Google released Chrome 45, completely removing the Java plugin support
Google started a war, due security concerns, against the NPAPI plugins, the ancient browser plugin architecture started by Netscape in 1995.
In Chrome versions 42 through 44, the NPAPI plugin support was disabled by default, but could be enabled by the user. Then, Google released Chrome 45 on September 1, 2015, completely removing the NPAPI plugins support.
What does it mean for CloudSponge customers? Java applets will no longer work in Chrome, the technology we use for desktop importers (OS X Contacts and Outlook desktop). But don’t be afraid: if you’re using our widget or our deep links, CloudSponge will automatically detect Chrome and provide an alternative import like iCloud or instructions for a file upload.
If you’re using our API, you can use a JavaScript to detect user’s, like this:
var isChrome = navigator.userAgent.includes('Chrome');
And then, if the browser is Chrome, change the endpoint from /begin_import/desktop_applet to /begin_import/user_consent, like describe in our documentation.
Another friendly alternative for both cases (widget, deep link and API users) is to replace OS X Contacts and Outlook desktop by the cloud versions: iCloud and Outlook.com (service code icloud and windowslive, respectively).
If you’re facing problems, reach out to support@cloudsponge.com and send us your question.
