Moving away from firefox due to deprecated features
Mozilla,
After almost a decade of using your browser you have left me no choice but to uninstall Firefox and move back to Internet Explorer. I wanted to share my decision with you because perhaps other people will end up doing the same out of disappointment with your recent decisions, and I think you should know why people are choosing to move away. In my case three of your recent decisions were deal breakers from me, namely:
- Your lack of javascript support prevents me from using some of the applications that my network devices require (for example the software interface to Synology NAS, TPC Switches, etc).
- Your choice to no longer allow RoboForm to have an upper toolbar in your browser
- Your constant blocking of plugins that have been made for the browser.
You started out as a company that offered freedom to its users and out ability to do anything we wanted with your browser. You recent choices are more reminiscent of an Apple product that restricts everything than that of Netscape that allowed total freedom. In case you don't realize it, you are NOT an Apple. We have choices and I have decided to make use of my choices since you have decided to go opposite to the trend and become more restrictive.
Good luck with your recent choice. I forsee that you will loose huge amounts of marketshare, and this time it won't be because of Microsoft moves, but because YOU chose to disregard your users needs and push your own.
Bye.
Paul
All Replies (3)
Hi Paul, there's nothing support volunteers can do about the RoboForm toolbar. You certainly are not the only person who finds extra clicks annoying. For example: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1166774 -- that thread also contains feedback channels you may find more productive than this one.
On the two other points:
witschey said
- Your lack of javascript support prevents me from using some of the applications that my network devices require (for example the software interface to Synology NAS, TPC Switches, etc).
Do you mean lack of Java plugin support? Firefox 54 should run JavaScript just fine. Please feel free to elaborate on this issue.
- Your constant blocking of plugins that have been made for the browser.
Yes, the regular release of Firefox 52+ only allows one plugin, which is Flash. The Extended Support Release (ESR) of Firefox 52 will still run Java, Google Talk, and other old plugins. ESR was first developed to meet the needs of large organizations that wanted Firefox to change much more slowly, but anyone can use it. It gets security updates but no feature changes for about a year at a time.
More information on this change and ESR: Why do Java, Silverlight, Adobe Acrobat and other plugins no longer work?
Windows Users: When you get to the ESR installer list, you'll notice at least two different downloads for Windows:
- Windows installer is the standard version for Windows that runs on both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista through 10 (and 32-bit XP), the best choice for most users
- Windows 64-bit installer ONLY runs the Flash and Silverlight plugins, so that is not what you're looking for. (If someone reading this only needs Silverlight and is considering switching to 64-bit, there may be some extra file cleanup to do on your system. See: How to switch from 32-bit to 64-bit Firefox)
Thank you for your reply, but for the reasons and frustrations stated above I have uninstalled Firefox and returned to Internet Explorer.
Mozilla has lost my trust and respect and once trust is lost, it is incredibly difficult to get it back.
I have FINALLY solved my problem with Roboform. I had to reinstall my entire computer from scratch (erased entire hard drive) for it to work.
I now have Roboform version 8.3.5.5 (latest version with an upper toolbar) running with Firefox 55.0.3 in a perfectly stable way. I don't plan to upgrade my Firefox or my Roboform until an upper toolbar that meets customer needs is made available again (be it through the creativity of Roboform of through Firefox realizing that they lost all their customer base with the crappy transformation they are pushing upon us).