Latest news with #MozillaFoundation
Digital Trends
3 days ago
- Business
- Digital Trends
A sticky notes app for Safari transformed how I get work done on macOS
Just a few days ago, the Mozilla Foundation announced that Pocket was shutting down. One of the most popular bookmarking and webpage saving tools out there, especially among journalists and researchers, Pocket leaves a gap that will be hard to fill. The absence will be felt deeply because there's no viable alternative that can offer it all in a polished package. To users tied to the Apple Mac ecosystem, they have even fewer choices for a few reasons. The most notable among them all? Safari's save later and bookmarking system. Recommended Videos Why is Safari a laggard? Safari's lack of a rewarding tool, one where you can organize your ideas and save-worthy content, is quite puzzling. All you have are reading lists and bookmarks. It almost feels like a relic in the face of competitors, and even more so when compared to the solutions you find out there from no-name developers and the open-source community. That's one of the core reasons I stick with Collections in Edge and Pinboards in Opera. They are well-designed, offer plenty of organization tricks, and can even be shared. But they are still hidden behind a UI, not something you can have in front of your eyes at all times. An annotated element, highlighted segments, or personal notes you can fix just at the right spot on a webpage is a solution that no utility has managed to offer in a usable fashion. You can find plenty of sticky notes apps that put stuff on your desktop screen, but not on the web destinations where you get work done. This is where Sticky Notes for Safari comes into the picture. Technically, it's a Mac app that lives as an extension in the Safari browser and costs less than a cup of black coffee. It's light, barebones in just the right way, and captures the true spirit of sticky notes positioned on a scrolling digital canvas. How does it work? Sticky Notes for Safari is pretty straightforward. You install it from the Mac App Store, pay the $3 fee, and give it permission to run in Safari. That's it, and you're good to go. The next time you open Safari, it will appear as a tiny sticky notes option to the left of the URL bar. Let's say you are reading a web page, and want to add a sticky note at a particular spot. All you need to do is click on the extension's icon, and you will have a tiny colored box where you can type your word. The sticky notes are freely resizable, so you can position them to your exact liking. Alternatively, you can right-click on any webpage and click on 'Add Sticky Notes' in the action box. Now, when a sticky first appears on a webpage, it's set to a certain text size and paper color. You can, thankfully, change the default for each. You can also change the paper color on the fly and pick from six options. I prefer this simplicity, instead of having something too fancy, such as a color dial or a massive drop-down of color-coded boxes. As for the sticky notes, they are freely movable, and resizable, so you have that flexibility. It solves a realistic problem I believe the best app is the one that solves a tangible problem and doesn't try to cram more features than users actually need. Sticky Notes for Safari takes the former route. You can pin a note at any spot on a webpage, and it stays there. What happens when I close the browser tab? The next time you visit the webpage, the sticky note will be there to greet you. How about closing the browser itself? Not a problem. You see, the note attaches itself to the specific webpage. And even if you clear the browser cache, the color notes stay. What I love most about the app is that it keeps things simple. Beyond the task of creating sticky notes and pinning them to any spot, you also get a neat catalog where you can search through the entire notes history. First, it serves as a neatly organized place where you can find all the sticky notes you have created so far. There's a neat Search feature at the top where you can look through the notes saved on a page using keywords. I've created an unwritten rule for my sticky notes. I prefer red for more pressing or critical pieces of note. Green represents my own personal opinions, while blue is reserved for notes where the words are destined for my journalistic duties (such as sending media queries) tied to the blue DigitalTrends brand logo. Second, there's also a view all section where you find all your notes arranged in chronological order. When you tap on any of the cards, it takes you straight to the web page where it is saved. To save me the chore of scrolling too much, I simply Search (Command + F) on this page, land on the sticky note I was looking for, and with a single click, go straight to the webpage where it lives. In a nutshell, Sticky Notes for Safari combines the idea of bookmarks and reading lists in one go. In fact, I no longer have any other third-party installed on my Mac except this neat tool for my Safari-based workflow. Boiling it to the core Of course, it's not perfect. For example, when you enable Reader Mode in Safari, these sticky notes away are no longer visible. They appear as you return to the regular viewing mode, though. I wish there were a few more text formatting options for text clusters and the text, but personally, I find it to be a fundamental blunder. The point of sticky notes is just quickly writing what's on your mind, and revisiting it at a time of your convenience. For some reason, you can't trigger the system-level font styling and spell check tools, something you can easily do in other apps such as Notes. By default, the app saves everything as plaintext, even if you save stylized text from another app, it will be stripped of all that formatting in the sticky notes. In hindsight, you don't have to worry about copy-pasting heavily formatted content, as the app will do that for you. If you trying to copy an image, it would be pasted as the image's URL link on the sticky note. Finally, there's this little functional overlap with shortcuts. When you hit Command+T in Apple Notes, it opens the font styles. In Safari, by default, that shortcut opens a browser tab. I wish it could borrow some of the shortcuts and UI customization ideas from Antinote, which offers the best note-taking experience I've ever used in an app. But then, there's only so much you can do with a web extension compared to a full-fledged app. But for the sum of its parts, Sticky Notes for Safari does more than it's intended to. It's minimalist, solves a practical browser problem, and then doubles as a beautiful hub that ends the reliance on dedicated or built-in bookmarking tools. I'd say that's a task well done.
The Star
06-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
The decision that could kill off Firefox
the Mozilla Foundation is extremely concerned about the future of its Firefox web browser following the latest proposals from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to limit Google's dominance of online search. — AFP Relaxnews The Mozilla Foundation is sounding the alarm: its famous Firefox browser could be under serious threat if Google can no longer participate in its funding in exchange for being the browser's default search engine. This is what the US Department of Justice is proposing as part of its antitrust trial against Google. As The Verge explains, the Mozilla Foundation is extremely concerned about the future of its Firefox web browser following the latest proposals from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to limit Google's dominance of online search. The DOJ has recognised that Google holds an illegal monopoly on online search services, and has set out a number of remedial measures. One of these is an outright ban on all paid agreements to be the default search engine on third-party browsers. This is currently the case with Firefox, and accounts for the bulk of its funding. A vital partnership between Google and Firefox This deal between Google and Mozilla accounts for some 85% of Firefox's revenue, with Firefox in turn generating approximately 90% of Mozilla's total revenue. In other words, removing this financial cornerstone would be catastrophic for the future activities of the teams working on Firefox. It would threaten the very existence of the browser. It's worth noting that these funds are also used to finance the foundation's other non-profit initiatives. Paradoxically, such a decision would also strengthen Google's dominant position by removing an alternative to Chrome, already highly dominant on the web browser market. After its heyday some 15 years ago, Firefox's market share across all devices is now just over 2.5% worldwide, according to StatCounter. Despite this, Firefox remains a browser appreciated for its respect for privacy and its independence from major technology companies. Mozilla is therefore calling for solutions that promote competition without compromising the viability of independent browsers. – AFP Relaxnews
The Guardian
17-04-2025
- Automotive
- The Guardian
Opt out: how to protect your data and privacy if you own a Tesla
Welcome to Opt Out, a semi-regular column in which we help you navigate your online privacy and show you how to say no to surveillance. The last column covered how to protect your phone and data privacy at the US border. If you'd like to skip to a section about a particular tip, click the 'Jump to' menu at the top of this article. At the press of a button, your Tesla pulls itself out of parking spot with no one behind the wheel using a feature called Summon. It drives itself on highways using Autopilot. When you arrive at your destination, it can record nearby activity while parked with a feature called Sentry Mode. To effectively operate any of these features, your car needs to monitor and collect a large amount of data about you. Most Tesla vehicles come equipped with nine internal and external cameras. Information from your Tesla, delivered via location trackers, sensors and more, can paint an intricate picture of your life and movement. 'Teslas are truly rolling surveillance platforms,' said John Davisson, a senior counsel and director of litigation at digital rights research group Electronic Privacy Information Center. 'There are some privacy safeguards that Tesla offers that at least allow you, on the face of the settings, to opt out of data sharing ... provided that Tesla is actually following through on those commitments.' Tesla isn't alone in collecting a considerable amount of data to enable a suite of advanced features on your vehicle. Any connected car collects some level of information to operate. Some Tesla owners are newly concerned, given CEO Elon Musk's role in Donald Trump's administration. Those concerns are not entirely unfounded, according to Reem Suleiman, the director of advocacy at Mozilla Foundation, which gave Tesla a 'privacy not included' grade in its assessment of the carmaker's data security practices. For one, the company's track record of protecting user data is shaky. In 2023, a Reuters investigation found that employees were sharing sensitive footage that vehicles captured in internal messaging forums. A Washington Post analysis of transparency reports published by Twitter and then X after Musk took over likewise showed that X acquiesced to 20% more government requests to remove content in just the first half of 2024 than Twitter did in all of 2021 – the last time the company published the transparency report. We spoke to privacy experts, consulted Tesla's privacy policy and even asked Tesla's own AI chatbot how to share the least amount of data with Tesla as possible. If you own a Tesla, there are some precautions you can and, in many cases, should take with regards to your vehicle. But be forewarned: adjusting these settings so that you share the least possible amount of data with Tesla will shut off access to many of your car's functions. 'They pretty much say that, if you choose to opt out of data collection, then your car is essentially a lemon,' Suleiman said. 'They essentially say that your vehicle can have reduced functionality, serious damage or inoperability. So it's kind of a non-choice, when you think about it.' Here's what you need to know about your privacy in Tesla vehicles: Tesla's privacy policy details a wide swath of data that its vehicles collect – most of which is stored locally but is also sent to the company unless you change your settings. According to Tesla's AI chatbot, information collected on you includes: 'location data (although Tesla doesn't record or store vehicle-specific GPS information, except in the case of a crash); driving habits and behaviors (such as speed, braking patterns, and acceleration); diagnostic and vehicle usage data (to help improve Tesla's products and services); infotainment system data (like browsing history and voice commands) and Autopilot data (camera recordings, sensor readings, and other inputs to support advanced safety features)'. The good news is that data can be collected and stored on your vehicle's local drives if opt out of sharing information with the company. The bad news is that data can still be accessed if law enforcement somehow gets a hold of your vehicle during a traffic stop or other circumstance, according to the Electronic Privacy Information Center's Davisson. And it's not just your car that's collecting information. The Tesla mobile app, from which you can activate Sentry Mode or Summon, also collects location, contact, browsing and device information. Read on for how to dial back how much your car monitors you. If you opt to share your data with Tesla, all of the data it collects on you may be shared with third parties, including law enforcement. According to the company's privacy policy, in addition to sharing data with law enforcement when the company receives a valid court order, Tesla will also share data when it is 'essential to protect national security or public safety'. Davisson says that language is vague and opens the door for video footage to be shared with law enforcement for any number of reasons. Recently, for instance, the FBI has categorized vandalism of Tesla vehicles and showrooms as 'domestic terrorism'. 'Especially now, when everything is apparently a national emergency, it's a very short hop from that to considering immigration enforcement to be a safety issue that requires constant sharing of real-time footage to Ice or other law enforcement officials,' said Davisson. 'And it's a scary situation.' So how do you protect your data? Everyone has a different risk profile when it comes to their privacy. Some people may be more concerned than others about who is gaining access to their personal information. It's not just your own privacy you need to be cognizant of, however, as Tesla's exterior cameras can collect footage of people around the vehicle as well. If you are concerned about information gathering and don't already have a Tesla, privacy experts say you should opt for a different car. If you do have one and want to reclaim your privacy, sell it. Even Tesla's AI chatbot gave similar advice. 'If someone is deeply concerned about their privacy, they might consider alternatives, such as: 1 Opting for a vehicle manufacturer with more restrictive data collection practices (though this might come at the cost of reduced convenience features); 2 Exploring aftermarket solutions or modifications that could potentially reduce data sharing (though this might void warranties or introduce compatibility issues).' Sign up to TechScape A weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our lives after newsletter promotion So you've already bought a Tesla, and you've decided to sell it. Suleiman and the Mozilla Foundation highly recommend factory-resetting the car before you do. That means your car will be wiped of all of its data as if it was just coming off the lot. 'Just because you sell your car off doesn't mean that you've scrubbed the data,' Suleiman said. 'It requires a little bit of due diligence.' So before you take the vehicle off your Tesla account, you will need to factory-reset your car from your in-car settings. Sit in the driver's seat and follow these steps: 1 Go to Controls > Service > Factory Reset. 2 Enter your Tesla account username and password to verify your credentials. 3 Confirm that you want to perform a factory reset. 'This will erase all personal data, including saved addresses, music favorites and imported contacts, and restore your car's settings to their factory defaults,' according to Tesla's AI chatbot. The company also recommends deleting your 'HomeLink' devices – which can allow you to control things like your garage door, lights or home security system from your Tesla. Do that by clicking on the 'HomeLink' icon at the top of the 'Controls' screen then going to HomeLink settings, where you can remove connections to other devices. In the settings of your vehicle and the Tesla app, you can opt not to share your data with the company. But as we've said before, be prepared to lose some functionality of your car. Opting out of data-sharing in your car is fairly straightforward. In your vehicle, go to Settings > Software > Data sharing. Turn off 'allow data sharing'. This will disable the sharing of analytics, road segment, diagnostic, and vehicle usage data. Tesla's AI chatbot also recommended turning off 'allow Autopilot analytics' to stop sharing Autopilot-related data. Opt out of mobile app location and data sharing. In the Tesla app, go to Settings (the button will either look like three horizontal lines or a gear icon). Then scroll down to Security and Privacy. Then select turn off Location Services. Click Turn off Analytics to stop sharing app usage data to the company. Then revoke access to your camera, microphone and contacts. 'By following these steps, you'll be sharing the least amount of data with Tesla while still enjoying the core features and functionalities of your vehicle and mobile app,' according to the Tesla AI chatbot. But this will affect the functionality of your car. According to Tesla's chatbot, data sharing will impact these features: 'Remote vehicle monitoring and control through the mobile app (eg, checking your vehicle's status, location, and surroundings); navigation and routing optimization (although basic navigation will still work); geofencing and smart preconditioning (your vehicle won't be able to anticipate your arrival or departure); some Autopilot features, such as traffic-aware cruise control and automatic emergency braking, may not function optimally; over-the-air software updates might be delayed or unavailable; certain advanced safety features, like Emergency Services, may not work seamlessly.' 'I don't think it should be a trade-off,' Davisson said. 'It is true that some of the collision avoidance systems and autonomous features on Teslas like other vehicles do rely on data collection and cameras. But it should not come at the cost of the privacy, certainly of the driver or passengers of the vehicle or for people that happen to be in the area surrounding the vehicle.'
Forbes
01-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Mozilla Thunderbird Challenges Gmail With Its Own Email Service
Thunderbird is about to evolve into a complete productivity ecosystem. In case you missed it, Mozilla Thunderbird has been enjoying a serious revival during the last few years. The venerable desktop email software has been modernized with a fresh coat of paint and new technologies under the hood, launched a long-awaited Android mobile version, and is in the early stages of developing an iPhone app. But apparently, the team is just getting warmed up. An ambitious suite of open-source web services is in development under the 'Thunderbird Pro' banner, and one of them is especially interesting: Thundermail. While the traditional Thunderbird desktop client is a great piece of software with an extensive amount of features tailored to power users, the vast majority of the world has moved on to simpler web-based email services that are accessible from any browser or smartphone. At its core, Thundermail will be a browser-based email service that functions similarly to Gmail. Users can send and receive email on the web using new Thundermail accounts they sign up for. The service will also allow using your own custom domain (e.g. Based on conversations I've had with the developers, there's at least one important quality that will distinguish Mozilla's email service from competitors like Gmail: privacy. Thundermail isn't going to use your messages to train AI, it's not going to invade your inbox with ads, and it's not going to harvest and sell your data. Thundermail is currently being tested internally, but the team stealthily launched a beta signup site at Thunderbird stealthily launched a beta waitlist at But Thundermail is only one piece of the emerging 'Thunderbird Pro' offering. Ryan Sipes, Managing Director of Product at MZLA Technologies Corporation (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation which works on all things Thunderbird) is transparent about why these services are being built. 'Thunderbird loses users each day to rich ecosystems that are both clients and services, such as Gmail and Office365,' Sipes says. 'These ecosystems have both hard vendor lock-ins (through interoperability issues with 3rd-pary clients) and soft lock-ins (through convenience and integration between their clients and services).' The endgame, according to Sipes, is to build an alternative ecosystem that is 100% open source and available to everyone. Here's a quick look at the three additional services that will eventually be packaged into Thunderbird Pro: Thunderbird Send is a spiritual successor to Firefox Send, rebuilt to allow direct and encrypted sharing of large files. Thunderbird Appointment (which is currently accepting beta signups) is a streamlined scheduling tool aiming to remove the guesswork and admin headaches from planning an event or a meeting. And finally there's Thunderbird Assist, which is, at least for now, being cautiously labeled as 'an experiment' that will allow users to take advantage of AI features within their email. However, the goal is to be lightweight enough that the language models can be run locally on a user's PC in the interest of privacy. This service is being developed in partnership with Flower AI, which leverages Nvidia's confidential compute to provide private remote processing in the event a user's PC isn't powerful enough. Sipes emphasizes that any remote processing features attached to Thunderbird Assist will always be optional, in the interest of ensuring complete user privacy. It sounds like Thundermail – and by extension the Thunderbird Pro suite – doesn't yet have a detailed monetization model. What we know for sure is that initially, Thunderbird Pro will be a paid service. Sipes explains that once there's a strong enough user base, the team will open up free tiers for each service, albeit with some limitations (perhaps fewer email addresses for Thundermail, smaller file sizes for Thunderbird Send, etc). What's crystal clear is that Thunderbird's ever-increasing donation revenue (currently its sole source of income) is allowing for some explosive growth that's long overdue. To add some context to this, Thunderbird received $2.8 million in donation revenue during 2021. Two years later, in 2023, it received $8.6 million in donations. I'm told that total financial contributions for 2024 were even higher, though the final amount hasn't been officially released. 'It is my conviction that all of this should have been a part of the Thunderbird universe a decade ago," Sipes says. 'The absence of web services from us means that our users must make compromises that are often uncomfortable ones. This is how we correct that.' Public discussion for all things Thunderbird Pro and its associated services are available via the Thunderbird mailing lists.
