firefox Archives

Is it the End of Adobe Flash?

Aug 2015

Many people thought Adobe’s Flash would be playing online videos forever. However, it’s now been blocked in the Firefox browser, so is it coming to an end?

Yes, Mozilla – the makers of the popular internet browser Firefox – have announced that as of the latest update (V. 18.0.0.203) they will be automatically blocking Flash from running in their browser. This comes shortly after Google announced that their Chrome browser would automatically be pausing irritating Flash videos.

Things aren’t looking good for Flash, but what are the basics behind this seemingly enforced retirement of a perennial piece of web software?

What is Flash?

Adobe Flash is a design program specially created to design online graphics, create apps and, perhaps most famously, power online videos.

The birth of Flash actually took place during the mid-1990s, but it wasn’t until 2005 that Adobe took control of the software.

And it was around this time that a new generation of exciting web sites hit the internet and ushered in an era known as Web 2.0.

The emerging websites of Web 2.0 were highly innovative and prized usability and user generated content above anything else. And what was powering these amazing websites? It was, of course, Flash.

Problems with Flash

Flash, however, now finds itself in a precarious position where big players in the online arena appear to be trying to force it out of existence.

But why is this? What exactly is Flash struggling to cope with in the modern age?

Security Issues – Perhaps the biggest nail in Flash’s coffin has been Adobe’s inability to create a safe piece of software. Riddled with security flaws, Adobe has been accused of failing to protect its users from security attacks. Only recently, the Hacking Team spyware company lost a huge 400gb worth of files thanks to a Flash vulnerability.

The Rise of Mobile Devices – Mobile device internet usage is now outstripping desktop internet usage, but Adobe has failed to adapt to this new digital landscape. Steve Jobs – the godfather of mobile devices – famously refused to accept Flash as part of Apple’s iOS as it was too power hungry, unreliable and constantly crashing.

HTML5 – What Steve Jobs was backing was a new update of the HTML web programming language called HTML5. And this language was especially designed with mobile devices in mind, so programmers rapidly shifted from the headaches of coding in Flash to HTML5. This is why YouTube, for so long the great backers of Flash, have shifted to HTML5 as their preferred video delivery system.

Is It Game over for Flash?

Mozilla’s dramatic move isn’t actually an outright blocking of Flash. Mark Schmidt of Mozilla has confirmed that this is only a temporary blocking until Adobe can prove that Flash isn’t infested with security bugs.

However, it certainly feels as though Flash is on the ropes with the increasingly powerful HTML5 language outperforming it in almost every area. Maybe it’s time for Adobe to accept that technology has moved on and Flash should be discarded as a relic of times gone by.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

The Declining Firefox Market Share

Office ITbrowser, firefoxOphtek, LLC

May 2015

Is Firefox as popular as it used to be? A decline in the Firefox market share has proven its loss of user share. Learn why by reading our overview here.

Browsers take long-term data statistics very seriously, as it is a measure of their success in the internet browser market. The popular and widely used browsers today are considered to be Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera.

In the past year, Mozilla Firefox’s desktop user share has dropped by a significant 34% and since April 2010, dropped down to a total of 54%.

In recent months and years, Mozilla’s Firefox has continued to lose user share due to other widely used internet browsers gaining popularity. The Firefox browser has dropped to the lowest numbers in the browser market share since its initial release back in 2004 when Internet Explorer had already captured most of browser market.

Less people are using the Firefox browser and they’re increasingly reporting issues related to its use. For instance, there are now fewer browser users discussing bugs and fixes on blogs and forums than ever before. This has led to more problems for Mozilla Firefox.

The rise and fall of user share

Browser wars as depicted by Galit Weisberg.

Let’s look at the rise and fall of user share regarding Mozilla Firefox browser and compare it to other popular browsers.

February saw Mozilla Firefox’s user share on desktop platforms to be down to 18.2%, which was down half a percentage from the previous month.

According to Computerworld, if the trend of losing market share continues at the same rate, this could mean that Firefox would go under 8% by this coming October based on both mobile and desktop users being at a low 9.8%, which is 3.4% down from when they first recorded statistics in July 2014.

Mobile Device Browsers

Since the introduction of smartphones that have been made widely available to the consumer market, users are also accessing the internet on their mobile devices. The drop in user share for Firefox appears to correlate with the increased use of mobile devices. Not even their combined numbers of desktop and mobile device users can make up for this loss in market share.

This is despite having a mobile web browser available on smartphone devices, such as for Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android devices.

According to Computerworld’s records, February’s mobile share usage was less than seven-tenths of 1%. Google’s Chrome browser has been the biggest beneficiary of the loss of user share suffered by Firefox.

With Chrome being a popular browser choice on mobile platforms, this has helped their share flourish on the overall market. According to Net Applications’ statistics, Chrome along with the former Android browsers it has replaced, takes up a massive share of the market with 41.5%.

Mozilla committed to evolve their services

As Mozilla is focusing on their cloud service to offer an improved browsing experience for mobile and desktop browser users. They have also signed a five year contract with Yahoo to make its search engine a default one for Firefox browser in the United States.

In regards to a snapshot of the current market share for browsers, the order of popularity from highest to lowest includes Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Opera.

For more information on Cloud services and flexible IT solutions, contact your local IT professionals.

How To Fix: Browser stuck on a New Tab

Softwarechrome, firefox, internet explorer, New Tab, WindowsOphtek, LLC

Apr 2014

Typical Chrome New Tab page

If your browser cannot leave a new tab page such as the Chrome one shown above and cannot navigate to another web page, here are a few possible remedies.

First, check if the keyboard or mouse is the issue.

Check if the backspace or other key is stuck. If that is the case, try to raise the key. Failing that, unplug the mouse and keyboard and see if the problem persists. Perhaps a key or short cut is being repeatedly triggered without the user’s knowledge. This can be confirmed by using a different keyboard or mouse.

Second, if it’s an issue with the browser

Other than Internet Explorer, you should save bookmarks into an html file then uninstall the browser thoroughly with an uninstaller tool such as Revo or from the Windows Control Panel. Reinstall the browser and see if the browser still freezes on the new tab page.

Internet Explorer is integrated with the Windows installation and cannot be simply uninstalled. For IE, after backing up desired new settings, configurations, and files, perform a system restore. Restore Windows to the last remembered time that the browser did not experience the new tab persistence problem.

For more tips or advice on troubleshooting common software issues, contact your local IT professionals.

Chrome is Number One, and For Good Reasons

Security, Softwarebrowser, chrome, firefox, google, internet explorer, microsoft, mozilla, securityOphtek, LLC

Jan 2014

Browser share according to W3Counter

The debate about which internet browser is the best has essentially ended. Personal preferences aside, the consensus among most casual users as well as developers is that Chrome, the Google-backed browser, is number one (for the time being).

Why should you pick Chrome over all other browsers? First and foremost, let’s consider the fact that the browser is constantly being revamped and tweaked by a huge community of developers worldwide. Google gave developers the source code for Chrome back in 2008. Since then, the open source Chomium project has thrived, leading to a robust and constantly updated browser.

A Think Tank is Better Than One Einstein

AdBlock can be easily integrated into Chrome

What it comes down to is this, Google is allowing outside developers to tinker with Chrome. Among some of the crucial benefits resulting from the open collaboration of many brilliant minds are these:

Exceptional security measures as developers are constantly debugging and patching up vulnerabilities
Add-ons built around the Chrome browser allows for a highly customizable surfing experience. For instance, the adblock plugin lets surfers select which site is allowed to have ads or popups.
Convenience. Users can sync their browsing history, usernames, passwords, and etc. across multiple platforms. By simply logging into one’s Google account, he/she can have access to all his past browsing history, and save his present browsing experience for future syncing on other platforms.

It Can Always Be Better

Google, with its involvement in adding parts to the Internet of Things (IoT), has greatly improved the browsing experience for most average internet surfers. Much of the work done in the development of Chrome (past, present, and future) ultimately serves as medium for Google to grow and profit. However, Google is taking input from outside developers, and thus it has given the search giant an edge in the browser war over its competitors like Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox.

Although Chrome is an exceptional browser for almost everyone and every purpose, a tool for surfing the internet is only a piece of the personal computing experience. Chrome users will still need to consider what other tools will complement the browser, so that surfing the Internet becomes as secure as possible.

For more ideas and tips on staying safe and secure online, contact your office IT professionals.

Tag Archives: firefox