Starting in Firefox 26, MP3 content on Windows XP will open in the browser with the built-in player. The user should be better informed.
It was only after some hours of searching that I found the solution, on this page [ http://kb.mozillazine.org/File_types_and_download_actions ] which indicates the action to correct the problem (change the value of media.directshow.enabled). This involves using about:config.
Frankly I have better things to do with my time than getting Firefox to continue behaving as before. Lots of people download mp3 podcasts, this new behaviour is not helpful!!
I think (1) that offering the built-in player as the default is not good (even if you're proud of it), you should offer it as an option in the Tools>Options>Applications list. I am taking the time to write this because I think FFX is a good product, but such changes without warning are likely to alienate faithful users, myself included. Best wishes
Chosen solution
Firefox 26 Release Notes - 1st item under Changed
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/26.0/releasenotes/
All Replies (4)
Chosen Solution
Firefox 26 Release Notes - 1st item under Changed
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/26.0/releasenotes/
Hi the-edmeister and thanks for your response.
Yes it's in the release notes, but these are not necessarily very intelligible to average users, and anyway, all it says is "Support for MP3 decoding on Windows XP, completing MP3 support across Windows OS versions". What's that supposed to mean? Well, I can deduce what it means but many wouldn't. And it doesn't help in turning the thing off. There's a fancy purple "Changed" button but no link to details, that I saw.
My point is that changes like this can wreak havoc in the daily life of your average user, and I would suggest they should be introduced with more subtlety.
Such as, making "media.directshow.enabled" accessible in the regular settings dialogue, maybe under some such heading as "Firefox built-in player". I spent hours trying to work out which damned third-party software had pre-empted audio handling in Firefox. The natural place to look in such a situation is Tools>Options>Applications, or maybe Content. If I'd seen "Firefox built-in player" with a check next to it I'd have known what to do.
So this is just feedback, trying to point out that having "Applications" handling options that don't have any effect, is not going to make users better disposed to their favourite navigator. Best
Modified by JFThompson
And users complained when Firefox had a "what's new" first start page after a major update. RTFM or be lost and wondering what happened.
You may submit feedback to Mozilla here - https://input.mozilla.org/en-US/feedback
Well... I never complained about the What's New page, though to be honest I can't swear I always read it...
As for reading TFM, dead right, and it's very useful. I got as far as http://mzl.la/NxCODA and http://mzl.la/McvRbE which leads to http://mzl.la/M99OTW and http://mzl.la/LL9mLw
I saw no mention of mp3s or how to turn off DirectShow however.
Bye...