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Microsoft Adds Firefox Support to WGA

By Nate Mook, BetaNews

November 17, 2005, 11:45 AM

Firefox users may still be out of the luck when it comes to Windows Update, but they can now download files from Microsoft that require Windows Genuine Advantage validation thanks to a new plug-in. WGA checks to make sure the Windows license is legit and is now a requirement on the Microsoft Download Center.

The Firefox plug-in works just like the Active X control for Internet Explorer. IE team head Dean Hachamovitz said the move was made after a great deal of customer feedback. "Basically, customers said 'We want to make sure our PCs are running genuine Windows and have access to all the content on the Microsoft Download Center; the experience when we’re running a Mozilla browser is not great. Do something about it.'"

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By Howell

posted Nov 18, 2005 - 4:44 AM

Unfortunately Microsoft Update still requires Internet Explorer... I just use IE to go to Microsoft update. Otherwise I use FireFox :D

Score: 0

By trebor

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 5:09 PM

Ever heard of the concept: If you cant win from the enemy join the enemy....then in MS case, it is the mole.....then mozilla corp will be sold out to MS before long....anyone that surprised is more Naive than Steve Ballmer...btw, Googles market cap is on the way to 150 billion, so they may snatch it up before bill can.

Score: 0

By GoodThings2Life

edited Nov 17, 2005 - 11:46 PM

Oh geez, here we go... Microsoft supports something they didn't create, so right away we jump to the conclusion that it couldn't possibly be the customers that they're interested in... they must be ready to buy out Mozilla. With that logic, they must be ready to pay off Linus Torvalds for exclusive rights to Linux code too, because in case you didn't know-- Virtual PC now supports Linux!!! \OMG!/

I don't even know what the hell you're smoking with the comment about market cap... that just makes no sense at all. Might I recommend an Economics course?

Score: 0

By JacenSolo

edited Nov 18, 2005 - 2:41 AM

For once I agree with above user.

VPC supports Linux? Since when?

Oh well, If Microsoft keeps this up I might start to like them :P

Now... Where's Opera support? Oh well, one thing at a time ^_^

Score: 0

By rijp

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 4:53 PM

Oh my god! Is the sky falling? I could swear it say "Microsoft Adds Firefox Support".

Wait it DOES say that.. WOW.

So Firefox users, you still hate Microsoft? They don't hate you, which goes to show.. all good things to those that are patient...

Microsoft listens, maybe not at the pace you want, but they do listen.

Score: 0

By trebor

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 4:08 PM

You dont need MS plugins for that under FFX, just the IE Tab extension, and you have the full glorious experience without MS assist.

Score: 0

By joeshmoe7

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 10:13 PM

i had to do just that, this plugin doesn't work with my firefox STIPES build 1.07

Score: 0

By Insensitive Clod

edited Nov 17, 2005 - 1:16 PM

It's a pity Microsoft doesn't accept Open Document. How much hassle is it to support Open Document? Hardly any. The only reason Microsoft won't support it is because the company has to retain control over its monopolized markets.

Score: 0

By rijp

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 4:57 PM

Umm..this would be the same as having open metric in the US, when we use American conversions. We have open conversion, so the larger adopts the smaller, not vice versa.

Microsoft IS the open document. Word is open. Open Office, and a whole bevy of other products support Word as a document format, so why would you want ANOTHER format?

PDF is good, but good luck trying to find programs that do a good job of converting to PDF, unless you pay for it from Adobe.

So just use Word, and be done with it. Seems like YOU have the hassle, because you are trying to something very few people adopt. I can pretty much gurantee, 80% of the rest of the world can Open and Edit Word documents..

And Microsoft is not a monopoly, if you aren't convinced, either you don't comprehend what "monopoly" means, are you are listening to the rhetoric by Linux users. Either way, you would be WRONG!!

Score: 0

By sophist_dreams

edited Nov 18, 2005 - 11:00 AM

rijp trolled:

"And Microsoft is not a monopoly, if you aren't convinced, either you don't comprehend what "monopoly" means, are you are listening to the rhetoric by Linux users. Either way, you would be WRONG!!"

Funny the European Union and The US Federal Govt think they are..ergo the constant battle they have with their software practices

Score: 0

By JacenSolo

posted Nov 18, 2005 - 2:46 AM

YOu ever played the game, Monopoly? This is exactly like that, When you win, it's because your competitors went bust.

Microsoft's winning by pushing it's competitors out. Or was. But if Microsoft keeps up supporting the enemy, I might support them. :)

Score: 0

By GoodThings2Life

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 11:41 PM

A) I think I read that they are going to at least support OpenDoc afterall, although it likely won't be a preferred default, lol... don't quote me on that, as I reserve the right to be wrong.

B) Actually, I do wish the US *would* use metric like the rest of the world and give up on the English system.

C) PDF is lousy for anything but books/manuals.

D) Courts say otherwise, but whatever... there's plenty of competition and excitement going on these days, and there always will be. The world doesn't need regulation -- it needs innovation.

Score: 0

By freshwater

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 7:24 PM

Just FYI: I used this for a while now to create PDF's

http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/

PDFCreator easily creates PDFs from any Windows program. Use it like a printer in Word, StarCalc or any other Windows application.

Oh, License: GNU General Public License (GPL)

Score: 0

By fewt

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 6:12 PM

"Microsoft IS the open document. Word is open"

HAHAHA That was humerous!

Openoffice exports to PDF, within GNOME (and KDE I think) you can print to PDF from in any application.

Hrm, how 'bout that.

Hate to burst your bubble, but Microsoft has been found an illegal monopoly and it held on appeal so have fun with your state of denial.

Score: 0

By GoodThings2Life

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 11:19 PM

A) The PDF format is great for books/manuals... bad for, well, anything and everything else.

B) Fewt, I know we don't always agree on everything, but seriously dude.... WTF does monopoly status have to do with the thread or the poster you're responding to? We all know what the courts decided... let it go, and move on. It's in the past, there's lots of competition in the world today, so really... let's all agree to use the product we like, and boycott (or at least limit) our use of the ones we don't.

Score: 0

By knowing_prophet

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 4:33 PM

From what I've heard, Microsoft plans to support Open Document in Office Vista (or whatever the new version of Office will be called). I think that they've realized that the criticism that comes with rejecting open-source alternatives is too costly for them, from a business stand-point, and too ridiculous for them, from a developer's stand-point. I'm especially pleased with their new support for Firefox at www.live.com, a Microsoft service that is in beta at this point (and open-beta programs from Microsoft is exciting too, I feel like they're not lying to me as much anymore).

Score: 0

By Metshrine

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 2:59 PM

Wow, and this had everything to do with this article. Try keeping on topic there guy ;-)

Score: 0

By NEOBassDUDE

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 1:01 PM

Too bad it doesn't support x64. Apparently its an unsupported OS.

Score: 0

By GoodThings2Life

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 11:20 PM

Likewise for Server 2003 (all flavors)... I can assume the priority was XP 32bit to cover the majority, and enhancements will be made for the rest later on.

Score: 0

By rijp

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 5:01 PM

Plug-ins don't have anything to do with the OS, anymore than the color of a car determines its speed.

Plug-in support comes from the people that make the product, if it doesn't work on the OS, its not the OS fault, a lot of stuff doesn't work on 64bit yet.

I suppose you would complain that World of Warcraft doesnt run on 64 bit platform too huh? Nah, its not a Microsoft product.. so it doesn't concern you.

Score: 0

By GoodThings2Life

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 11:22 PM

Actually it does... I run Windows Server 2003, and I use Firefox as my default browser on the system. When I install the plugin, the WGA check runs but then reports unsupported OS... for now, but as my other post says I assume that will change sooner or later.

Score: 0

By sophist_dreams

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 12:53 PM

This is an admission that more and more users are visiting Microspud's web sites with alternative browsers....says a lot about browser usage trends

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 2:26 PM

It would be nice if they did the same with Windows Update.

Score: 0

By GoodThings2Life

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 11:25 PM

I resolved this "issue" by just using the Microsoft Update/Windows Update shortcut on the start menu (I moved it to a more convenient spot, but whatever)... that way it opens IE directly to the site, and I don't have to use IE for anything else.

Yes, fellow posters, I am using Firefox as my default browser, and yes, I am a Microsoft geek/fan/whatever. I'm proof that you CAN make a choice to be intelligent and use what you like rather than whine and moan about how miserable your life is because someone held a gun to your head and said, "use Microsoft or die!"

Score: 0

By itanshi

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 2:31 PM

yeah, that site someone mentioned that can get you windows updates through FF gets em late and thats not cool

Score: 0

By rijp

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 5:04 PM

I could be wrong, but EVERYONES OS, (Windows) comes with IE. So if you need to do updates, just use IE. What is the problem? Its a single function, once in a while update. So would it hurt to use the updates designed by the same people that MAKE the updates?

AFter the updates are complete, you have to reboot anyway, usually, then you can load FireFox to your hearts content.

Then, there is always automatic updates.. you even get notified when they are ready to install.. So you don't even NEEd a browser.

you people really kill me..

Score: 0

By Kramy

edited Nov 18, 2005 - 12:17 AM

My system doesn't have IE. Infact it doesn't have just about anything MS, and it's stripped down to about 200mb. I'm happy though, since on an AMD Athlon 2000+, XP only takes 12 seconds to boot from power button to programs running.

Edit: I never update, since I'm not vulnerable to most problems. I don't have a help file viewer, .chm files load with xCHM, Explorer is gone, and my shell was replaced with a third party one(oh, and I have a router).

Score: 0

By JacenSolo

edited Nov 18, 2005 - 2:53 AM

<.<

I'm a microsoft hater, Linux/KDE supporter, but even I know that Explorer is the best shell/window manager around ^_^

Oh, and you don't need to use IE... Just use Automatic updates. All important stuff is DLed via that. :P

EDIT: Oh, and the Windows Networking interface (the same interface that gives you the internet) can be exploited. So you better DL those updates :P

Score: 0

By Kramy

posted Nov 18, 2005 - 4:34 PM

Well, that's why I usually slipstream the latest updates every few months.

Inbetween though, a firewall + router is good enough for me. If I do get hacked....oh my god, they stole my saved game! XD

Score: 0

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