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Is there really a killer feature of Chrome that justifies its use over FF? I've been using Firefox and have never been disappointed with it. I always just assumed that if you wanted privacy, it's better to use Firefox over Chrome, Safari, or Brave.
Flash-forward 2016 or 2017 (don't remember precisely), two things changed at the same time: Firefox started feeling less poorly developed, Google started making changes in Chrome that really bothered me on a more ethical / privacy level (general stance on default values in privacy/security settings, increasing hiding stuff from me such as in the address bar or the network tab, features added "for my own good", heavy use of dark UI patterns, etc.).
I felt I needed to get out of Chrome rapidly, and there was no way it was going to be Edge (trust had to build, and it takes years), so I started re-using Firefox more heavily while anticipating I'd be frustrated. That day never came: the months passed and Firefox kept getting better and faster.
I guess I had my epiphany when I discovered there was a hard profile switcher in Firefox, which makes separation of concerns both easy and efficient to implement. This is not the "containerized tabs" thing (which I could never trust, don't ask me why) but the actual hard profile switch, that makes it impossible from one Firefox instance to access what happens in another instance simply because the separation is controlled by the operating system.
Now, when I click the Firefox icon, a list of profiles is shown on the screen: (browsing, work, facebook, linkedin, banking, shopping, training-X, training-Y, etc.). I select the profile and the browser is themed in a way that I instantly know which profile is in front of me.
I also wanted to make sure than if I mistakenly open a link to a third-party website in my "work" or "banking" profiles, that link would never actually be queried. The trick is very simple: I configured a proxy that points to a non-existing service (127.0.0.1:9999) and added the list of trusted domains (work + banks) in the proxy exceptions list. Anything else gets clicked/opened in these sessions gets directed into a black hole.
If you're interested in reaching this setup, simply replace your firefox shortcut by adding: -ProfileManager at the end of the command-line. From that point on, a window with a list of profiles will be shown everytime you click the Firefox icon, and you can have truly separated browsers running.
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Tree Style Tabs solved the tab grouping problem for me. I like to put it on the right and I'm looking for a way to have the tab bar hidden. Tab search exists: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/search-open-tabs-firefo... , also you type % into the address bar to start searching over tabs. Not sure if this covers your needs, though.
TST is literally the killer feature for FF. It's actually the only reason I went to FF, it was getting out of hand to have all my tabs across the top, and it makes little sense with modern screens being so wide that giving up a little horizontal space to get legible titles is absolutely worth it. Someone in Chrome/Edge/Safari must be thinking about doing this, I don't know why it hasn't been cloned. Can't be too hard…
No - it is figuratively the killer feature.
If it were literally the killer function this would be a very different discussion.
Along with obvious ones like uBlock Origin working perfectly, etc., I have 2 other favorites: - Native reader mode - Native PiP mode for videos Yes, you can get extensions for this in Chrom(e/ium) but having these as a native feature is really nice. Things I want to see in Firefox: - Good/extensible keybindings - Tab groups - Tab search EDIT: How do I break sentences to newline in HN without really making a new parag…
If you need tab groups and tab search, you’re using tabs wrong. Bookmarks exist for that purpose and they do have search and grouping (folders). Coworkers look at me like I’m a freak because I usually keep fewer than 10 tabs open :)
Along with obvious ones like uBlock Origin working perfectly, etc., I have 2 other favorites: - Native reader mode - Native PiP mode for videos Yes, you can get extensions for this in Chrom(e/ium) but having these as a native feature is really nice. Things I want to see in Firefox: - Good/extensible keybindings - Tab groups - Tab search EDIT: How do I break sentences to newline in HN without really making a new parag…
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Chrome is possibly faster for 10 tabs or less. When you go upwards of 100 like I do... It's not even in the competition. Its UI becomes terrible and its unresponsive. FF keeps chugging along without missing a beat.
Total opposite experience. At least under Windows Chromium is perfectly fine with 150-200 tabs but FF starts falling apart
Along with obvious ones like uBlock Origin working perfectly, etc., I have 2 other favorites: - Native reader mode - Native PiP mode for videos Yes, you can get extensions for this in Chrom(e/ium) but having these as a native feature is really nice. Things I want to see in Firefox: - Good/extensible keybindings - Tab groups - Tab search EDIT: How do I break sentences to newline in HN without really making a new parag…
> Which is why Mozilla Firefox is such a breath of fresh air, as it uses much less of your CPU while still delivering a fast browsing experience.
This.
Even for identical set of tabs, Chrome eventually slows down my entire machine, whereas Firefox does not!
In both Linux and Mac (don't know about Windows because I don't use it).
Anecdotal.
Is there really a killer feature of Chrome that justifies its use over FF? I've been using Firefox and have never been disappointed with it. I always just assumed that if you wanted privacy, it's better to use Firefox over Chrome, Safari, or Brave.
I use FF, but I have at times had to switch to Chrome for extended periods of time when performance of FF was bad after a particular release - maybe about 9-10 years ago? I think a lot of people experienced the same thing at the time, moved off and never moved back.
Give it a try.