846990 - Linux distros probably shouldn't override PFS bits any more

Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX

(Core Graveyard :: Plug-ins, defect)

Description

[Justin Dolske [:Dolske]]

I have a vague recollections from work on this UI long ago (bug 539848 and such) that linux distros have/had overrides for the PFS bits in order to integrate with their own package management system. Instead of Mozilla's PFS offering up a download URL, it would automagically find and install a .rpm/.deb, or something like that.

This doesn't make a whole lot of sense any more. EG, I (again, vaguely) seem to remember my last Ubuntu install gave me the option to install Flash during the initial install. Nor is there a rich ecosystem of plugins (on any platform), so even if it still makes sense to have a "distro PFS", it should be similarly restricted to the same small set of plugins that Mozilla's PFS will end up supporting.

And, perhaps fodder for another bug, ISTR that Ubuntu ships with a plethora of installed-by-default plugins (largely media stuff?). That's not great either.

Comment 1

[Chris Coulson]

I think we're probably the only distro overriding this. I certainly wouldn't object to dropping it, and I plan to drop all of our customizations soon in any case.

Comment 2

[Justin Dolske [:Dolske]]

Bug 836415 has now removed the Plugin Finder Service (PFS) from Firefox. As a result, I'm closing all the remaining PFS bugs.

If you're getting this bugmail for an ancient PFS bug, the basic summary of the world today is:

* NPAPI plugins are a dying technology
* PFS was already restricted to assisting with only the 4 most common plugins
* Sites commonly provide their own UI for install a required plugin
* Mozilla is generally focusing on  improving the web platform so that proprietary plugins are not required.

(Note that "plugins" are a completely separate from "browser extensions", such at those found on addons.mozilla.org. The latter are not going anywhere, and are not impacted by the removal of PFS.)