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March 26, 2019

Firefox Send: Share Files Up To 2.5GB

There is no dearth of free file sharing services. In fact, there are hundreds of cloud storage and file sharing services around. OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, and iCloud Drive are the popular file storage and sharing services out there.

Firefox Send

Firefox Send pic1
Firefox Send is a new free file sharing service from Mozilla. Like most other file sharing services out there, you don’t need to install an app (in fact, there is no app) to begin sharing files. Besides that, you don’t need to create an account or sign in to Mozilla account to share or download a file under 1GB size.

Firefox Send features

As of now, Firefox Send allows sharing files up to 1GB without signing in to the service. If you have a Mozilla/Firefox account or willing to create one, you can share files up to 2.5GB at a time. Unlike many file-sharing services out there, Firefox Send lets you share files with end-to-end encryption which means that you can keep your files private. The shared link can be configured to expire after x number of downloads or x number of days.
A shared file can be downloaded for a maximum of 100 times or 7 days, whichever is earlier. Of course, you can configure the link to expire after 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 20, 50, or 100 downloads.
Firefox Send pic3
When you select a file to upload, you will be offered options to set the expiry and password (optional) for the file.
The catch with the sign in free upload is that a file uploaded without signing will expire after one download or in a day. Likewise, if you want to keep the hosted file’s link active for more than one day (supports a maximum of 7 days), you will need to sign in to the free service.
Firefox Send pic2
By signing in to the free Firefox Send, you can share files up to 2.5GB, share files with more people (up to 100 downloads), keep the file hosted for up to 7 days, and manage shared files from your account.
Overall, Firefox Send is a fantastic service from Mozilla. Given the fact that it allows you encrypt and share files up to 2.5 GB, it’s the best free file sharing service from a trusted developer.
Firefox Send is also pretty good in the privacy department. According to the privacy page on Firefox Send, Mozilla receives an encrypted copy of the file that you upload, and it cannot access the file content or name of the file. Files are stored on Mozilla servers for a maximum of 1 day or 7 days, depending on how long you would like to store/share an uploaded file.
If you are wondering, no, you don’t need to have installed Mozilla Firefox to upload or download files to and from Firefox Send service.
Once a file is uploaded, you will get a link which you can share with anyone to let them download the file. The link will automatically expire once it reaches specified time or download limit.
Firefox Send pic6
If you have set a password while uploading a file to Firefox Send, you will have to enter the password to download it. In fact, one cannot see the name of the file without entering the password.
Firefox Send pic7
It’s worth noting that your browser’s memory usage might go up by at least the size of the file that you are uploading. That is, when you are uploading a file of 2GB, you can expect your web browser to use around 2GB of memory. The reason is, Firefox Send encrypts and decrypts files in the browser.
Visit the following link to begin sharing files with Firefox Send.
Firefox Send



Source: https://www.intowindows.com/firefox-send-share-files-up-to-2-5gb/

March 25, 2019

This is the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser

Microsoft revealed plans in December 2018 to use Chromium as the core for the company's Microsoft Edge web browser instead of the company's own engine.
Chromium is used by Google Chrome, Opera, Vivaldi, Brave, and several other web browsers. Some saw the decision as a long overdue move to improve the default browser on Windows, others as another step towards a Chromium monopoly on the web.
Firefox and Internet Explorer, Microsoft's second web browser that is not really in development anymore, are the two only browsers left standing that use a different engine on Windows after Microsoft completes the move.
A version of the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge web browser leaked to the public recently. The download has a size of 112 Megabytes and it is recommended to test it in a sandbox or virtual machine as it comes from an unofficial source.
Note that the browser is still in active development; some things may change and features that are missing may be added before the first stable version release later this year.
The new Edge and the old Edge run side by side. I tested this only on a Windows 10 machine; the new Edge will run on Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 systems as well according to Microsoft. Whether that is the case for this build is unclear.

The Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser

microsoft edge chromium
The browser interface looks very similar to that of other Chromium-based browsers; this should not come as a surprise as all browsers use the same core.
The browser picks up the logged in Microsoft Account of the Windows system and displays the account icon in the interface automatically.
The menu looks like a mix of Chrome's main menu and that of Microsoft Edge. Most options look identical to those offered by Chrome but you find Microsoft's handwriting in some entries. The Read Aloud option is already available and incognito mode is called inPrivate mode.
The Edge main menu is gone in this build which is a good thing in my opinion as I never got used to it. Settings do look different in Microsoft Edge than in Chromium.
microsoft edge settings
A couple of things are still missing in Settings. There is no Themes option or option to change the search engine, but most Chromium Settings are already available.
Update: you can edit search engines by going to edge://settings/searchEngines.
Microsoft integrated Windows Defender SmartScreen in the browser natively.
The extensions link works already and redirects to the Microsoft Store. There you may install a few dozen extensions optimized for the Microsoft Edge version of Chromium already.
Extensions include AdBlock Plus, Amazon Assistant, Boomerang for Gmail, Dashlane, Enhancer for YouTube, LastPass, Save to Pocket, or uBlock Origin.
Installations work directly; it is no longer necessary to install browser extensions for Edge from within the Microsoft Store app.
install extensions edge
Edge displays the extension installation dialog directly in the browser window. The prompt lists permission requests and options to install the extension or cancel the process.
The extensions management page lists options to enable the Developer Mode and to allow extensions from other stores. Microsoft Edge displays a notification to users that this is an option when the Chrome Web Store is visited (but not Mozilla AMO).
microsoft edge chromium extensions chrome
You can install extensions from the Chrome Web Store after you make the change on edge://extensions.
The option removes a severe limitation as Edge users could only select from a hundred or so extensions previously. Support for Chrome extensions gives users more options and improved functionality.

Closing Words

The new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser does away with several of the annoyances of the old Edge browser. Better web standards support and support for Chrome extensions are certainly features that make the new Edge more attractive. Whether that is enough to convince users to stick with the browser remains to be seen.
The first impression is good. Microsoft Edge is fast to open, websites load quickly, and you can install extensions from the Chrome Web Store. Some settings and options are still missing but development is ongoing. It is possible that these will be introduced in a future version.
Now You: What's your take on this initial Chromium-based version of Microsoft Edge? (via Caschy)

Source: https://www.ghacks.net/2019/03/25/this-is-the-chromium-based-microsoft-edge-browser/