Mozilla Launches AI Window for Firefox (mozilla.org) 42
Mozilla announced on Thursday that it is building an AI Window for Firefox, a new opt-in browsing mode that will let users interact with an AI assistant and chatbot. The feature will become one of three browsing experiences in Firefox alongside the existing classic and private windows. Users will be able to select which AI model they want to use in the AI Window, according to a post on the Mozilla Connect forum.
The company opened a waitlist for users who want to receive updates and be among the first to test the feature. Mozilla described the AI Window as an "intelligent and user-controlled space" that it is developing in the open through community feedback. Users who try the feature and decide against it can switch it off entirely.
The company opened a waitlist for users who want to receive updates and be among the first to test the feature. Mozilla described the AI Window as an "intelligent and user-controlled space" that it is developing in the open through community feedback. Users who try the feature and decide against it can switch it off entirely.
A waitlist? (Score:5, Funny)
Whoever signed up for that list should get perma banned from running Firefox.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
This desire to tell people "fuck you, I got mine" is incredibly damaging.
You and me are fine with current browsing. A lot of people would like AI assist. Let them have it. Freedom to choose what you want is good.
Re:A waitlist? (Score:5, Insightful)
This desire to tell people "fuck you, I got mine" is incredibly damaging.
You and me are fine with current browsing. A lot of people would like AI assist. Let them have it. Freedom to choose what you want is good.
We're fast approaching a point where AI and good can no longer be associated with one another. We're having it crammed down our throats from every direction, and there are a lot of us that aren't at all interested, yet get forced to use it at jobs, or because we haven't managed to escape a bit of software that has decided to push AI on us at all costs. When that happens with other things, forcing someone to do something against their will, we call it hostility. Why is it *NOT* considered hostility when it's AI being forced on us from the tech companies?
Opt out where you can (Score:2)
Agree with Luckyo here. Opt out of AI use where you can if you want to.
Use AI in small constrained doses where needed.
And, hopefully, there will be an Office 365 "This is partly or entirely AI generated" banner at the top of AI assisted emails, word documents, teams messages, etc.
And Wall of AI Text (WAIT /s) will be apparent and expect younger workers to respond with "tl;dr;ai" to messages.to force a change.
Think about reading or having to watch a "3 things in 3 minutes" motivational poster "content" fro
Re:A waitlist? (Score:5, Insightful)
A lot of people would like AI assist.
*Citation needed.
Re: A waitlist? (Score:2)
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Marketing say so! They would never lie.
Mozilla keeps thinking that they can make Firefox popular without the nerds somehow. But all the shit that makes it better than other browsers is nerd shit, so they need nerds to advocate for it, teach other users how to use those features, etc. Meanwhile they seem to actually be trying to alienate us. Just like in the movie, here it the pulse, and here is their finger, far from the pulse, jammed up their ass. Pretzel?
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It's not about "fuck you got mine" it's about "please don't shit where we eat."
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No one is shitting where "we" eat because there's no "we" in this case.
We're in different rooms. I get my configuration, you get yours, and whoever wants AI browsing gets his or hers. What they do in their room is their business.
Get out of other people's homes and stop telling them what browser configuration they should be using there. You make google and microsoft looks positively nice in comparison.
Stop calling it Firefox (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Stop calling it Firefox (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes. Build it for speed standards and security. Leave everything else to extensions.
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I think Mozilla is just hedging their bets.
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I can think of a few that did, with similar results. Chasing fads is not a guarantee of success. Quite the opposite, as it happens.
Re:Stop calling it Firefox (Score:4, Insightful)
a new opt-in browsing mode
So don't opt in, it's that fucking simple.
As for me, no way am I going to activate this.
Pale Moon [palemoon.org] probably won't bother either.
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I don't want anything in the browser that I have to worry about whether it's turned on and spying on me or not.
Anything like that should be an add-on so it can be not just disabled but removed (assuming it's shipped with the browser.)
My pet Firefox peeve is with mobile. It's shitty and getting shittier. Not only does it have a javascript-related memory leak they haven't bothered to fix for many years, but now it's hanging when trying to upload images. It works once or twice and then on the third try the bro
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>"It's no longer the Firefox that I knew in 2004"
I would hope not. If it were, it would lack a hell of a lot of useful improvements, including new standards, performance, etc.
>''it's just AI this and sponsored tab that. It's proof that open source can be enshittified."
Um, it is an optional browsing mode. You don't have to use it. You can probably even disable it so you don't see it. I am not a fan of all this AI stuff, and it doesn't bother me. Mozilla/Firefox isn't "going AI", it is just a mode
And yet (Score:5, Insightful)
Still no button to turn off all notifications of updates. Something so simple which Firefox used to have is now a distant memory.
And yes, I will bring this up in every Firefox article. No, I don't want to hear how I can make changes somewhere deep in the settings. They had it for 15+ years. Considering all the time and effort they're putting into this stuff, they can put it back.
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Same for scrollbar width. Can't even fix that with a setting reliably, have to edit a file.
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You can change the scrollbar width in Firefox by entering about:config in the address bar and changing widget.non-native-theme.scrollbar.style to 4.
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You can change the scrollbar width in Firefox by entering about:config in the address bar and changing widget.non-native-theme.scrollbar.style to 4.
False, I just did this and it did nothing.
Re: (Score:2)
widget.non-native-theme.scrollbar.size.override = width
widget.non-native-theme.scrollbar.size.override = 0 to 8 or something (choosing styles that should resemble Windows, Gnome, Android, etc. but all have the same flat style)
widget.non-native-theme.gtk.scrollbar.round-thumb = true/false
widget.gtk.overlay-scrollbars.enabled = true/false
ui.themedScrollbar = hexcolor
ui.themedScrollbarInactive = hexcolor
ui.themedScrollbarThumb = hexcolor
ui.themedScrollbarThumbHover = hexcolor
ui.themedScrollbarThumbInactive
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I'm okay with it being buried deep in the settings. It needs to be harder than just a checkbox, because bitter experience has shown that otherwise people just don't install updates. Then they get hacked and become part of a botnet that attacks you.
I can live with an extremely mild annoyance if it means a huge reduction in exploits of people's browsers.
Bad strategic move (Score:5, Insightful)
AI making you dumber has made it to comedy punchline status, I've seen it several times now on late night tv.
Also seen, mainstream press articles showing up saying women are shunning men who use GPT to write their love letters.
Gee, I wonder why?
Anyways, it's common knowledge now that if you use AI
So, missed opportunity there for Firefox.
How much more "AI" do we need in Firefox? (Score:2)
This seems rather redundant with the AI Sidebar feature they already have. I can interact with a chatbot whenever I want with their existing tool. I guess the difference here is the AI will be watching the browsing to assist you further? Funny how we went to fearing third-party cookies and cross-site scripting to asking a third-party to shoulder surf while we use the Internet.
Also curious what Mozilla as a company is going to focus on after this. Doesn't seem like there is much more AI they can distract the
Mozilla won't ever do that. (Score:2)
Politics is more important than code quality, and while it's a non-profit that doesn't make it unprofitable to senior leadership.
There is no incentive to improve Mozilla whose revenue is not tied to performance.
Part why I am experimenting with Basilisk (Score:3)
(sigh) Another "feature" to disable and not use. (Score:4, Insightful)
Mozilla Launches AI Window for Firefox
And... this would enhance my *browsing* experience how?
Instant uninstall (Score:2)
Anything that ships AI bundled with it won't ever make it onto my desktop. Do you think it would only be active if you used that dedicated AI tab? Of course not. It'd be running in the background at all times, analysis your harddrive under the pretext of being ready IF you needed all the information, but what it'll really be doing is selling even more of your personal data.
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Anything that ships AI bundled with it won't ever make it onto my desktop."
This isn't "bundling AI", it is just offering an option to hook into your choice of AI engine, if you want to use it.
>"Do you think it would only be active if you used that dedicated AI tab? Of course not. It'd be running in the background at all times, analysis your harddrive under the pretext of being ready IF you needed all the information, but what it'll really be doing is selling even more of your personal data."
I seriously d
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Liar.
Nope (Score:2)
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Their models (for link summary, the sidebar only accesses remote sites) are downloaded on demand. If it is wasting your disk space, then because you activated it yourself.
Meanwhile no WebUsb (Score:1)
Waitlist? (Score:2)
Since when does a Open Source Software need a waitlist? Just put some nightly builds with it on your Fileserver.
I wan to know why. (Score:2)