Mozilla has been in a heated discussion with some of its users over a major change in Firefox 4 that has somewhat snuck up without warning. Firefox will be updating itself silently, without required user action. Now it appears that Mozilla may be looking for a compromise that may result in a half-baked solution that may or may not silently patch security problems in Firefox and most certainly will not upgrade your browser to the latest version.
Sometimes, the way Mozilla encourages a debate with its users can create bumps in the road ahead rather than delivering a scenario in which Firefox evolves swiftly for the better. On July 24, Mozilla confirmed within its developer newsgroup discussion that Firefox 4 will use a silent update feature, which will apply upgrades automatically. The current Firefox 4 Beta 2 includes this feature as a default setting, which, however, is blocked if an update may disable any installed add-ons.
The discussion between Firefox developers, the Firefox man in charge, Mike Beltzner, as well as users focuses on the pros and cons of silent updates as well as forced updates that will upgrade the browser whether the user likes it or not. At this time, Mozilla indicates that it will use its silent update feature only for security updates, but some still fear that updates may break their current browser and add-ons and prefer to keep control over what is running on their PC.
While the discussion may be constructive, it may not get Mozilla where it wants to be. It reveals the different philosophies and preferences of users and Mozilla will never be able to accommodate all of them. The current approach to run silent updates with an option to disable them seems reasonable, but some users still consider this move as a sneaky attempt to invade their privacy. Google, on the other side, has never given an option whether there can be forced upgrades or not. Upgrades are forced, period, and its users have never really complained. Google also pushes other major changes, such as the deletion of the http:// prefix in the URL bar in Chrome 6 without user consent and seems to be doing fine as long as it accepts user input. Flash is now part of the browser and automated update and Chrome 6 will integrate native PDF Reader updates as well.
It appears that Mozilla will not enable silent updates to major new versions of its browser, at least not with user consent. Conceivably, Mozilla will have to move from automated to silent updates, even if add-ons are now representing a roadblock to reach that goal. Eventually, it would be a great idea to take over the task to keep a browser up to date from the user. Give them an option to disable feature that updates the browser automatically and everyone should be happy.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
