Firefox Extensions

[SlimSkeeter]

Source

If you ask any Firefox user why they choose this browser over the competition a large majority will say it is because of the vast array of third party extensions. Those little tweaks or add-ons that, once installed, you can never do without. Well, extensions are getting a shake up...

Mozilla has today announced 'Jetpack' - a "project to explore new ways to extend & personalize the Web." Using the company's own words: "In short, Jetpack is an API for allowing you to write Firefox add-ons using the web technologies you already know."

Specifically, Jetpack will be looking at using the likes of HTML, CSS and Javascript amongst others and should enable anyone who can build a website to build a browser extension. As an added bonus, Mozilla believes extensions built in this manner should work without requiring Firefox to restart - a major bugbear with the current system.

Why the overhaul given the success of popularity of the current system? (over one billion installs over four years). I suspect it has something to do with the impending Chrome extensions along with the increasing customization of other rivals such as Opera and Internet Explorer. Furthermore, many blame third party extensions for bloating Firefox and slowing down its performance - an aspect over which it is hoped Jetpack will command greater control.

As with all Mozilla projects Jetpack is open source and v0.1 ("unpolished, unfinished, and still highly prototyped") has been made available to developers.

It may be some time before we see Jetpack replacing the existing extensions model (Firefox 4.0 maybe?) but it certainly looks a step in the right direction...

Mozilla Jetpack introductory video


This basically means that anybody can make their own extensions for our well loved little browser. I can't wait to see what comes of this endeavor.

[CrAnIuM]

Good read sir,

Maybe this will bring a few folks over from IE.

On a related note; most military intranet systems only allow access through and via IE. This pisses me off so much so that I send a regular complaint to the sys admin of AKO.

I get the canned response of 'security, bla bla' Contracts yadda yadda.

[SlimSkeeter]

I can understand "contracts" as a reason for keeping IE as the military choice....but "security"? Are you serious? Ok, sure, Firefox is open source but IE has more holes than a cheese grater, and good god is it slow.

I did a little experiment on my own system once. Started IE and then Firefox (pointed to the same site) and set them so they were not the main window, but still visible, then sat back to watch. Firefox, even though it started seconds after IE, managed to load the page first by a considerable margin.