{"id":8633,"date":"2015-09-23T13:20:12","date_gmt":"2015-09-23T17:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=8633"},"modified":"2015-09-23T13:20:12","modified_gmt":"2015-09-23T17:20:12","slug":"firefoxs-voip-service-firefox-hello-adds-instant-messaging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/09\/23\/firefoxs-voip-service-firefox-hello-adds-instant-messaging\/","title":{"rendered":"Firefox’s VoIP service, Firefox Hello, adds instant-messaging"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you suffered through the Skype outage earlier this week, Mozilla would like you to know that you have another option: Firefox Hello.<\/p>\n

The latest update of the Firefox browser (version 41.0) adds instant-message capabilities to Firefox Hello, the integrated VoIP client that Mozilla has put in the browser with assistance from Telefonica. It\u2019s not perfect, but it doesn\u2019t need a dedicated client\u2014or even a Mozilla browser\u2014to work.<\/p>\n

To access Firefox Hello\u2019s new capabilities, you\u2019ll need the latest version of Firefox. (Firefox should update automatically, but you can force an update by opening the \u201chamburger\u201d menu in the upper right, then finding the tiny \u201c?\u201d or help button near the bottom of the menu choices. Then click on \u201cAbout Firefox\u201d and the browser will kick off the update.)firefox hello snip retryMark HachmanFirefox Hello allows you to connect via video, or you can chat in the accompanying text box.<\/p>\n

To access Hello, you\u2019ll need to click the \u201csmiley-face\u201d conversation icon in the menu bar, to the upper right. A small video window will then open, and you\u2019ll have the option to send or share a link with your friends. (You can also adjust the \u201ccontext\u201d of the chat, meaning that you can send a quick note to let a friend know what it will be about.)<\/p>\n

Hello seems to work just fine\u2014if it can detect the correct hardware. I tried it with a Lenovo Yoga 13, and it couldn\u2019t find either my microphone or video camera. (Skype found my video camera, but not an attached microphone, so there may be issues there.) On a Surface Pro 3, FirefoxHello used the rear camera rather than the front-facing camera, so I shared a lovely view of my monitor stand. I can\u2019t see an easy way to fix that, either. Chatting worked fine, however, as you might expect. There\u2019s even an option to share your screen (either tabs or windows) through I did not try that out.<\/p>\n

Although Firefox fared well in our latest browser tests, the company has struggled to compete with the more entrenched browsers: Internet Explorer (built into Windows), Apple’s Safari (integrated into Mac OS), and the Chrome browser that ships with Chromebooks and that millions of users have independently downloaded on other platforms. According to NetApplications, Firefox ranks fourth, with 9.5 percent of the market in August.<\/p>\n

Why this matters:<\/strong> You might argue that Firefox Hello is a gimmick. On the other hand, it\u2019s also a way to add value. Browsers like Edge can tap services like Microsoft\u2019s Cortana to add new capabilties, but Mozilla doesn\u2019t have that option. On the other hand, Firefox has always been known for its extensive plugin support; Hello simply pushes one of these into the spotlight.<\/p>\n

Source: Firefox’s VoIP service, Firefox Hello, adds instant-messaging<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you suffered through the Skype outage earlier this week, Mozilla would like you to know that you have another […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9,10],"tags":[369,1173],"class_list":["post-8633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-software","category-technology","tag-firefox","tag-voip"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/papNkV-2ff","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3220,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2013\/08\/20\/modern-ui-firefox-browser-for-windows-8-to-leave-beta-on-december-10th\/","url_meta":{"origin":8633,"position":0},"title":"Modern UI Firefox browser for Windows 8 to leave beta on December 10th","author":"NCCT","date":"August 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been a long wait for Windows 8 users of Mozilla's Firefox browser, but there is now light at the end of the tunnel for those people who have been waiting for the \"Modern\" UI version to be released as a non-beta build. This week, Mozilla's development calendar page was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Software"","block_context":{"text":"Software","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/software\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6642,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/10\/16\/firefox-33-brings-h-264-support-lets-you-send-videos-to-chromecast-and-roku-devices-from-android\/","url_meta":{"origin":8633,"position":1},"title":"Firefox 33 brings H.264 support, lets you send videos to Chromecast and Roku devices from Android","author":"NCCT","date":"October 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"More than a month after Mozilla came out with Firefox 32, the company has updated the web browser for Android, Windows, Linux, and Mac platforms, bumping it to version 33.0. Aside from bug fixes, the update also brings some new features as well as performance improvements. One of the notable\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Security"","block_context":{"text":"Security","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/security\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7954,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/04\/03\/firefox-37-supports-easier-encryption-option-than-https\/","url_meta":{"origin":8633,"position":2},"title":"Firefox 37 supports easier encryption option than HTTPS","author":"NCCT","date":"April 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The latest version of Firefox has a new security feature that aims to put a band-aid over unencrypted website connections. Firefox 37 rolled out earlier this week with support for opportunistic encryption, or OE. You can consider OE sort of halfway point between no encryption (known as clear text) and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Software"","block_context":{"text":"Software","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/software\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6821,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/11\/13\/mozilla-foundation-celebrates-a-decade-of-firefox-with-new-release\/","url_meta":{"origin":8633,"position":3},"title":"Mozilla Foundation celebrates a decade of Firefox with new release","author":"NCCT","date":"November 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Mozilla\u2019s Firefox web browser turned 10 years old on November 9 and to celebrate the occasion, the foundation is rolling out a handful of new products and programs. Mozilla has released a new version of Firefox that\u2019s said to be faster than ever. 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