On: Firefox Send: Private, Encrypted File Sharing

[fefe23]

Why do the Mozilla people keep doing this sort of thing? Aren't they supposed to be making a good browser?

I remember them telling me they are now going back to their core competences. I think it was after Firefox OS failed.

Not trying to piss on anyone's parade here, just wondering how this kind of thing keeps happening. I was wondering the same thing when Mozilla added Pocket and now Cliqz to Firefox.

What is the rationale here? Do they have leftover money they need to spend before January 1st or something?

[mplewis → fefe23]

The engineers on the product are listed as two interns. There are eight people on it total, and I bet most of them aren't working on it full time. This hardly seems like a massive waste of resources.

https://testpilot.firefox.com/experiments/send

[joeframbach → mplewis]

What you're telling me is that I'll see this at the top of HN in another year as the vector of some major security breach.

[Spivak → joeframbach]

That would require people actually using it. /zing

[potch → fefe23]

Perhaps peruse this: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/mission/

Firefox is Mozilla's flagship, and the largest by far way in which we achieve our mission, but our goal is a healthy and open internet.

Additionally, this is a great way to determine whether something like this would work well as an in-browser feature, and we've built it in such a way that it works in more browsers than just Firefox on day one.

[actionscripted → potch]

> ...and we've built it in such a way that it works in more browsers than just Firefox on day one.

Sure wish other browser vendors would consider other browsers when releasing their products.

[duncan_bayne → actionscripted]

Google won't because the browser isn't their product. Your data and attention are their product, which they acquire in exchange for a free browser.

[duncan_bayne → duncan_bayne]

Unsure why this seems controversial. Google is an advertising company, not a Web browser company.

[flukus → duncan_bayne]

An advertising company with 60,000 employees whose interests overlap with this forum ;)

Most of the wealth in silicon valley comes from productizing eyeballs.

In related news, this just triggered someone into downvoting my entire post history!

[yownie → potch]

just bring back my goddamn group tabs, and no I don´t want to install an extension.

[TylerH → fefe23]

Because browsers have evolved beyond applications to serve up static web pages, and convenient features like this are a selling point. Google has created an entire "OS" ecosystem built on a port of their web browser, and they've been pushing people to use it for years. I think I'll give Firefox a pass at adding some super neat and useful features from time to time.

[Torn → TylerH]

This isn't a browser feature, it's a webapp

[wtetzner → fefe23]

Software development doesn't always (usually doesn't, in fact) work that way. After a point, throwing more money and engineers at Firefox is unlikely to speed up its pace of development, or improve its quality.

[megy → fefe23]

Exactly, a company should only do one thing, and just stick to it. Never try to expand. That worked for Apple and Microsoft and Google and Amazon.

[daveFNbuck → fefe23]

It's possible this is a test for a feature they're considering adding to the browser.

[darkhorn → fefe23]

I think this is for free advertisment.

[Crontab → fefe23]

I have to agree with your concerns. All they have to do is make a good web browser and they have the funds to do that. It concerns me that they are wasting time, energy, and money chasing rabbits.