July 2015

Using Maildir Mailbox Feature in Thunderbird

Also introduced in Thunderbird 38 (38.0.1) was the ability to use Maildir mailbox format. Like OAuth2, this too has not been very well documented. I have no idea what this does or why you would want to use it. Further, I have not tried it, especially after I found this information on the Mozilla Wiki with the warning about enabling said feature: Though, we aren’t sure of the side-effects of using maildir as the default store on a profile that was created on Berkeley mailbox(mbox) format; so we suggest you to create a fresh profile to work with maildir so as to avoid…

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Using OAuth2 for Gmail in Thunderbird

When Mozilla released Thunderbird 38 (38.0.1) on June 11th one of the new features was being able to use GMail within Thunderbird without having to go into your GMail account and enable the ‘less secure authentication’.  Problem is, how to enable this feature in Thunderbird is poorly documented. After some searching, I found the answer in an unlikely place…the comments on the article from The Mozilla Thunderbird Blog announcing Thunderbird 38: In an existing GMail account, you can switch the “Authentication Method” from “Normal Password” to “Oauth2″ (in both the IMAP and SMTP setup separately). Connection security should be SSL/TLS. If…

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UI Changes Coming Firefox 40 Windows 10 Only

Once again Mozilla is fiddling with Firefox’s UI with Firefox 40 due for release on August 11th. However, it will only affect Windows 10 with this release (Firefox will auto-detect if it is being run on Windows 10 and apply this theme). Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 will be getting the theme updates in a later version. With Firefox 40 on Windows 10…we’ve matched the tabstrip and toolbar to the native Windows 10 theme. This includes refinements to our standard icon set, as well as much improved HiDPI (>1dppx) support. All of our first-tier icons now have 2× variants that are…

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Extension Signing and Firefox for Android

The Mozilla Add-ons Blog has confirmed extension signing will be implemented in Firefox 40 for Android as well. Further, the ‘enforcement’ schedule will follow that of the desktop Firefox version. Automatic signing for Firefox for Android Add-ons hosted on AMO will begin soon.

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Mozilla Addresses Default Browser Changes in Windows 10

Recently it has been revealed Windows 10 changes the way users can set the default browser. Furthermore, when users upgrade to Windows 10 Microsoft’s Edge browser becomes the default browser. If you trying to make Firefox your default browser from within Firefox (Tools > Options > General Tab > Make Default) you will get this unfriendly message: Windows 10 does not allow a browser to set itself as default browser. Microsoft has taken away the API functionality of a browser to make itself the default browser in Windows 10. Trying to set the default browser the traditional method give this annoying pop-up which…

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Default Browser Changes with Windows 10

Less than two weeks away now from Windows 10 release and new details  keep trickling in. A major detail that recently has been revealed is the way Windows 10 handles default browser. Even before I get into that, it is important to know that when you upgrade to Windows 10, Microsoft’s Edge browser becomes your default browser. Okay, so just go into the browser you normally use and choose the option to make it default browser, right? Wrong! Microsoft has taken away the API functionality of a browser to make itself the default browser in Windows 10. Windows 10 does not allow a browser…

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The 2015 Firefox Trifecta

In many ways I hope I am wrong about this. Firefox is still a good browser (compared to Internet Explorer at least), but the Mozilla Developers continue to be indifferent towards the users. They have also deviated away from the original goals of keeping Firefox as small and lean as possible. In 2014, Firefox saw a drop in user base when the dramatic (and unwanted) user interface change known as Australia’s landed. Though most, if not all the changes made by this could be undone with The Classic Theme Restorer (CTR) add-on. Fastforward a year later and Mozilla Developers are still doing…

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You MUST keep Windows 10 updated…or else!

So, Microsoft has indicated in the Windows 10 EULA: “The software periodically checks for system and app updates, and downloads and installs them for you. You may obtain updates only from Microsoft or authorized sources, and Microsoft may need to update your system to provide you with those updates. By accepting this agreement, you agree to receive these types of automatic updates without any additional notice.” May be this not a bad thing as many of the computer problems that come up are from unpatched computers. However, there has been numerous occasions where a Windows update (especially for third party…

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HTML5 Firefox Plugins

With all the talk recently about the exploits in Flash and Java, users are taking a closer look at their Firefox plugins. A couple plugins users may come across that look a little odd are the ones which provide HTML5 support in Firefox. Now remember, HTML5 Video is suppose to someday replace Adobe’s Flash (for the most part YouTube has been using HTML5 since early this year) and Microsoft’s Silverlight (no longer supported, but still used). These plugins are: Open H.264 Video Codec provided by Cisco Systems – shipped starting with Firefox 33 and allows playing of H.264 encoded content natively via…

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Anything and everything about Extension Signing

Like it or not, Extension Signing starts with Firefox 40 (coming August 2015). The Mozilla Wiki has quite a bit of information about extension signing. Signing will be done through addons.mozilla.org (AMO) and will be mandatory for all extensions, regardless of where they are hosted. Here is a timeline of when and how Extension Signing is going to be enforced: Firefox 40: Firefox warns about signatures but doesn’t enforce them. Firefox 41: Firefox will have a preference that allows signature enforcement to be disabled. Firefox 42: Release and Beta versions of Firefox will not allow unsigned extensions to be installed, with no…

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