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Firefox is losing users fast

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Re: Firefox is losing users fast

#71

Post by Markoff »

joak wrote: post #28
conqrr wrote: post #2

Is there a general trend of losing web users to mobile? That might explain the slow decline.

I was using firefox for Android but they removed the support for extensions (actually there is a restricted subset of curated extensions that are allowed). So I moved to a chromium based browser. I was using firefox on my laptop because it was in synch with my phone, but bit by bit I started using it less and less. At firefox they are not paying attention to users, so they are losing them slowly...

Why not just say you moved to Kiwi Browser? Only Chromium browser properly supporting extensions.

Re: Firefox is losing users fast

#72

Post by Markoff »

dislikedtom wrote: post #27

So what is the alternative? Anything but chrome.

I find Vivaldi most customizable, Brave has horible customization, was using Edge for few years after switching from Firefox, but I was scared of each update and their new annoyances and UI changes introduced, meanwhile in Vivaldi update notification gaves me option Skip this version or Remind me later, Microsoft will nag you with distracting icon unless you update.

Re: Firefox is losing users fast

#73

Post by Markoff »

yucky wrote: post #67

There is a 4 word phrase that encapsulates what happened to Firefox. I won't post it, but it began with how they did Eich and with how they're rewarding whoever that new "CEO" is. As a 15+ year Firefox user, I finally gave up and moved to Brave. Good riddance.

I find Brave customization abysmal (plus their crypto and other stuff makes them kinda shady), tried it and you could not customize even basic things, Vivaldi offers much more options.

For Android I recommend kiwi browser, only browser with proper extension support.

Re: Firefox is losing users fast

#74

Post by stereoradonc »

daveguy wrote: post #55
buscoquadnary wrote: post #10

If they focused more on the browser and spent less time and effort on these weird side projects they'd probably be in a better spot. Some data points if anyone from FF sees this: I try and proselyte users to Firefox as often as I can. The biggest selling point I've had success with so far is the containers feature. The big place I see people going is Brave under the idea it is more private or secure. I'd also love to…

15+ years ago Firefox was focused on a fast, stable browser. It was the alternative to the Mozilla browser. They did an excellent job of keeping it both. At some point they decided to make it an experimental browser. As soon as they started having regular breaking changes to plugins was when I switched to Chrome. I recently went back to Firefox on mobile, because I like the idea of not giving google all of my data. A…

Use Kiwi for Android. It is based on Chrome and has support for extensions. Win Win Situation for you

Re: Firefox is losing users fast

#75

Post by stereoradonc »

I moved away from Firefox when Mozilla went "woke". What's the point of supporting an organisation distancing itself from its core ideals and laying off employees while the CEO gives herself a "raise"? I felt terrible for the people being laid off in the pandemic and the impact on their families. It's good to see Firefox haemorrhaging a slow uneventful death.

Re: Firefox is losing users fast

#76

Post by dzsekijo »

It's anecdotical, but I did use to have the common nitpicks with Firefox, the slight but annoying incompatibility with that what where the net is evolving these days, and weird performance chokes.

Then in the last few months... I noticed I do not notice these anymore. Using Firefox is pleasant and decent both on desktop and mobile now. They got their shit together, or my browsing habits have changed? Dunno... needs more time to decide.

Anyways, the deal maker for me is that still Firefox is the only browser that allows to export data from it in a tolerable manner. Sync data is accessible via the "About Sync" extension, and the ability to share multiple tabs on Android is golden. (As of Brave: Brave sync is great, but a third-party client or extension to explore its data does not yet exist [at least, it's hard to search for it, because "Brave sync extension" will bring up ways to sync your extensions in Brave, not extensions that interact with Brave sync].)

Re: Firefox is losing users fast

#77

Post by dzsekijo »

Markoff wrote: post #73
yucky wrote: post #67

There is a 4 word phrase that encapsulates what happened to Firefox. I won't post it, but it began with how they did Eich and with how they're rewarding whoever that new "CEO" is. As a 15+ year Firefox user, I finally gave up and moved to Brave. Good riddance.

I find Brave customization abysmal (plus their crypto and other stuff makes them kinda shady), tried it and you could not customize even basic things, Vivaldi offers much more options. For Android I recommend kiwi browser, only browser with proper extension support.

Thanks for the Kiwi hint! Exploring it now.

Re: Firefox is losing users fast

#78

Post by ho_schi »

politelemon wrote: post #53
ho_schi wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Please FF is the only place still not under the Chromium dictates, please save Firefox Mozilla. There is WebKit! The only other remaining browser-engine held by WebKitGtk and Apple. WebKitGtk is used by many applications which use Gtk and the official web browser of GNOME, Epiphany. And as built-in engine by Apple on iOS and MacOS. Despite rumors, there is still a Qt5-Port used by Otter-Browser. I would be happy to…

Unfortunately the WebKit implementation in iOS is a rehash, even worse, of the IE days. So I definitely wouldn't call it WebKit or an alternate choice(Except it's Apple so for some bizarre reason it gets a free pass on HN). The original comment is still effectively correct in spirit, Firefox is the only browser not under "hostage".

I can only tell you about my personal impressions:

    * Google has a lot power. Many Web-developers seem to think that "Chrome is correct" and other engines must behave the same. I'm questioning this.
    * Apple locks-down their devices. This is not acceptable, because the customers are the owners of these devices. As a side-effect - this prevents a complete dominance of Google's Blink Engine.
    * Google is pressing on every user of their website "Install the Google Search App", "Install Google Chrome" and especially annoying on iOS is Google Maps which constantly tries open the App-Store (somewhat also Apples fault?)
    * Finally Microsoft Teams allows using their website only with Edge (Blink) or Chrome (the original UI for Blink). So we're back in 2001?]
    * Opera, Trident and KHTML no longer maintained.
    * Other than WebKit the Gecko-Engine seems not be used often as integratable  engine. There was Galeon but replaced by Epiphany.

Re: Firefox is losing users fast

#79

Post by yucky »

Markoff wrote: post #73
yucky wrote: post #67

There is a 4 word phrase that encapsulates what happened to Firefox. I won't post it, but it began with how they did Eich and with how they're rewarding whoever that new "CEO" is. As a 15+ year Firefox user, I finally gave up and moved to Brave. Good riddance.

I find Brave customization abysmal (plus their crypto and other stuff makes them kinda shady), tried it and you could not customize even basic things, Vivaldi offers much more options. For Android I recommend kiwi browser, only browser with proper extension support.

Their "crypto stuff" is opt-in and enables you to view ads, earn crypto and give it to content creators. I don't use it, but it's a cool feature to provide for those who want it. Even cooler is being able to access huge parts of the internet (Web 3 and alternate protocols in general) not accessible with other browsers.

Re: Firefox is losing users fast

#80

Post by beej71 »

daveguy wrote: post #55
buscoquadnary wrote: post #10

If they focused more on the browser and spent less time and effort on these weird side projects they'd probably be in a better spot. Some data points if anyone from FF sees this: I try and proselyte users to Firefox as often as I can. The biggest selling point I've had success with so far is the containers feature. The big place I see people going is Brave under the idea it is more private or secure. I'd also love to…

15+ years ago Firefox was focused on a fast, stable browser. It was the alternative to the Mozilla browser. They did an excellent job of keeping it both. At some point they decided to make it an experimental browser. As soon as they started having regular breaking changes to plugins was when I switched to Chrome. I recently went back to Firefox on mobile, because I like the idea of not giving google all of my data. A…

I haven't benchmarked it, but FF seems as fast as Chrome to me and in my case, tabs definitely crash less frequently.

And my overall memory usage is down.

I switched back about 6 months ago and am completely pleased with the change.

All that said, if they made it faster and more stable, I certainly wouldn't complain. :)

One thing I have noticed is that a handful of websites just don't work and I have to view them in Chrome. I think this is a consequence of our homogeneous environment now.

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