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Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

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Re: Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

#201

Post by zmxz »

masfoobar wrote: post #148

I have been a happy Firefox user for 15 years... maybe more. I have seen people use and complain Internet Explorer in my younger days, from version 6 to 7, etc. Even though I mention Firefox to them, they stay with IE. What amazes me is how quick they transitioned to Google Chrome when it released. This was around 2009. It amazes me how quick people jump to something especially when it has a big company behind advert…

I'm one of those who used Internet Explorer 5.0 and was there to complain about Internet Explorer in general. I'm not sure why you are amazed with Chrome transition, but let me give insights from experience.

We had Firefox 0.3 which was very, very slow browser but still much better than Internet Explorer. There was a lot of mental gymnastics involved to get pages display at least similar for both browsers.

When Chrome 1 was released, it was absolutely awesome. Minimal interface. Focused on browsing. Incredibly fast, it just executed JS stupidly quick and we could create web app interfaces that didn't lag

You can still download Chrome 1 and see what it's about. It was basically what users wanted: supports more CSS features than other browsers, starts fast, executes JS fast, provides adequate developer console, renders pages correctly.

It took all of us by storm because it was genuinely good software. That era was the era of good software, not spam advertising.

Today, in 2023. this is not true any more and you are entirely correct when asking why people would use Chrome. Answer is: laziness, lack of info, apathy, lack of knowledge.

Re: Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

#203

Post by mjan22640 »

HenryBemis wrote: post #27

(semi-sarcastic post ensues:) Folks.. come on.. some of us have invested in Google stock (ok.. it's not much, but it is what it is). And for the Google stock to go up people have to use Android without a firewall, Chrome browser in all their devices, Gmail, and so on.. so they be tracked, their data to be harvested and sold x10000 so that the ad machine makes billions and the stock price goes up. I decided to STOP pe…

Do you expect Google stock to go even higher?

Re: Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

#204

Post by JonathanBeuys »

zero_shift wrote: post #164
JonathanBeuys wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wrote a command line tool which tells me "Now look at the following page" and opens it a browser window with the url. Works with Chrome, but not with Firefox.

Mac or Linux? I think on Mac "open" should Just Work, AFAIK

Linux

Re: Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

#205

Post by self_awareness »

degosuke wrote: post #178
PikachuEXE wrote: post #98

For those who can't switch away from Chrome extensions yet I recommend trying Vivaldi Made by Opera browser Founder https://vivaldi.com

But if vivaldi is based on chromium doesn't that mean that the same Chrome problems will apply?

In theory the answer is no, but in practice nobody really knows that, even Vivaldi devs. For example, Manifest V3:

https://vivaldi.com/blog/manifest-v3-webrequest-and-ad-block...

> Will the Vivaldi Ad Blocker be affected by the Manifest V3 changes? I made some architectural choices early on that I believe should keep it functional, regardless of the Manifest V3 changes. Of course, there is always a possibility that the underlying Chromium architecture will change now or in the future, forcing us to do some extra work to keep this working.

Re: Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

#206

Post by jillesvangurp »

Use whatever makes you happy.

But it's worth pointing out that Chrome and Chromium are developed by Google. The whole point of using Chromium as a browser developer (Brave, Edge, Opera, ...) is to have Google own and take care of all the difficult bits, drive the technical roadmap, and decide on what is and isn't going to be in the next version. So, you don't gain much by switching to those as the teams behind those Chromium based alternatives don't actually develop most of the browser and you are not really cutting loose from Google. Brave does a little more than others but still.

Sticking with Chrome/Chromium is a bit of a form of Stockholm syndrome. People keep convincing themselves it isn't that bad and that the ads are fine and not that intrusive and that Google means well. Etc.

Firefox is technically independent; not financially. It and Safari are the only non Chromium based browsers left in addition to a small number of early stage attempts to implement a browser that don't look like they are going to be a credible alternative any time soon. Google is paying both Apple and Mozilla to be the default search engine in their browser. And unlike Mozilla, Apple isn't exactly dependent on charity and also getting a lot more from Google than Mozilla because they have hundreds of millions of iphone users. Browser real estate is valuable; especially on mobile.

But we live in a weird world where we are dependent on a single company financing the development of essentially all browsers that are commonly used through advertising. I don't think it's particularly healthy and especially the Apple deal smells like a classic anti competitive move that ought to trigger some legal action. It would be nice to see the search and browser markets open up a bit. Especially on mobile. Especially on IOS where Apple enforces a Safari monopoly. Every other browser has to use the Safari rendering engine.

Re: Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

#209

Post by addicted »

SturgeonsLaw wrote: post #107
izacus wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, attacking the source of revenue that sustains a project is always a sensitive prospect. But then again, what's the alternative for Mozilla? In case of YouTube Premium we've clearly seen that even HN software engineers, demanding six figure pay, will refuse to pay other software companies a few bucks for their engineering work. Where does Mozilla find funding to sustain itself elsewhere?

If I were running Mozilla I would be aggressively investing the Google money until it's at a point where the interest on that investment is enough to sustain the entire operation. The problem is, Mozilla is full of NGO types who don't care about the browser, and use the money stream to fund pet projects. If the spigot gets shut off, they don't care, they'll jump ship to some other non profit and will keep "making the…

The standard argument against Mozilla has been that they haven’t funded enough non Firefox projects.

The classic example being Thunderbird.

Re: Choose the browser that best suits your privacy needs

#210

Post by veidelis »

vbezhenar wrote: post #170
masfoobar wrote: post #148

I have been a happy Firefox user for 15 years... maybe more. I have seen people use and complain Internet Explorer in my younger days, from version 6 to 7, etc. Even though I mention Firefox to them, they stay with IE. What amazes me is how quick they transitioned to Google Chrome when it released. This was around 2009. It amazes me how quick people jump to something especially when it has a big company behind advert…

I'm using Safari for day-to-day browsing (because I like its UI and iPhone sync) and I use Chrome for development. Firefox developer tools are not as convenient to me and Firefox does not support WebUSB which I need for some tasks. Also I always found Firefox filled with little irritating bugs when I tried to switch to it. That said, I'm not convinced by this flashmob against Chrome. I like Google direction and Googl…

Everyone is entitled to their opinion.
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