Firefox 89.0 update last night and ugh!!!

[absque fenestris]

Just used a virtual MATE 20.1 as a victim: Firefox before, after and with Alpenglow.
It doesn't really want to glow - but the color scheme - especially with the Mint Forum - is really impressive.
It's roughly what I expect from a current design.








"Really impressive" and "current design" does not necessarily have to be confused with a compliment ...

[AZgl1800]

Just noticed something else that is JUST PLAIN STUPID !!!

the normal "down Arrow" that indicated the downloads, is gone, they replaced it with a stupid super thin, circle that is extremely hard to see.

what a crap load of Dung... or is it Horse Manure?

[Newmint17]

Why not try Pale Moon (running here on Mint 20.1)?

[absque fenestris]

Why not try Pale Moon (running here on Mint 20.1)?

Pale Moon is a peephole into the past. This is about tangible engagement with the present and the future.

[AZgl1800]

Why not try Pale Moon (running here on Mint 20.1)?

???????????????????????

useless IMO,
don't like it period.

If it does not work like Firefox, I won't use it.

[ajgreeny]

There have been at least two threads at Ubuntuforums about this "problem",if problem it is. See:-
https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php ... st14041685
https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php ... st14041775

I do not like all of the changes, but I already used a custom userChrome.css file from https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php ... st14041685 and have just downloaded the latest version, tweaked it a bit, and I am happy again.
You can see screenshots of my FF window, or the top of it, in those threads.

[absque fenestris]

No point debating themes I think, it's way too subjective.

I got the old big icons on the New Tab page (without the crappy grey surrounding them):
in about:config set browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.newNewtabExperience.enabled to false

Also I got the old Tab Bar back with browser.proton.enable set to false.

After mocking The Alpenglow etc., one must fairly admit that spamegg's instructions are quite sufficient to restore the usual state...

[AZgl1800]

No point debating themes I think, it's way too subjective.

I got the old big icons on the New Tab page (without the crappy grey surrounding them):
in about:config set browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.newNewtabExperience.enabled to false

Also I got the old Tab Bar back with browser.proton.enable set to false.

After mocking The Alpenglow etc., one must fairly admit that spamegg's instructions are quite sufficient to restore the usual state...

I agree,
I don't like weird themes

[AZgl1800]

I just noticed another wrinkle that makes me very unhappy.
Before FF 89, if you clicked in the Scroll Bar area anywhere the scrollbar is not, this is in FACEBOOK, okay??

the page would instantly jump to that point.
In this forum, it still does like it did.


Now, it just lethargically crawls down the page just like the ole IE in Windows, what a crock of horse dung.

[mikeflan]

Hold down Ctrl and Shift and then click on the scroll bar area. Any difference?

[AZgl1800]

Hold down Ctrl and Shift and then click on the scroll bar area. Any difference?

This is in the Notifications Scroll Bar:

Tried the shift-control-click and it did something I have never seen.

it opened up a picture of a post somewhere buried in FB, but not related to the notification.

[Grateful4Linux]

Here's another new annoyance I've seen mentioned elsewhere: when you bookmark a page and expand the box to choose where you want to save the bookmark, it wastes a large amount of vertical space displaying a preview image of the page you're on that you're bookmarking. For me it means that after every time I choose a folder for a new bookmark, I also now have to scroll the dialogue box to get to the "save" or "cancel" options. That didn't use to be the case.

Other people have complained about this new "feature" because it blocks so much of the page that they need to see in order to accurately title the page for themselves. Why do Firefox developers think we need a huge preview image of the page which we are already viewing?

[AZgl1800]

Here's another new annoyance I've seen mentioned elsewhere: when you bookmark a page and expand the box to choose where you want to save the bookmark, it wastes a large amount of vertical space displaying a preview image of the page you're on that you're bookmarking. For me it means that after every time I choose a folder for a new bookmark, I also now have to scroll the dialogue box to get to the "save" or "cancel" options. That didn't use to be the case.

Other people have complained about this new "feature" because it blocks so much of the page that they need to see in order to accurately title the page for themselves. Why do Firefox developers think we need a huge preview image of the page which we are already viewing?

Holy Cow!
that takes up half of my screen, what a piece of crap that is.

[Bob M]

Well, I’m lost, because I just opened an old Tablet which hadn’t been used since the Covert Outbreak restricted travel, and it had a big number of updates including Kernel.

All went well and end of day, nothing I can see, or use, has changed.

I post this not to be a “smart Ass” but to try and help.

My guess, the problem is a common conflict, but where?

[karlchen]

and it had a big number of updates including Kernel.
All went well and end of day, nothing I can see, or use, has changed.

Suggests that the upgrade to Firefox 89.0 has not been among your updates.
Also suggests that without knowing which LM edition precisely you use, we cannot even be sure you are not on LMDE, where FF 89.0 has not arrived, because it brings along Firefox ESR, which in turn should have been upgraded to version 78.11.0. But FFesr 78.11.0 has got the Photon UI, not the Proton UI.
So thank you for your comment, but due to missing details about your system and your received software updates, we cannot be sure that we are talking about the same thing.

[Bob M]

and it had a big number of updates including Kernel.
All went well and end of day, nothing I can see, or use, has changed.

Suggests that the upgrade to Firefox 89.0 has not been among your updates.
Also suggests that without knowing which LM edition precisely you use, we cannot even be sure you are not on LMDE, where FF 89.0 has not arrived, because it brings along Firefox ESR, which in turn should have been upgraded to version 78.11.0. But FFesr 78.11.0 has got the Photon UI, not the Proton UI.
So thank you for your comment, but due to missing details about your system and your received software updates, we cannot be sure that we are talking about the same thing.

Is this what you are looking for?

[karlchen]

Hi, Bob M.

I see that you run LM 19.3 with kernel 5.4.0-74.83. Also you have got Firefox 89.0.
Well, if you are unable to realize the visual changes from FF 88.0.1 to FF 89.0, then I wonder a bit whether your glasses need cleaning urgently.
Whether one likes or dislikes the changed UI of FF 89.0, this is a different question. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.
But I you fail to notice any differences, then this is amazing, to phrase it carefully, considering quite a few people are quite upset by the visual changes.

Cheers,
Karl

[Howard_P]

The thing I hate and would like help eliminating is the change in my up-down scroll bar. I previously had altered it so that it was wide, which I like. That alteration was done like this:

Then copy and paste the following into this gtk.css file: ~/.config/gtk-3.0/gtk.css

Code: Select all

/* Include scrollbar steppers */
.scrollbar,
scrollbar {
-GtkScrollbar-has-backward-stepper: 1;
-GtkScrollbar-has-forward-stepper: 1;
}

scrollbar button {
min-width: 20px;
min-height: 20px;
}

This set of alterations produced a nice wide scroll bar. The new version is, as I said, skinny. The alterations that I had previously made remain intact but don't seem to work any more. Other programs (Ungoogled Chromium, Thunderbird etc) remain as they were. If anyone can help with this I'd appreciate it. Thanks. -Howard

[Bob M]

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.
But I you fail to notice any differences, then this is amazing, to phrase it carefully, considering quite a few people are quite upset by the visual changes.

Cheers,
Karl

Hi Karl

I’m starting to think my lack of a problem is because all of my machines are set to their defaults just as they were immediately following installation.

The reason for that is I have no idea how to change anything and they aren’t broken so I won’t fix them.

It strikes me that the latest update may have undone any personal settings, so I can understand the dismay.

Cheers
Bob

[Aztaroth]

Hello everyone,
I was using the Flatpak version of Firefox under LMDE4 since yesterday.
The last upgrade to 89 version didn't do the job. I regularly use the zoom functions (Ctrl + or Ctrl -) to adapt my sight and the display. Some sites worked as usual, but some didn't zoom the text, only the pictures (zoom only text on or off in the preferences didn't change things).
I tried to disable the proton UI. No change.
With ESR 78 version and Tor Browser (based on ESR 78 in its last version) the zoom functions worked fine with the same sites.
I can't figure what Mozilla had in mind when doing all those drastic changes, but I decided to be drastic too : I saved my bookmarks, got rid of the flatpak version and reinstalled ESR. Everything's OK now.
Seems the Debian 'slowness' recovered some charm these days.

I also read Karlchen's assessment about ESR earlier in the topic :

Actually Firefox ESR does not really receive updates less frequently than the normal Firefox release. Only most of the Firefox ESR updates are limited to fixing newly found security vulnerabilities. But remember the "big leap forward" once a year or so.

It's obviously true, but the good part of it is that it is very visible, comparing to the normal version. So, you can use all backup procedures you require before you go for it (profiles, bookmarks, timeshift...).
IMHO, the best we can hope is kinda Open Office syndrome : a bunch of Firefox developers separating and creating a FoxFire fork (like Libre Office). But that's at least a bit speculative...