I suggest implementing the official add-on instead

May 29, 2015 11:15 GMT  ·  By

It is no secret that Firefox is my favorite web browser application. I use it as the main Internet browsing app for about a decade now on all of my computers, no matter the operating system installed.

From time to time, Mozilla offers ESR (Extended Support Release) versions of Firefox, and it updated it on May 12, 2015 from version 31.0 to 38.0. The current stable version of Mozilla Firefox ESR is 38.0.1, at the moment of writing this article.

Now, Mozilla is about to release version 38.0.5 ESR, which is in Beta and promises to bring a few new features, among which is the integration of the proprietary Pocket (formerly Read It Later) service.

For those of you who are not in the loop, Pocket is the number one tool for saving web content to read later, used by over 12 million people worldwide. It works on desktop, mobile, and Web.

It just happens that Pocket is my favorite service for saving web content that helps me organize my work in a fast and accessible manner. I use Pocket for a couple of years now, mainly on my computer via Mozilla Firefox, but also on my phone.

Here's how Pocket works for me

I currently use the official Pocket add-on for Mozilla Firefox, which I have to admit that it runs smoothly and that I had no real issues with it. Pocket also offers standalone apps for computers, but they're available only on Mac, Windows, and Chrome OS, not on Linux.

Unfortunately, I find both the Web client and the standalone apps of Pocket ultimately unproductive for my needs. For me to be productive, I need to click on a button on Firefox's toolbar and quickly see a list of items to choose from.

I know that Pocket is designed from the ground up for people who just want to read articles at a later time, but I don't have time to open separate apps or websites and spend a lot of time just switching between windows or tabs instead of simply clicking on a link from a pop-up list, which will immediately open in a new tab.

I doubt that I'm the only one using this combination of web technologies to organize my work and be more productive. Also, I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to organize they work or just save web pages for later, or forever.

How Mozilla's implementation of Pocket works

When I first heard that Mozilla will integrate Pocket into Firefox, I thought to myself that it's one of the best features that the web browser received for a long time. How wrong was I.

So let me explain to you how Mozilla's implementation of Pocket works. When Firefox is updated to version 38.0.5, you will notice a new icon on the main toolbar. That's Pocket.

When you click it for the first time, you'll be asked to sign in using either your existing Pocket account or the Firefox one. Once signed in, you will be able to click the Pocket button to save the current web page.

That's it. There's no quick list, nor the ability to access the Pocket website, except if you click the Pocket button again and then press the "View list" link on the pop-up, which will also save the web page you're currently on.

I suggest adding a quick list to the Pocket button

I'm sorry to say, but that won't do anyone any good, so my suggestion to Mozilla is to wait a little longer and rethink that button, by either adding that useful quick list that exists in the official Firefox add-on for Pocket or at least offer users an easier way to access their saved websites.

On the good side of things, at least I can override Mozilla's implementation of Pocket by installing the official add-on, as it appears that the two cannot coexist, but it would have been nice to have one less extension to install.

Update: One of my readers informs me that there's a "View Pocket List" link in the Bookmarks menu. Thanks! Well, at least Mozilla thought of giving users an option to access their Pocket list.

However, having to go to Bookmarks, click the View Pocket List entry, click the new tab with the web interface of Pocket, click on an article, and then click on the "View Original" link to finally access the original page which I saved, is a complete waste of time.