FF is technically backed by GOOGLE advert money.
Mozilla is shutting down Pocket, their read-it-later and content discovery app, and Fakespot, their browser extension that analyzes the authenticity of online product reviews.
Submitted 11 months ago by Pro@programming.dev to technology@lemmy.world
https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/building-whats-next/
Comments
Ledericas@lemm.ee 11 months ago
Zacryon@feddit.org 11 months ago
Taking evil Google money to make something good out of it seems fair enough.
interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml 11 months ago
My LLM says this is what’s known as a “MORAL HAZARD”
TAG@lemmy.world 11 months ago
As an occasional user, I am sad to see it go. Are there any other sites out there to maintain a list of links that I may find useful in the future?
JackbyDev@programming.dev 11 months ago
Synced bookmarks. You’ll be happy to learn that this is also a feature Firefox offers.
TAG@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I don’t want to sync my bookmarks. The sites I want bookmarked on my desktop are not the same as the sites I want bookmarked on my phone nor the sites I want bookmarked on my work laptop.
drmoose@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Bookmarks can do all that already or am I missing something?
sundray@lemmus.org 11 months ago
Pocket can save the content of an article without the formatting and ads, which you can then download to Pocket’s app for offline reading.
mp3@lemmy.ca 11 months ago
I use Inoreader as my RSS feed reader and it has a section to save webpages in a similar fashion.
RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
Never used pocket, how does this differ from just having a bookmarks folder called “stuff to read while you’re taking a shit”?
dantheclamman@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Pocket saved an offline searchable archive of all of the article text. Multiple times I found articles I saved that were no longer online. So no, it’s not the same as bookmarks
zeppo@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I don’t save stuff with it but I read the articles that come up on desktop. so it’s kinda like a community, subreddit, rss feed, whatever
Alaknar@lemm.ee 11 months ago
The difference is in convenience.
On the one hand, you can add a page to your bookmarks, after choosing the correct folder, of course.
On the other hand, you can click a button and a page gets automatically saved in your “read later” storage, with a description, summary, and a preview of the content.
snekkysnake@sopuli.xyz 11 months ago
Before pocket I was using instapaper, seems like it’s still around. Bit of a shame about pocket, it’s pretty useful
Madbrad200@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
i literally JUST installed fakespot lol
aesthelete@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Everything good to halfway decent must die on the alter of cost cuts, but nevermind everyone investing all of the savings on dubious junk like AI.
lambalicious@lemmy.sdf.org 11 months ago
The Distilled announcement post says the company made the choice to shut down these products because “it’s imperative we focus our efforts on Firefox and building new solutions that give you real choice, control and peace of mind online.” It also says the choice will allow Mozilla to “shape the next era of the internet – with tools like vertical tabs, smart search and more AI-powered features on the way.” Which is what everyone wants: more AI bloat in their browsers.
(The monkey paw turns, and) we got our wish.
We did, internet! We killed Pocket!
Fizz@lemmy.nz 11 months ago
I wanted to like pocket but the articles were such useless slop crap. I feel bad for writers who actually have a passion for the craft but end up sitting down and shitting out low quality popsci articles all day.
52fighters@lemmy.sdf.org 11 months ago
Owning things like Pocket is fine as long as each product stands on it’s own. Melding them together is what upsets their user base.
01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 11 months ago
100%. And companies don’t seem to realize this. I’ll use fakespot, but there is absolutely no use for it to be an inbrowser app, and the fact that it suggests (pushes) the idea each time I use the website is just maddening. That said, I appreciate that service.
Pocket can stay or leave. I don’t care one way or the other. I never understood its usecase.
Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I never understood its usecase.
I used to use it when I was browsing the web at work. If I was reading something at the end of the day, or if it was something I didn’t want to read at work, I’d give it a pocket bookmark. Then I could pull out my phone and finish right where I left off during my train commute.
RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
the fact that it suggests (pushes) the idea each time I use the website is just maddening
I don’t think I’ve ever seen this suggestion. IDK where I clicked “STFU” but I only ever remember seeing something about it once.
k0e3@lemmy.ca 11 months ago
I wanted to like pocket, but I never really understood the point of it when I was already using Reddit or Google News to curate what I liked to read about. Was it more privacy oriented?
embed_me@programming.dev 11 months ago
I found that articles in pocket were actually well written and didn’t make you pull your hairs out
Grimy@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I hated it at first but then I started to leave pocket on and click links every now and then since I figured they got revenue out of it. I don’t use it often but its a shame to see it go now that I kind of like it.
Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 months ago
Good. I never trusted those integrated apps and thought of them as spyware. Mozilla should go back to focusing on making a lean browser and whatever apps they want to offer should be optional instead of hard coded into their flagship product.
Empricorn@feddit.nl 11 months ago
To be fair, I think they both existed as separate products first, before Mozilla bought them. I used both, but they should have never been integrated as a part of a browser…
PTSDwarrior@lemmy.ml 11 months ago
Well, I guess I’m getting the opera or Vivaldi app, whatever that browser out of Europe is called. Or is it Brave or something, I forget.
arararagi@ani.social 11 months ago
Welp, guess I better start up the calibre extension to send pocket articles as a file for ebook readers.
raptore39@lemm.ee 11 months ago
How about Firefox syncing collections between mobile and desktop? Then we wouldn’t NEED Pocket to begin with! 🤷
Buelldozer@lemmy.today 11 months ago
Uhhhh, mine does. Why doesn’t yours?
raptore39@lemm.ee 11 months ago
In the mobile app, tapping the three dots gets you a “save to collection” option. Where do you find it on the desktop then?
kratoz29@lemm.ee 11 months ago
Wait, I didn’t know Mozilla actually owned Pocket, I thought they just had a partnership or something…
I used to main Pocket back in the days when I had an iPod Touch 4G and older iPhone models, nowadays… It is storing articles from those days that I bet I haven’t gotten to read 😂
Man, one gets a backlog of everything these days.
Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 months ago
I’m already on my second ‘Watch Later’ playliat on YT.
kratoz29@lemm.ee 11 months ago
How does a second Watch Later playlist work?
Squizzy@lemmy.world 11 months ago
But it doesnt even remove them atomatically when you do, so when I am stuck and go there its full of things I did watch!
And double full of suff I will never.
turkalino@lemmy.yachts 11 months ago
I never used Pocket itself, but I do like having the grid of news articles on the new tab page, which I believe is powered by Pocket in some shape or form. Anyone know if that feature is going away too?
0xD@infosec.pub 11 months ago
It’s just a fancy history, it has nothing to do with pocket.
dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Pocket absolutely would suggest you articles (and ads) by default unless you explicitly told it not to in your settings. This is separate from the tiles of frequently visited pages from your history.
The second slider down is your history/pinned shortcuts on the home screen. The third one is recommended junk, “Powered by Pocket.”
More info on that here, for however long this will do anyone any good:
Artopal@lemmy.ml 11 months ago
I use Pocket since before Mozilla bought it. In combination with my kobo ereader, it changed the way I read the Internet for the better. Self hosting is no option for me and as far as I know Pocket was the best free read-it-later service. And the only one that worked seamless with Kobo. I really hope Rakuten buys it.
Blackmist@feddit.uk 11 months ago
The fuck is a “read it later” service? Bookmarks?
mp3@lemmy.ca 11 months ago
It also stripped the webpage to make it readable and mostly distraction-free, plus sombre services will also include tag suggestions to more easily find it later.
I used Pocket on my Kobo to read articles I saved, much easier to focus on the content and easy on the eyes with the eInk display.
Artopal@lemmy.ml 11 months ago
Oh, you are missing so much…
JaymesRS@literature.cafe 11 months ago
Can you pull up a bookmarked item to read when you don’t have an active network connection? If yes, that’s a “read it later” service. If no, then that’s why they are useful.
blackbirdbiryani@lemmy.world 11 months ago
It’s significantly more accessible than trying to sync bookmarks with an Ereader’s shitty browser
WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
I really hope Rakuten buys it.
why do you think they won’t enshittify it? they own viber, see what they did there. ads all over the app, some in channels you can’t disable. once it asked me about the data collection I allow, I had to manually disable it with dozens of toggles for all their “business partners”, and it took at least half an hour.
Artopal@lemmy.ml 11 months ago
I don’t know what viber is. I also don’t think they won’t enshittify it. I just hope to buy more time until a similar service or technology appears.
ilinamorato@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Mozilla! Stop doing stupid stuff!
DoucheBagMcSwag@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 months ago
Mozilla shouldn’t have bought FakeSpot
cley_faye@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Shutting down two things that had no business being built in their browser, to replace them with more stuff that have no business being built in their browser.
Mozilla really embraced the “corporation must corporate” motto.
WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
to replace them with more stuff that have no business being built in their browser.
what stuff do you mean? I mean, certainly not vertical tabs because they are useful, lots of firefox users like it. not me, but the world does not revolve around me, so…
cley_faye@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I’ll grant you vertical tabs. Unfortunately, the new focus of Mozilla is AI everywhere and advertisement, so I’m mildly concerned.
lime@feddit.nu 11 months ago
was fakespot ever available outside the us?
Majestic@lemmy.ml 11 months ago
Never cared for pocket and always disabled it as spyware. Fake spot will be missed though.
This is an ill omen however. They’re cutting back dramatically in anticipation of their Google funding being lost forever and perhaps as some suggest in anticipation of enshitifying. These were both sold originally as additional revenue streams for Mozilla.
zeppo@lemmy.world 11 months ago
they’re focusing on AI instead, it seems
sheogorath@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I used to use it before it got acquired by Firefox to store my read it later list.
cecilkorik@lemmy.ca 11 months ago
Why don’t they just open it up to let people run their own Pocket services? The usual “proprietary code” excuses make no sense for an organization like Mozilla and it’s being end of lifed anyway. Just dump it on a repo somewhere and let people hack on it if they want to. Why isn’t this part of the sunsetting plan?
lime@feddit.nu 11 months ago
code has been open for about 10 years. it was a binary blob to begin with but nowadays it’s all here
cecilkorik@lemmy.ca 11 months ago
Fair enough, last I heard it wasn’t, and they certainly continue to talk like it isn’t. It feels like maybe the shutdown post might’ve been a good place to try to spread some awareness of this fact as it might be something people losing access to the service might be interested in.
toastmeister@lemmy.ca 11 months ago
They’re likely moving to focus on Thundermail.com, VPN, calendar, private cloud storage, etc… Like Proton Mail does.
dorumon@lemm.ee 11 months ago
Oh fuck the Kobo reader suddenly became more useless now.
the_riviera_kid@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Well no one fucking likes or asked for pocket so good riddance.
ilinamorato@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Well, now you know otherwise. I use it daily.
GasMaskedLunatic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 months ago
Good. I’ve been disabling this shit in about:config for one decade too many.
noodlejetski@lemm.ee 11 months ago
bUt iT’S jUSt bOoKmARkS
- people who are privileged enough to never have experienced multiple days without an internet connection.
it’s a shame to see it go, it’s been the first read-it-later service that I was aware of and used. I’ve moved away to Omnivore (RIP) and then Wallabag (wallabag.it for 11€/year, but you can self-host it or find someone else to host it for you for a lower fee), but I’ve still been thinking fondly of it, despite Mozilla clearly trying to force people into social reading rather than just serve as a convenient offline storage of articles.
acosmichippo@lemmy.world 11 months ago
if you happen to be an apple person Safari’s Reading List can save pages offline.
mac@lemm.ee 11 months ago
Check out LinkedIn for this
Artopal@lemmy.ml 11 months ago
I hear you. I discovered Omnivore and was in the process of migrating from Pocket to it until less than a year later Omnivore was gone.
FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 months ago
Same. I’ve done pocket and omnivore but now both dead :(
eugenevdebs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 months ago
people who are privileged enough to never have experienced multiple days without an internet connection.
I have, and if you need an SaaS for that, I am sorry for you. Pocket was great for getting around paywalls for a while.
aeshna_cyanea@lemm.ee 11 months ago
I’ve heard good things about karakeep (also requires self hosting) github.com/karakeep-app/karakeep
cyberwolfie@lemmy.ml 11 months ago
I have ended up using Zotero for this, which takes a snapshot of the webpage for offline reading (and preservation). Synced to other clients through my WebDAV server. Originally only used Zotero as a reference manager for academic journal papers, but liked using it more broadly.
cheese_greater@lemmy.world 11 months ago
How does all this compare with something like Goodlinks?
noodlejetski@lemm.ee 11 months ago
well, for starters I can’t install Goodlinks on Linux, Android, or a jailbroken Kindle.
ragebutt@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 months ago
“Firefox is the only major browser not backed by a billionaire”
This is a misleading statement. 86% of Mozilla’s funding is from google. Modern web browsers are a fucked landscape designed to perpetuate googles dominance
Scrollone@feddit.it 11 months ago
Finally! I couldn’t wait for Pocket to shut down. One useless icon less in my Firefox.
pastermil@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
YES! No more Pocket button sticking out like a sore thumb!
drmoose@lemmy.world 11 months ago
It literally takes 5 seconds to remove it.
Hugin@lemmy.world 11 months ago
But you can’t remove pocket from firefox just disable it. Given that it wa also a close source binary blob that made firefox not completely open source I’m glad it’s going.
fyzzlefry@retrolemmy.com 11 months ago
No time, need to shit post
ptu@lemm.ee 11 months ago
On Firefox? I’ve used it for years and this is the first time I hear of Pocket
Alaknar@lemm.ee 11 months ago
And then people get all pissy when Google or Microsoft show a pop-up of a new feature…
Mataresian@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 months ago
Wasn’t it possible to remove that button?
pastermil@sh.itjust.works 11 months ago
Possible: yes
Convenient: no