The open-source browser today uses a complicated method to let people sync bookmarks, tabs, and other settings. Now Mozilla is trying a more ordinary username-password approach. February 2, 2014 10:52 PM PST Mozilla has begun testing a simpler new system for synchronizing Firefox's bookmarks, open tabs, Web site passwords, and other browser settings. Until now, the not-for-profit organization had used a complicated mechanism in which you had to type a pairing code shown on one browser into another browser. Now it's begun a shift to begun a shift to a plain old username-password approach to Firefox sync, Mozilla said Saturday. The old approach had the virtue of working without requiring Mozilla to maintain a database of its users, but it was complicated. Mozilla has lost that aversion and now offers Firefox accounts. Related stories After upgrade hiccups, Alcatel will skip Firefox OS 1.2 Mozilla: In 2014, all your hardware belongs to us Geeksphone makes the Intel switch with Revolution phone Sync has become increasingly important to browsers as people have moved from using a single PC to using multiple computers, phones, and tablets. Sync helps not just with obvious things like making sure a saved password works across multiple devices, but also subtler parts of browser like browser history so a browser can do a better job autocompleting addresses typed into the address bar. Mozilla's username-password authentication for sync is now in the Nightly version of Firefox -- the raw builds made every night with the newest updates and least testing -- and will gradually spread to the more stable versions of Firefox. "While the old version of Sync will continue to work, the latest version of Firefox doesn't support adding new devices to the old version of Sync. This means that you won't be able to sync with a new device," Mozilla explained.
The open-source browser today uses a complicated method to let people sync bookmarks, tabs, and other settings. Now Mozilla is trying a more ordinary username-password approach.
Mozilla has begun testing a simpler new system for synchronizing Firefox's bookmarks, open tabs, Web site passwords, and other browser settings.
Until now, the not-for-profit organization had used a complicated mechanism in which you had to type a pairing code shown on one browser into another browser. Now it's begun a shift to begun a shift to a plain old username-password approach to Firefox sync, Mozilla said Saturday.
The old approach had the virtue of working without requiring Mozilla to maintain a database of its users, but it was complicated. Mozilla has lost that aversion and now offers Firefox accounts.
Related stories
- After upgrade hiccups, Alcatel will skip Firefox OS 1.2
- Mozilla: In 2014, all your hardware belongs to us
- Geeksphone makes the Intel switch with Revolution phone
Sync has become increasingly important to browsers as people have moved from using a single PC to using multiple computers, phones, and tablets. Sync helps not just with obvious things like making sure a saved password works across multiple devices, but also subtler parts of browser like browser history so a browser can do a better job autocompleting addresses typed into the address bar.
Mozilla's username-password authentication for sync is now in the Nightly version of Firefox -- the raw builds made every night with the newest updates and least testing -- and will gradually spread to the more stable versions of Firefox.
"While the old version of Sync will continue to work, the latest version of Firefox doesn't support adding new devices to the old version of Sync. This means that you won't be able to sync with a new device," Mozilla explained.
