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Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

werd.io

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Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#41

Post by Incipient »

monkey26 wrote: post #33
cycomanic wrote: post #28

It's weird how people always complain about lack of easy profile switching in Firefox. If one tells them that what they are really looking for is containers, they dismiss containers, but then proceed to complain that profiles don't have the same features. If you want sync across browser instances, manage them with one Firefox account... You really want containers not profiles.

I want profiles. For example, work and personal. Different bookmarks, different plugins. Even some different settings.

As a contractor, this is absolutely critical for me, and one reason I still use edge (along with edge syncing with client ad accounts).

Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#42

Post by pxoe »

cycomanic wrote: post #28

It's weird how people always complain about lack of easy profile switching in Firefox. If one tells them that what they are really looking for is containers, they dismiss containers, but then proceed to complain that profiles don't have the same features. If you want sync across browser instances, manage them with one Firefox account... You really want containers not profiles.

Maybe you just don't understand the difference between containers and profiles, or what is it about profiles that's useful and more useful in some cases over containers. For one, it's impossible to have separate extensions with containers. That alone is already a deal breaker, and there are many more differences. Profiles are useful when you want to have things to be actually separate, not just pretending like they are while they're all cluttered in the same profile. It's also about more completely eliminating risk of having something where it doesn't belong.

It's kinda tiresome to see containers get peddled over and over as a "solution", when they're severely limited in what they offer compared to profiles. One feature set and clunky interface doesn't even get close to the use cases people have for profiles. It's not a solution.

Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#44

Post by ochronus »

nusl wrote: post #25
ochronus wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does "riddled with Crypto and AI crap" mean here?

If you download Brave and run it you'll see; many pop-ups and random things in the UI you don't want

I've been running it for years; I see none of what you mention. I turned off a couple of settings (literally took <5 minutes) and I don't see anything crypto or AI related anymore.

Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#45

Post by thewebguyd »

XorNot wrote: post #22
xnx wrote: post #11

We're past the point were small aesthetic changes like this make a meaningful difference in browsers. In 2025 a browser that really acts as a user agent needs to do much more at the content level: ad blocking, content rewriting (clickbait headlines, etc.), content aggregation and summarization, deceptive content idenification, automatic reader-mode, etc.

Man that really hits me for a killer app for LLMs: headline identification and summarization. Rewrite "could X be Y?" headlines with the answer.

Safari's reader mode summaries aren't too bad for this. They are usually short, under a paragraph. It'd be nice if you could "3D touch" the headline to just load that summary in the little preview window instead of having to click, and then open in reader mode though.

I can see that being a really nice built-in browser feature, to load a summary on hover over a link.

Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#46

Post by mariusor »

cycomanic wrote: post #28

It's weird how people always complain about lack of easy profile switching in Firefox. If one tells them that what they are really looking for is containers, they dismiss containers, but then proceed to complain that profiles don't have the same features. If you want sync across browser instances, manage them with one Firefox account... You really want containers not profiles.

Firefox does have profiles, to use them well one only needs a little UX sugar in the form of the Profile Switcher extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/profile-switc...

Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#47

Post by stronglikedan »

grim_io wrote: post #7

What does it even mean to be all-in on a browser? You can switch any time, multiple times per day even.

Right? I use Chrome for personal because it just syncs well with my phone. I use FF for business because it's a bit clunkier than Chrome but still acceptable, and more importantly, completely separate. I use Edge to run one off webapps here and there, where I don't want the window previews to appear and clutter things up when hovering over one of the other browsers in the task bar.

Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#48

Post by mariusor »

gbrindisi wrote: post #23

I can't use Google Meet on firefox/zen, I tried every setting combination I could find but the video call quality is still not comparable to chromium based browsers, so at work I reluctantly switched to Vivaldi. If you figure this out please let me know!

I think it's widely speculated that Google sabotages how their own products work in Firefox. I don't know if there is actual evidence to support that though.

Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#49

Post by willi59549879 »

joey486DX4 wrote: post #21

I liked Zen, but there was a time when every new update introduced a new behavior. Weird stuff like how the URL bar is handled for new tabs, or how videos are played. It was unexpected and annoying. I don't know if they are over this phase. I went back to Firefox.

that annoyed me too. you set the browser up how you want it and in the next update it works in a different way.

Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#50

Post by thewebguyd »

tummler wrote: post #43

Oh, to be new to Zen again. That lovely honeymoon phase. Give it a few weeks/months. Bugs, random UI changes, odd development priorities. I wanted to love it, I really did.

I use this userchrome.css to replicate some of the zen UI in vanilla firefox: https://github.com/akkva/gwfox

UI isn't the only thing zen does, but anything else I just adjusted myself + some custom uBlock Origin filters and I'm good to go.

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