Firefox Fail

image source

Late on May 3 Firefox browsers began to shut off the extensions that Firefox users had installed. Later, on May 4th, Firefox had a fix for the problem and they posted this tweet.

Firefox blocks uBlock Origin

In my case, I've been happily using the uBlock Origin ad blocker extension along with millions of other people. When this recent Firefox browser problem with add-ons hit my computer, the uBlock Origin extension was deactivated and placed in the bin for "Legacy Extensions" (see the image below).

My initial guess was that uBlock Origin had failed to keep up with the current Firefox requirements for extensions. Upon clicking on the "Find a Replacement" button, I saw that among the listed ad blocking extensions was "AdBlock for Firefox", but when I attempted to install that extension, I got an ugly red message saying "download failed" with the useless advice "check your connection".

Business as usual: the Firefox user experience, May 2, 2019

I use AdBlock on my copy of the Chrome browser. However, I seldom use Chrome. Compared to Firefox running on this computer, both Chrome and Safari are slow. The quick fix that was used to allow Firefox users to again use their extensions involved the existing "Studies" feature in Firefox. In my case, I had previously shut off the default preference for "Allow Firefox to send technical and interaction data to Mozilla".

uBlock Origin

A few minutes after activating the preference "Allow Firefox to install and run studies" (see the image above) my uBlock Origin ad blocker was up and running again. During the brief time that I was without an ad blocker, I visited a few websites (looking for an explanation for the loss of uBlock Origin as my Firefox ad blocker) and was reminded how much I rely on ad blocker software for my sanity while visiting websites. Many websites are now larded up with disgusting ads, annoying popups and assorted bits of distracting crap of a seemingly endless variety. Ew.

the current crop of "studies"

original poster

Reflection
This experience today with the Firefox browser reminded me of the constant struggle that we humans are having with computers and computerized systems in the world today. In 1964, the film Fail Safe prompted viewers to imagine that a nuclear catastrophe might be generated by a computer error. Which is more prone to errors: humans or computers and computerized systems?

I'm also reminded of Isaac Asimov's story "The Feeling of Power" (mentioned here), possibly the first science fiction story promoting the idea that humans might, in the future, choose to decrease their dependence on computers.

Next: celebrating the Sci Fi story telling of Jack Vance