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Is Firefox Doomed?

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Re: Is Firefox Doomed?

#101

Post by dextorious »

rue wrote: post #82
FrankBooth wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> First statement I imply that things aren't getting better, I'll agree that some things are getting better, new features and support etc... but theres a chunk of stuff not getting improved. What things that actually matter aren't being improved? You're wrong about plugins so I'll assume that you mean addons here, which use a completely different interface. Addon compatibility over the new release schedule has been r…

> You're wrong about plugins so I'll assume that you mean addons here, which use a completely different interface. I personally found Chrome's plugin “API” to be pretty terrible… I use Vimperator on FF, and not only are the Chrome alternatives awfully lacking in functionality, I also need to have enabled JS for them to work. Safe?

""""not only are the Chrome alternatives awfully lacking in functionality, I also need to have enabled JS for them to work"""

Yeah, just like 70% of the modern web, and all of Web 2.0.

"""Safe?"""

Enabling JS? Not to tin-foil-hat standards, but yes. You should also remember that Chrome has a special sandbox security model that FF lacks --and that is often found to be the safest browser in security tests, js and all.

Re: Is Firefox Doomed?

#102

Post by fferen »

michaelcampbell wrote: post #88
bad_user wrote: post #61

I'm a developer that switched back to Firefox, after I gave up on it during the 3.5 days. Firefox almost died in its transition to version 4, however now it is back on track. I prefer it over Chrome because Firefox is a platform, not a product that treats me like a dumb user. I use it on my Android too. It's a little sluggish and still uses too much memory, however it has a killer feature - it syncs everything with m…

> not a product that treats me like a dumb user I use both Chrome and FF, and I never felt like a browser was "treating me" like anything. They're both tools. Maybe because I AM a dumb user? ... Oh god.

Plus, Chrome basically comes with Firebug by default.

I feel that Chrome is similar to Apple products in that it feels restrictive when you first use it (especially with regards to its extension system), but that eventually you realize that you didn't really need those features in the first place. For me those were tree style tabs, as well as the "Awesome bar". The only truly killer feature that Chrome lacks is a reliable Adblock plus.

Of course, YMMV, etc.

Re: Is Firefox Doomed?

#103

Post by jlarocco »

fferen wrote: post #102
michaelcampbell wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> not a product that treats me like a dumb user I use both Chrome and FF, and I never felt like a browser was "treating me" like anything. They're both tools. Maybe because I AM a dumb user? ... Oh god.

Plus, Chrome basically comes with Firebug by default. I feel that Chrome is similar to Apple products in that it feels restrictive when you first use it (especially with regards to its extension system), but that eventually you realize that you didn't really need those features in the first place. For me those were tree style tabs, as well as the "Awesome bar". The only truly killer feature that Chrome lacks is a rel…

Chrome has its own version of Adblock plus: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cfhdojbkjhnklbpkda...

Is it missing something that's in the Firefox version?

Re: Is Firefox Doomed?

#104

Post by fferen »

jlarocco wrote: post #103
fferen wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plus, Chrome basically comes with Firebug by default. I feel that Chrome is similar to Apple products in that it feels restrictive when you first use it (especially with regards to its extension system), but that eventually you realize that you didn't really need those features in the first place. For me those were tree style tabs, as well as the "Awesome bar". The only truly killer feature that Chrome lacks is a rel…

Chrome has its own version of Adblock plus: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cfhdojbkjhnklbpkda... Is it missing something that's in the Firefox version?

Yes, it does poorly on many Flash videos, especially twitch.tv and other streaming sites.

Re: Is Firefox Doomed?

#105

Post by [deleted] »

azakai wrote: post #73

> So far, Bott's inquries to Mozilla about whether or not the Google deal has been renewed haven't yielded a straight answer. It's entirely possible that Google won't renew the deal, which would put about $100 million of Firefox's revenue at stake. [..] Google doesn't need Firefox anywhere near as much as Firefox needs Google. This is completely mistaken. What Google mainly cares about is search market share. Even 0.…

[deleted]

Re: Is Firefox Doomed?

#106

Post by gujk »

azakai wrote: post #73

> So far, Bott's inquries to Mozilla about whether or not the Google deal has been renewed haven't yielded a straight answer. It's entirely possible that Google won't renew the deal, which would put about $100 million of Firefox's revenue at stake. [..] Google doesn't need Firefox anywhere near as much as Firefox needs Google. This is completely mistaken. What Google mainly cares about is search market share. Even 0.…

Why wouldn't Microsoft match an offer that Google is NOT making? Without conpetition, they could offer 10% of that amount and Mozilla would have a hard time saying no on a financial basis.

Re: Is Firefox Doomed?

#107

Post by marshray »

jyrkesh wrote: post #8
kijin wrote: post #3

Becoming the #3 browser doesn't make Firefox anywhere near "doomed". It's just back where it was a few years ago, as far as market share is concerned. The desktop and laptop userbase isn't going to disappear anytime soon, either. I don't know much about the search engine partnership issue, but it seems that the author suggested his answer to that. No search service can afford to ignore a browser with over 20% market…

I think the issue here is that Mozilla can't afford to still exist without that 100 million from Google a year. But yeah, I don't see why someone else wouldn't come in and swoop on that.

Last I checked, the statement I read looked like Mozilla had a pile of cash in the bank. Enough to go on for many years if they're not dumb with it.

Would be interesting to see if they've put out an updated statement since then.

Re: Is Firefox Doomed?

#108

Post by gujk »

bad_user wrote: post #65
redthrowaway wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Again, you're missing the point. It's not about technological advancement (although speed and stability is huge), it's about how many tech-savvy people are recommending it to their mothers and IT managers. By that metric, Firefox is losing ground quickly to Chrome. Chrome is nicer to use and easier to recommend. Yes, those are subjective beliefs, but they're widely-held ones and that's what matters.

it's about how many tech-savvy people are recommending it to their mothers and IT managers I know a lot of IT managers that aren't touching Google's products for fear of privacy issues. It's not always rational to think that way, however Google has a trust problem lately - which is also why Google Apps is not as successful as it should be, even though it freaking rocks - the thought that Google reads your emails is a…

Google Apps are quite effective at losing on their own demerits in a business environment, even without privacy concerns, though that is a big one. The main win over say MS suite is price and hosting, if you have a very small operation that doesn't have a large scale document base or mail base.

Re: Is Firefox Doomed?

#109

Post by gujk »

Firefox wins on only two feature, but important ones: privacy and advertising addons. It is the only reason I tolerate the rest of Firefox's slowness and memory hogging. 95+% of the market doesn't care about privacy and half don't care about ads though.

Re: Is Firefox Doomed?

#110

Post by abraham »

bad_user wrote: post #61

I'm a developer that switched back to Firefox, after I gave up on it during the 3.5 days. Firefox almost died in its transition to version 4, however now it is back on track. I prefer it over Chrome because Firefox is a platform, not a product that treats me like a dumb user. I use it on my Android too. It's a little sluggish and still uses too much memory, however it has a killer feature - it syncs everything with m…

You might try the mobile nightly. The UI got rewritten as native and should be much faster. Still a little rough last I checked but surprisingly smooth.

https://wiki.mozilla.org/Mobile/Platforms/Android#Download_N...

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