. And today I could not even edit my video on youtube. So I've reached this point after using firefox for years. Perhaps even a decade at this point, I'm not sure. What incentive do I have to keep using firefox? I need plugins, they are a necessity and many many sites still use them. Without them firefox strikes me as an inferior browser choice.

Chosen solution

No dice. But at this point I've gone back and used internet edge or whatever it's called for my purpose anyway. I'm disappointed, maybe wondering if firefox was too ahead of the curve this time. Still, if so I guess all I must do is wait for the rest of the world to catch up.

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Specifically, which plugin do you need?

YouTube was the first major site to start using HTML5 for videos to the start the transition away from Flash a few years ago,

I find it hard to believe that anything that is "Google" needs a plugin theses days. Every browser out there has already stopped using plugins (other than Flash) or doesn't play to use plugins in the near future.

AFAIK, Firefox for the first time stopped using something before other browsers did, too; but not by much time.

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I'm trying to edit a video and it says I require flash to do so. And google still uses the hangouts plugin.

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When you posted your questions, your Firefox reported that Flash 26 is installed. However, Flash sometimes needs permission to run on a site.

When you visit a site that wants to use Flash, you should see a notification icon in the address bar and usually (but not always) one of the following: a link in a black rectangle in the page or an infobar sliding down between the toolbar area and the page.

The plugin notification icon in the address bar typically looks like a small, dark gray Lego block. When the page wants to use a blocked plugin, the icon turns red to alert you to the concern.

You can click the notification icon in the address bar to check plugin permissions and allow Flash if desired. You can trust the site for the time being or permanently.


Google has promised to create a version of Hangouts that does not require the Google Talk plugin to work in Firefox, but apparently that work hasn't been completed yet? Related articles:

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Well that at least answers the hangouts question, but there is no such plugin block on youtube, it simply tells me I have no flash installed.

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Pokemonstuh said

Well that at least answers the hangouts question, but there is no such plugin block on youtube, it simply tells me I have no flash installed.

Clearly that's incorrect. Could you disable any YouTube-related extensions which might be lying to the site?

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YouTube normally uses the HTML5 media player and not the Shockwave Flash plugin unless you use an extension that force this plugin or do not have support in the HTML5 media player to play specific formats.

You can check the YouTbe test page.

You can open the YouTube test page via "About the HTML5 player" or got directly to this page.

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I've no extensions that I know of that relate to youtube.

And my issue is not with playing videos. It is using the editor.

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Pokemonstuh said

I've no extensions that I know of that relate to youtube.

There's no good reason for YouTube not to be able to detect your Flash plugin if you have Flash set either to "Always Activate" or "Ask to Activate" -- which it appears you do.

If a site is generally known to work in Firefox, these are general suggestions to try when it stops working:

Cache and Cookies: When you have a problem with one particular site, a good "first thing to try" is clearing your Firefox cache and deleting your saved cookies for the site.

(1) Clear Firefox's Cache

See: How to clear the Firefox cache

If you have a large hard drive, this might take a few minutes. If you do not see the number going down on the page, you can reload it using Ctrl+r to check progress.

(2) Remove the site's cookies (save any pending work first). While viewing a page on the site, try either:

  • right-click (on Mac Ctrl+click) a blank area of the page and choose View Page Info > Security > "View Cookies"
  • (menu bar) Tools > Page Info > Security > "View Cookies"
  • click the padlock or "i" icon in the address bar, then the ">" button, then More Information, and finally the "View Cookies" button

In the dialog that opens, the current site should be pre-filled in the search box at the top of the dialog so you can remove that site's cookies individually.

Then try reloading the page. Does that help?

Testing in Firefox's Safe Mode: In Safe Mode, Firefox temporarily deactivates extensions, hardware acceleration, and some other advanced features to help you assess whether these are causing the problem.

If Firefox is not running: Hold down the Shift key when starting Firefox.

If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
  • Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

and OK the restart.

Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).

Any improvement? (More info: Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode)

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Chosen Solution

No dice. But at this point I've gone back and used internet edge or whatever it's called for my purpose anyway. I'm disappointed, maybe wondering if firefox was too ahead of the curve this time. Still, if so I guess all I must do is wait for the rest of the world to catch up.

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Are you sure that a plugin is used?

When a plugin like Flash is used then you see a Lego block icon at the left end of the location bar. That is the only plugin that Firefox supports in current Firefox releases.

What editor do you mean?

And my issue is not with playing videos. It is using the editor.

Is this a text editor like used on this forum to write a reply?