Microsoft begins turning off uBlock Origin and other Manifest V2-based extensions in Edge
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Zen was amazing when they first came to light, but they keep changing how workflows work, and it destroyed the workflow I had.
For example, I am a browser minimalist. I don't need workspaces, and I don't have thousands of tabs open, because that's insane to me, personally. I now have to see the ugly Default Workspace at the top of my tab bar every time I go to open or switch tabs. This was an option before, so it was perfectly fine. They've taken that option away, which is very much not okay. Options are good. They also messed around with the New Tab icon, making it to where I couldn't move it to the bottom where I prefer it to be, instead putting it at the top, which is extra movement needed to get to the top.. They later added that back in, but again, why the fuck are you just willy nilly taking options away from people? It should just be an OPTION.
Anyway, I've had so many headaches with their approach to changing workflows that I don't even recommend it to anyone any longer. I'm sure I'm just the crazy person who wants some of the offerings, while not being FORCED to use some of the others.
To be fair it's still alpha software, things are basically guaranteed to change until they reach a stable state. I've enjoyed it so far though
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Ok maybe off topic, why does a web browser have to be one of the most complicated software artifacts on earth? So expensive to write and maintain that only a few orgs with huge developer resources can do it?
What would it look like to start from scratch with a massively simplified standard for specifying UIs, based on what we've learned works on standard browsers? A standard that a few developers could implement in a few weeks using off the shelf libraries. Rather than reimplement every bizarre historical detail in html/CSS, have a new UI layout system that's simple and consistent, and perhaps more powerful.
Probably a lot like Gemini web. No, not the AI bauble.
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The latest Edge Canary version started disabling Manifest V2-based extensions with the following message: "This extension is no longer supported. Microsoft Edge recommends that you remove it." Although the browser turns off old extensions without asking, you can still make them work by clicking "Manage extension" and toggling it back (you will have to acknowledge another prompt).
At this point, it is not entirely clear what is going on. Google started phasing out Manifest V2 extensions in June 2024, and it has a clear roadmap for the process. Microsoft's documentation, however, still says "TBD," so the exact dates are not known yet. This leads to some speculating about the situation being one of "unexpected changes" coming from Chromium. Either way, sooner or later, Microsoft will ditch MV2-based extensions, so get ready as we wait for Microsoft to shine some light on its plans.
Another thing worth noting is that the change does not appear to be affecting Edge's stable release or Beta/Dev Channels. For now, only Canary versions disable uBlock Origin and other MV2 extensions, leaving users a way to toggle them back on. Also, the uBlock Origin is still available in the Edge Add-ons store
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The latest Edge Canary version started disabling Manifest V2-based extensions with the following message: "This extension is no longer supported. Microsoft Edge recommends that you remove it." Although the browser turns off old extensions without asking, you can still make them work by clicking "Manage extension" and toggling it back (you will have to acknowledge another prompt).
At this point, it is not entirely clear what is going on. Google started phasing out Manifest V2 extensions in June 2024, and it has a clear roadmap for the process. Microsoft's documentation, however, still says "TBD," so the exact dates are not known yet. This leads to some speculating about the situation being one of "unexpected changes" coming from Chromium. Either way, sooner or later, Microsoft will ditch MV2-based extensions, so get ready as we wait for Microsoft to shine some light on its plans.
Another thing worth noting is that the change does not appear to be affecting Edge's stable release or Beta/Dev Channels. For now, only Canary versions disable uBlock Origin and other MV2 extensions, leaving users a way to toggle them back on. Also, the uBlock Origin is still available in the Edge Add-ons store
People actually use that thing?
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Mull is not maintained anymore. However there is a fork called IronFox.
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Genuine question - isn’t their terms basically “if you use these third party services you’re subject to their terms, and also were going to collect some data to see if people actually use this feature or if it’s a waste of time?”
Yup. But FUD must be pumped out.
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DivestOS has ceased maintaining Mull if I remember correctly. I use Ironfox on Android now.
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It's desktop-only right now and feels like for the foreseeable future. Firefox sync works between Zen and Firefox so you can just run Firefox or one of the Android-specific versions of Firefox that support the generic/vanilla firefox sync.
I was thinking of maybe trying it for a few specific websites that I keep persistently on since I think it may work well for that. However, I was a bit concerned that logins and stuff won't sync which might make it annoying. Having this sync seems pretty cool though, might try it out.
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BSD licensed
Ew. It ought to be AGPLv3.
(I almost just said "copyleft," but as Chromium proves, even LGPL is insufficient protection from corporate usurpation.)
An AGPL license is a verdict that the browser will not be successful.
In addition, Ladybird is under the guardianship of a non-profit organization.
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The latest Edge Canary version started disabling Manifest V2-based extensions with the following message: "This extension is no longer supported. Microsoft Edge recommends that you remove it." Although the browser turns off old extensions without asking, you can still make them work by clicking "Manage extension" and toggling it back (you will have to acknowledge another prompt).
At this point, it is not entirely clear what is going on. Google started phasing out Manifest V2 extensions in June 2024, and it has a clear roadmap for the process. Microsoft's documentation, however, still says "TBD," so the exact dates are not known yet. This leads to some speculating about the situation being one of "unexpected changes" coming from Chromium. Either way, sooner or later, Microsoft will ditch MV2-based extensions, so get ready as we wait for Microsoft to shine some light on its plans.
Another thing worth noting is that the change does not appear to be affecting Edge's stable release or Beta/Dev Channels. For now, only Canary versions disable uBlock Origin and other MV2 extensions, leaving users a way to toggle them back on. Also, the uBlock Origin is still available in the Edge Add-ons store
Me and my colleagues in tech call it the 'Granny Browser'.
Either use Firefox/UBlock Origin or Brave. Brave's native adblock is good enough you don't need add-ons.
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BSD licensed
Ew. It ought to be AGPLv3.
(I almost just said "copyleft," but as Chromium proves, even LGPL is insufficient protection from corporate usurpation.)
Huh? The goal of the chromium project was to facilitate a corporate browser in the first place. It's why they don't have a more permissive license. They want to be able to use everyone else's work if anyone forks it.
Permissive license doesn't mean that corporations suddenly get the ability to completely change existing work for the worse, or change its' license. They can bloody well do that with GPL too if they own the project including contributions, so it doesn't matter if it's BSD or GPL, the only protection that the open source users have, in any case, is that licenses can't be changed retroactively, so if Firefox, Chromium or Ladybird went completely closed source and proprietary today, we'd still have the right to use the code as it was yesterday. Permissive licenses just mean that someone somewhere can create a closed source build without the permission of the person or company who owns the project and that doesn't particularly matter for anyone using Ladybird or any future open source derivatives. Permissive licenses are useful for libraries, but also for software that could be bundled as part of a bigger solution. Maybe you want to embed a web browser in your proprietary application and don't want to use webview because its' usability differs platform to platform.
Also why AGPLv3 and not GPLv3? I don't think the "A" part is even necessary here, that's needed more for server side applications, I.e if the end user is using online without the code running on their own computer, AGPL is the one to use.
Anyway, in the modern age, (A)GPL is used by a shit ton of corporate software. Oftentimes with an (A)GPL open core and a bunch of proprietary functionality not included in the core. I should know, I work with one example on a near daily basis. This way, nobody can just take their core functionality and develop a closed source alternative, while they can sell you an enterprise license for full functionality on their "open source" software.
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Don’t forget Safari. On iOS it is the only usable browser currently with everything else just being a reskin of Safari. There are a lot of iOS users.
That is set to change but only in the European Union.
That is set to change but only in the European Union.
And I believe Mozilla isn't planning on porting proper Firefox to iOS. Chromium is more likely to come over.
If Chromium manages to take much of the market share Safari has (like if Apple decides to ever make non-safari browsers a thing outside of the EU), it's game over for browser engine diversity. Safari is currently in second place in market share behind Chrome, followed by another Chromium browser, Edge. Firefox is so low, it's a rounding error.
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Who fucking uses edge?
I like it's pdf viewer interface. It's less cluttered than Adobe, and it's markup is a little better than Firefox.
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It's not that bad yet. FF works on pretty much any site that's not demonstrating some sort of bleeding edge fuckery. I haven't seen a "best viewed in Chrome" for a decade or two.
Hopefully this sort of enshittification will drive more people to use other browsers.
I've had some mandatory training sites specifically disallow Firefox. But I've also had some that only work on Firefox, so it evens out.
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Me and my colleagues in tech call it the 'Granny Browser'.
Either use Firefox/UBlock Origin or Brave. Brave's native adblock is good enough you don't need add-ons.
I dont know why people keep recommending brave.
its a fucking scummy fucking browser that has a history of stealing money, hijacking referal codes (like honey just got in deep trouble over), installing unnecessary software without consent and more.
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Mull is not maintained anymore. However there is a fork called IronFox.
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Huh? The goal of the chromium project was to facilitate a corporate browser in the first place. It's why they don't have a more permissive license. They want to be able to use everyone else's work if anyone forks it.
Permissive license doesn't mean that corporations suddenly get the ability to completely change existing work for the worse, or change its' license. They can bloody well do that with GPL too if they own the project including contributions, so it doesn't matter if it's BSD or GPL, the only protection that the open source users have, in any case, is that licenses can't be changed retroactively, so if Firefox, Chromium or Ladybird went completely closed source and proprietary today, we'd still have the right to use the code as it was yesterday. Permissive licenses just mean that someone somewhere can create a closed source build without the permission of the person or company who owns the project and that doesn't particularly matter for anyone using Ladybird or any future open source derivatives. Permissive licenses are useful for libraries, but also for software that could be bundled as part of a bigger solution. Maybe you want to embed a web browser in your proprietary application and don't want to use webview because its' usability differs platform to platform.
Also why AGPLv3 and not GPLv3? I don't think the "A" part is even necessary here, that's needed more for server side applications, I.e if the end user is using online without the code running on their own computer, AGPL is the one to use.
Anyway, in the modern age, (A)GPL is used by a shit ton of corporate software. Oftentimes with an (A)GPL open core and a bunch of proprietary functionality not included in the core. I should know, I work with one example on a near daily basis. This way, nobody can just take their core functionality and develop a closed source alternative, while they can sell you an enterprise license for full functionality on their "open source" software.
The reason why Chromium uses LGPL is because they forked the code from Safari, which had previously forked the code from KHTML (KDE's web rendering component, used in Konqueror). The LGPL was provably insufficient to prevent corporate usurpation of the project, as a historical fact.
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I dont know why people keep recommending brave.
its a fucking scummy fucking browser that has a history of stealing money, hijacking referal codes (like honey just got in deep trouble over), installing unnecessary software without consent and more.
They really only recommend it because the average joe doesn't need to install UBO on it, I also removed it after the VPN service controversy.
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I dont know why people keep recommending brave.
its a fucking scummy fucking browser that has a history of stealing money, hijacking referal codes (like honey just got in deep trouble over), installing unnecessary software without consent and more.
Are you implying the crypto-bro browser with connections to a billionaire that runs the largest corporate intelligence agency in the world may not be the best choice of browser? That's not the sort of attitude that generates value for the shareholders.
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Fancy firefox-based browser along the lines of Arc?
Worth a look if you're a web power-user / developer sort of person
Firefox based. Interesting. Thanks for sharing. I'mma give this a try.
