Google disabling extensions today if not installed through Chrome store.

They're just not being evil.

Just another potential revenue source. Extentions that were once free will now cost some small amount.

I have to use Chrome to comment on skins and no notification. But then again I have no extensions.

Another reason to use Firefox.

Still better than IE

This is another reason to continue to use Chrome. There have been malicious unsupported extensions that have hijacked, crippled, and compromised system security. Like anything else, the bad guys have made it harder on those that do the right thing. I for one am grateful that Google has taken this action.

Exactly.......could not have said it better

Seriously??? Firefox is no longer a 'competitive' browser in the current world.

That's really how I see it as well.

We're all unhappy at IE (even though they're the preferred target for the yutzes) and at the MS Store. 

You can't have it both ways. Either you want improved control and supervision of the extensions which make work easier, or not.

My only concerns are 'fees' AND what kind of control will there be when extensions get sold to unscrupulous people who subvert them for criminal ends. 

Yeah, whatever.

Nope... they've become GREEDY as well.  Oh, hang on a minute!  They were always greedy, it's just become a little more transparent.

Apple's walled garden, anyone?

Yeah, so Google is saying it is necessary because of insecurities and recent attacks, but who is to say that Google itself didn't precipitate the recent attacks to use it as an excuse to do this? It truly opens the door to monetary gain through tighter control... having the ONLY key to the door to its newly formed walled garden.

I know, conspiracy theories, blah, blah, blah, but whenever something like this comes up, and the potential to raise even more money is obvious, one cannot ignore the possibility.  Frankly, I will stick with Firefox.  I never liked Chrome as a browser anyway, and given it opens a new CPU thread each time you open a new tab - the more tabs the more CPU threads - I'd prefer something that derives it's supposed 'speed improvements' differently.

Really?  Most people I know use Firefox as their default/main browser.  I think it has something to do with their distrust of Google and dislike of IE. 

Certainly not the case in my circles.  I was of the mind that Firefox had gone the way of Netscape already.......certainly won't be surprised when it does.  

I think the comment above regarding Firefox not being 'competitive' in today's world is spot on.  With smartphones and tablets (that have certain other browsers 'baked-in' offering better performance etc.) becoming (if not already there) the media-consumption device more and more people reach for when wanting to 'quickly look up that thing' or to 'show that friend that cool video' etc. etc. statements such as that made by Leo the Lion should not come as a surprise.

Are we talking apples and oranges here?  True, there are numerous mobile devices with in-built browsers, but I do believe we were talking Chrome on the desktop here.  I may be mistaken but it did appear that way... and Firefox is far from being a spent force on desktop/notebook PCs.

As for quickly looking up that thing or two - on those piddly little screens - when my niece, nephews, sister and others want to show me something they have on their phones [sometimes tablets], they plug them into my PC to watch/look at them on the bigger screen.  Granted, it might be convenient while out and about, but showing video on a 4 - 5 inch screen loses something in the presentation as well as the detail.  Yes, many phones/tablets have high resolution screens, but they pale in significance when showing the same content on a bigger hi-res screen.

Don't get me wrong, I have a mobile phone and a tablet for when I'm out, and I like them for the purpose intended, but I much prefer a desktop PC for the greater power, added peripherals and obviously, the bigger screen when at home. True, that is my preference, but I am not alone.  Even the younger members of my extended family, many of whom live on their mobile phones while out, prefer to sit at a desktop PC when at home... and I'll bet it's a scene that's repeated throughout many households around the world.

So when you speak of your circles, is that while you're out and about... or while you're in their homes?  The reason I ask.... apple and oranges... like what people do behind closed doors may be entirely different to what you see otherwise.

When someone mentions smartphones and tablets, the next thing I expect to hear is that the PC is dead, which of course is not true, and reports of the death of Firefox are greatly exaggerated as well.

No apples and oranges here starkers.....

The first part of my response post was to counter your statement that most of the people you know use Firefox as their main/default browser.  I stated that in my circles (ie. with the people I know both professionally and personally) that is most certainly not the case.

The second part of my response post was to support Leo the Lion's statement with regard to Firefox no longer being a competitive browser.

Neither of the preceding statements or the responses to same suggest an 'apples to oranges' situation.  Of course maybe 'apples and oranges' means something different in your circles.....? 

and did you?

I said neither.  Of course I did say I won't be surprised when Firefox finally dies.......

In the enterprise environments I have been with, if an app or site does not work with IE ( and that is happening MORE and MORE ) then the fallback is ALWAYS Chrome. Firefox is not permitted to be installed.

Yes Monk, the Fox is gurgling a dying breath. Even the latest incarnation is a complete dog compared to Chrome.

Mobile is 4% of browsing, as a whole.  FF is #2 at 25%, IE has less than half that.  If we're going to write one off as having gone the way of Netscape, Microsoft is in a much better position despite having theirs come with the OS.

the_Monk, The only thing I like about FF is its customizability, but it has a momentum all its own and a rather devoted following, so I don't see the hounds catching the fox any time soon.

I like Chrome, but understand those who are paranoid about it.

Not sure I understand the concept of 'complete dog' as it applies to browsers.

I long ago switched to Pale Moon to avoid Firefox's recent attempts to become Chrome.

It is slow to respond, it eats memory (although not as bad as it used to )... it lays about and scratches fleas. 

source?

i could ask for a source here as well. i wont though, as no available source is reliable. some say Chrome has a 60% share, others say 25%. the problem is that all these sources use only a small amount of websites and are geographically biased. and if you use anti-tracking tools, well ... you wont be tracked and are not part of these statistics.

Google is probably the only one that has reliable data, they don't release it though.

on topic: good move, will make dealing with computers safer for the "i clicked a link somebody sent me"-crowd. everyone else will find an other way to download those YouTube videos anyways.

Nope. All the other browsers could beat me with baseball bats and rape my dog and i still wouldn't use that bloated piece of crap known as firefox.