Yahoo vows to open all services to Firefox users


Recommended Posts

Yahoo has confirmed plans to allow Firefox users to access all its products and services, many of which are currently only available through Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) browser.

In February, Yahoo launched a search toolbar for Firefox but users of the open source browser were forced to revert back to IE to access some Yahoo features. For example, Yahoo Messenger users still cannot use Firefox to customise their online avatar and have to revert back to IE.

However, a Yahoo spokesperson told ZDNet Australia  on Tuesday that the company would not launch any new products or services in the future without ensuring that they work on both IE and Firefox.

"Due to the explosive popularity of the Firefox browser, it has now been added to our suite of browsers to test our products against. All new products that Yahoo develops will be tested against Firefox," the spokesperson said.

However, Yahoo would not commit to a date when all its current services ? including avatar customisation ? will be available to Firefox users.

"We understand that consumer usage of Firefox has steadily increased and we are committed to providing an enhanced consumer experience. While we are unable to provide you with an exact date, I can tell you we are actively working to provide Firefox support for avatars," the spokesperson said.

Yahoo's decision to only launch new products that support both major browsers is huge boost for Firefox, according to Foad Fadaghi, senior industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan Australia.

"The momentum right now is behind Firefox. The Internet players are making sure they don?t miss out if there is a mass migration--they have realised that it is not just a Microsoft game anymore," said Fadaghi.

Fadaghi said that another likely reason why Yahoo has committed to Firefox is because the open source browser has such close ties with Google.

When Firefox 1.0 was launched late last year, its default home page featured a Google seach box.

"There is already a lot of support from Google, so as far as Yahoo is concerned they are 'keeping up with the Joneses'. It is a bit of a land grab," said Fadaghi.

Source: ZDnet.com

~~~~~

Great news and it's about time!

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • UK funds £60M AI labs to challenge US tech dominance with open-source models by Paul Hill The UK government has awarded £60 million to Oxford University and University College London to help keep the country in the AI race by focusing on open-source, low-hardware alternatives. This is in stark contrast to the expensive, closed-source, and high-hardware-requirement models being created in the United States and elsewhere. The money will be shared among two new academic research labs over six years to help them redesign the fundamental mathematics and architectures of AI to help the UK reduce its reliance on a handful of US tech firms. Commenting on the development, AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said: Initially, the government planned to fund just one lab with a £40 million investment, but with this update, two labs will now get access to a larger pool of funds. The labs are expected to invest in the top AI researchers at every career stage, with £2 million per lab being set aside for hiring at least ten doctoral students. The government hopes that this will grow the UK’s talent in the field of AI. The labs are also expected to work closely with the leaders in British AI research, such as the Alan Turing Institute and UKRI’s AI research hubs. This will allow the various teams to collaborate and create new solutions faster than they could alone. This development is pretty interesting for a number of reasons, chiefly that it could create a long-term challenge for US tech firms if these labs successfully scale these open-source architectures that bypass the proprietary ecosystems. It could also give British businesses and public sector organizations access to AI features without paying high licensing fees to foreign providers or needing to invest in specialized server infrastructure.
    • If I were them, I'm gonna hold out until the prices of these semiconductor parts normalize. $1,049 for a ~5 year old hardware is DoA, more so for gamers. On a deeper note, if Steam Machine is priced like this, we are soo effed up for the next gen Xbox console and PS6. With great AAA titles releasing at the end of the year, this just creates more demand...and more tears for me. Lol.
    • I suspect one reason its hard to justify subsidising is that it's not a locked down device like a traditional console is. In this climate sadly if it was a "good deal" you'd get people hoarding them for anything but gaming. The Lenovo Legion Go 2 with the Ryzen Z2 Extreme is £1300 here ($1720) for some context on how other SteamOS like devices are now priced. I got the older Z1 Extreme model for £300 with a dock, just shows how insane prices have got recently.
    • If you have an account with any of Meta's services, you technically have an account with all of their services. You may not use it, but it exists.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      nates earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Almohandis earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Rookie
      dorf went up a rank
      Rookie
    • First Post
      mike_rumble earned a badge
      First Post
    • Dedicated
      tuben earned a badge
      Dedicated
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      462
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      185
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      94
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      87
    5. 5
      neufuse
      67
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!