Sign in / up

back to article Meet VRfox: Mozilla's latest attempt at regaining browser share

Mozilla has released version 55 of Firefox for Windows, making it the first desktop browser to officially support the WebVR standard. WebVR is an open virtual reality spec designed for using VR headsets with web browsers. The API is built on Javascript. Versions of Chrome for Android greater than 56 and the Samsung Internet …

COMMENTS

Post your comment
House rules Send corrections
Add to 'My topics' unstar *
  1. K.o.R

    Does it still grind to a halt after a day or so?

    3 5 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      It doesn't seem to for me, but I rarely have more than 40 or 50 tabs open. I go back and forth between Chrome and FF, but have been mainly FF for a year or two.

      PS - I didn't down vote you.

      1 0 Reply
    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      I don't know because I block adverts and analytic scripts.

      4 0 Reply
  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What goes around comes around

    I remember when SGI had a VRML browser in the mid 90s. Maybe it will prove more useful this time around!

    5 0 Reply
  3. Barry Rueger

    Priorities!

    Surely there are one or two, maybe even three things that might merit attention more than gimmicks like VR.

    How about a good, basic browser for viewing web pages, that doesn't grind the whole computer to a halt?

    6 2 Reply
    1. Kevin Johnston
      Reply Icon

      Re: Priorities!

      My preference would be a web browser that doesn't get updates pushed at it daily needing it to spend an age downloading/deploying the update and then checking add-ons etc when all I wanted to do was quickly check when low tide was to walk the dogs on the beach.

      How about a lightweight browser aimed at desktops rather than mobiles, too much to ask?

      Please feel free to list all the ones I have managed to not discover :)

      1 0 Reply
      1. phuzz Silver badge
        Reply Icon
        Thumb Up

        Re: Priorities!

        Well, Internet Explorer isn't getting updated ever again, so that fits your first criteria.

        Joking aside, you could just move to the ESR release of Firefox which doesn't get updated that often.

        2 0 Reply
      2. Dave559 Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Lightweight desktop browser

        How about Dillo? Although it doesn't support scripts, so, regrettably, probably a substantial proportion of "modern" websites won't degrade gracefully, and so probably won't work/display in even a basic usable format.

        https://www.dillo.org/

        0 0 Reply
  4. handleoclast
    FAIL

    I'm a boring, cynical old fart

    Even so...

    Has anyone ever found any application in which VR is actually useful in a desktop browser?

    Seriously. I mean actually useful.

    Not mildly entertaining for a few minutes because of its novelty, but useful.

    Not in specialized applications, such as surgery using fibre-optic probes, but in a general-purpose desktop browser.

    Maybe, just maybe, in panoramic views on a phone where the phone's gyros allow you to turn and see the view around you. But only maybe, because how many times does anyone really need to pre-plan their tour of some place they intend to visit? Outside of characters in caper movies.

    Be honest, now, those of you who've downloaded VR apps for your phone. Did you ever do more than give them a quick try, marvel at how clever they were, then never use them again?

    How many people have been continuously using VRML plugins in their browser since they first appeared many years ago?

    So, basically, what is the fucking point?

    2 0 Reply

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

Forgotten password ?

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like