Mozilla wants to set Firefox as your default browser on Windows 11
Microsoft Edge has caused problems for browser makers for a long time, due to the aggressive ways that Windows 11 promotes its own browser. It is also quite difficult for users to switch to a different browser, because the option to make a third party browser as your default is buried deep in the Settings app. A few years ago, Mozilla developed a way to quickly set Firefox as the default browser. It introduced a button in the program’s Settings clicking on which would set it as the primary browser.
But this requires manual effort from the user, Mozilla wants to make this process even simpler. The company is testing a new way to set Firefox as the default browser when the user installs it. This is already available in the beta version of Firefox. When you download the beta version and run the installer, it displays a pop-up offers some options that are enabled by default. One of these options sets Firefox as the default browser, so the entire process is automated, which could be very helpful for users who are not very tech-savvy. It is a bit of a controversial move, but Microsoft isn’t playing fair either. Whether this would make its way into the stable version of Firefox remains to be seen.
Apple releases iCloud Passwords extension for Firefox
Apple has officially released an iCloud Passwords extension for Firefox. This will allow users who have an iPhone or an iPad to sync their password database with their computer, and use the browser add-on to autofill passwords securely on web forms. While this can be useful for signing in to websites quickly, Apple has not released the add-on for all desktop platforms. In what seems to be a rather puzzling strategy, the iCloud Passwords extension is not available for Windows or Linux.
It is exclusively available for macOS, specifically, the add-on is only compatible with macOS Sonoma. That means even users on macOS Ventura or Monterrey cannot use the extension. This is a bit odd, considering that the iCloud Passwords extension is available for Chrome and Edge browsers on Windows. Could the lack of support for Firefox on Windows be somehow tied to the Passwords app, which is only available for macOS, iOS and iPadOS?
Users are reporting that the add-on’s performance is sluggish, which makes this a bitter-sweet launch. Interestingly, there used to be a similar extension for Firefox, which was created by a developer called Aurélien. He says that he gave his extension to Apple willingly, without any compensation, and that the company has replaced his code with its own code from the Chrome and Edge versions. This could be why the add-on has poor performance and lacks compatibility for Firefox on Windows.
Microsoft refuses to budge from Windows 11 system requirements
Windows 11 is over three years old, but it is still far behind Windows 10 which has a significantly higher number of users. StatCounter reports that there are 61% of users on Windows 10, as opposed to just 35% of Windows 11 users. The gap between the two operating systems is largely due to the system requirements of Windows 11. Microsoft’s latest operating system requires a modern CPU and support for TPM 2.0, which many older PCs do not meet.
There are ways to bypass these requirements, including some Microsoft approved methods, to install Windows 11 on unsupported systems. These come at a cost, because Microsoft says that users who bypass the restrictions on unsupported hardware are not entitled to receive updates.
The problem is Windows 10 will be reaching its end of life support in October 2025, and millions of PCs do not meet Windows 11’s system requirements. But, Microsoft is not reducing the minimum system requirements in order to accommodate older PCs, especially those that lack support for TPM 2.0, which the company considers to be essential. This leaves users with two options, either to buy a newer PC, or upgrade the existing system with modern hardware that can support Windows 11.
Meta admits its content moderation had high error rates
Meta has admitted it made a lot of mistakes related to moderating content on its social platforms. The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, has long been accused by users for being unfair when it comes to removing posts, which in turn posed problems for free speech. This is a problem on many social networks, especially as they combat fake news. In what seems like a shocking confession, Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, admitted that the content moderation error rates are high.
Clegg acknowledged the fact that harmless content gets taken down or restricted too often, resulting in people getting penalized unfairly. He blamed the automated systems for the moderation failures. Notable incidents of these include takedown errors on Threads, and excessive removal of political speech, news and suppressed photos of Donald Trump surviving the assassination attempt earlier this year. Clegg also confirmed that the company had also acted too harshly by removing posts about the Covid-19 pandemic, but this was reportedly influenced by the Biden administration.
Meta says it will improve the precision and accuracy of its moderation in the future, by changing the rules to be more fair to its users.
Find your usage stats with Xbox 2024 Year in Review
Microsoft has launched a summary page for Xbox that lets players see their usage stats for the year 2024. The Annual Summary highlights the number of hours you put into games, your most played titles, your achievements, the friends you played with the most, and other personalized stats. You may notice that the recap page has a custom look, which is based on your most-played title. There are special recap sections for Rewards and Game Pass.
This page can help you analyze your favorite genres too, and you can use such data to potentially discover more games that you may be interested in.
Original NES Tetris launched for Nintendo Switch
Tetris is one of the most popular video games of all time, and has been remade a few times on different platforms. Do you want to play the original Tetris game that was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System? Well, you are in luck.
Nintendo has announced that NES Tetris is coming to the Switch. There is a catch, you will need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to play the classic game on your handheld. NES Tetris will be available from December 12th for subscribers.
The post December 7 Tech news roundup: iCloud Passwords extension released for Firefox, Meta admits to content moderation errors, Firefox has a plan to defeat Microsoft Edge appeared first on FileHippo News.