Yes! 64-bit Firefox for Windows on its way

[PadaV4]

Wait does this mean no Java or Unity player either? Thats bold O_o

[psm1949]

Ending I think three or four years ago, I ran 64-bit Firefox Nightlies for more than a year. My Java and pdf-reader plugins worked fine:

With 64-bit Firefox, you have to use 64-bit plugins. For example, you must install 64-bit Java. It can co-exist with 32-bit Java on your PC.

For 64-bit pdf viewing, I installed 64-bit PDF-XChange Viewer. There may now be other 64-bit readers available now.

HTH,
psm1949

[laszlo]

Okay, I didn't know they disabled practically all plugins outside flash... (For win64 only?)
Is there a way to whitelist some of them?

Wait does this mean no Java or Unity player either? Thats bold O_o

No. It's hardcoded to only see Flash.

What we want here is for the plugins to not even be detected at all, not show up in the addon manager, and not be user-enablable or even programmatically with an extension.

[ffextensionguru]

Wait does this mean no Java or Unity player either? Thats bold O_o

Looks like Chrome axed Unity Player a few months ago as well (though it appears it can be re-enabled).

http://twiik.net/articles/google-chrome ... web-player

[ffextensionguru]

No. It's hardcoded to only see Flash.

Also the two HTML5 Plugins: Prime Content Decryption & Open H264

[laszlo]

With 64-bit Firefox, you have to use 64-bit plugins.

Unfortunately, this time it's not a question of plugin bit width.

Also the two HTML5 Plugins: Prime Content Decryption & Open H264

Yes. But these two are not external plugins and have always been special; they come with the browser and can neither be set to "ask" nor de-installed, as far as I know.

[ffextensionguru]

Well, I knew I had seen somewhere recently about 'Video and Security improvements' for the Win64 version of Firefox. Turns out it was in Bug 1181014 in which Javaun Moradi [:javaun] commented in regards to where users could download the Win64 Firefox builds once released:

Just /all for Fx40. We have more security and video other improvements coming in 41 and beyond, and those are needed to make the browser safer and more usable for a more mainstream audience.

Safer and more usable for a more mainstream audience? I suppose it would be safer eliminating Silverlight and any other media plugins (though they opted to keep Flash), but I don't see that making Win64 Fx more usable. I almost get the impression they believe that the 'more mainstream audience' must not be using these video sites or may be they do and don't understand the risks they are exposing themselves to in doing so. So let's protect our users by crippling their browser and forcing them to use Internet Explorer or another browser as they may just as well assume that if the site is broke in the Win64 Fx version it is going to be as well in the 32-bit version without even trying it (even if they still happened to have the 32-bit version of Firefox installed).

[avada]

But why only win64? Makes no sense...
Also keeping flash the most flawed plugin doesn't improve the security risk... Until now I've been using win64 happily.

[patrickjdempsey]

It's likely the security patches are only needed for 64bit. It's possible there are specific problems with the plugin architecture... remember this branch has never really been actively developed on or tested until now, so there could be all kinds of lurking problems. A few years ago there were known crashers on 64-bit that didn't impact 32, which had gone unfixed.

[ffextensionguru]

It's likely the security patches are only needed for 64bit. It's possible there are specific problems with the plugin architecture... remember this branch has never really been actively developed on or tested until now, so there could be all kinds of lurking problems. A few years ago there were known crashers on 64-bit that didn't impact 32, which had gone unfixed.

I think the only reason Mozilla is trying to push out the 64-Bit Windows Firefox is 'because everyone else with Windows 10'. They'd be able to say 'We have a 64-Bit Windows Browser (that may or may not do what you want and if you want to install it, you'll need to find it first).

[Ver Greeneyes]

Regardless, I think it's good that they're officially releasing it. Even if 99% of the people using 64-bit Firefox keep using it through Waterfox and the like, at least they won't be stuck with 64-bit specific issues that Mozilla remains unaware of.

[patrickjdempsey]

Right. That's one big problem with not officially supporting it. Not testing means Mozilla had no way of knowing what kind of security risk unofficial 64-bit build users were making. If a significant number of users were running unofficial builds, that could be a serious problem for Mozilla if there was a major security issue. That's really a more tenable reason for official support than "Chrome does it".

[Omega X]

Except for the fact that they've been running tests on 64-bit Fx for years now. I think this is an excuse to tighten the grip on plugin elimination.

[ffextensionguru]

Well Comment 33 is not very encouraging

Yeah, write in the release notes that Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Magine TV,
Maxdome and an unknown number of other streaming and VOD sites worldwide will
stop working with this change. That will certainly make lots of Firefox fans
burst with joy.

[KWierso]

Well Comment 33 is not very encouraging

Yeah, write in the release notes that Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Magine TV,
Maxdome and an unknown number of other streaming and VOD sites worldwide will
stop working with this change. That will certainly make lots of Firefox fans
burst with joy.

Excitingly, Netflix plays in HTML5 just fine for me in Firefox 40 beta. Amazon Instant Video prompts me to install Silverlight, but has a link to a Flash version of their video player, which still works just fine.