The Decline of IE and Firefox • Hacker News Board

Re: The Decline of IE and Firefox

#31

Post by stcredzero » Sun, Dec 29, 2013, 10:16 PM UTC

ris wrote: post #25

Touche wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple already has become complacent. They are by far the slowest browser to adopt new web features (including IE). For example IndexedDB has been around for like 4 years now and there are no signs of Safari implementing it. WebRTC is another where they are behind the other browsers. Very rarely is Safari the first to adopt anything , because frankly they almost never are the ones working on drafts. I firmly believe A…

I will add to this that Safari 6 added a host of horrible (and bizarre) bugs which seem to have received no attention or even acknowledgement from Apple.

Off-topic, but your screen name is the name I chose for my first fictional character, ever. (From almost 4 decades ago.)

Re: The Decline of IE and Firefox

#32

Post by l0c0b0x » Sun, Dec 29, 2013, 10:21 PM UTC

Arelius wrote: post #29

pastpartisan wrote: post #28

Firefox has become too slow with too many updates and internet explorer merits no further comment

If you think this is still true, then clearly you haven't used Firefox as of recent.

I find this true, and I've been an old Firefox user. Stopped for a while after a bunch of issues after 4, and after that I've been off and on really TRYING!, but nah.. sticking with Chrome.

Re: The Decline of IE and Firefox

#33

Post by EpicEng » Sun, Dec 29, 2013, 10:46 PM UTC

Arelius wrote: post #29

pastpartisan wrote: post #28

Firefox has become too slow with too many updates and internet explorer merits no further comment

If you think this is still true, then clearly you haven't used Firefox as of recent.

Not always worth the effort of switching back and forth. I stopped using FF when it was a slow memory hog. I've heard good things about it recently, but I have no real incentive to switch back.

Re: The Decline of IE and Firefox

#34

Post by dsego » Sun, Dec 29, 2013, 10:59 PM UTC

stcredzero wrote: post #31

ris wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will add to this that Safari 6 added a host of horrible (and bizarre) bugs which seem to have received no attention or even acknowledgement from Apple.

Off-topic, but your screen name is the name I chose for my first fictional character, ever. (From almost 4 decades ago.)

Off-off-topic, ris means lynx in croatian.

Re: The Decline of IE and Firefox

#35

Post by kevingadd » Sun, Dec 29, 2013, 11:17 PM UTC

nyar wrote: post #26

Here is a chart from my tech site on which people troubleshooting tech things go: http://i.imgur.com/KqYcypZ.png

Two data points? really?

Re: The Decline of IE and Firefox

#36

Post by frickentrevor » Sun, Dec 29, 2013, 11:31 PM UTC

Ive always wondered why people stick to a browser, for instance why hang on to IE 10 when you can switch to IE 11?

Re: The Decline of IE and Firefox

#37

Post by StavrosK » Sun, Dec 29, 2013, 11:33 PM UTC

frickentrevor wrote: post #36

Ive always wondered why people stick to a browser, for instance why hang on to IE 10 when you can switch to IE 11?

Because switching is harder than not.

Re: The Decline of IE and Firefox

#38

Post by dualogy » Sun, Dec 29, 2013, 11:37 PM UTC

frickentrevor wrote: post #36

Ive always wondered why people stick to a browser, for instance why hang on to IE 10 when you can switch to IE 11?

Ever heard of that thing called inertia?

Re: The Decline of IE and Firefox

#39

Post by darkandbrooding » Sun, Dec 29, 2013, 11:47 PM UTC

JohnTHaller wrote: post #27

darkandbrooding wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have Gmail and Chrome installed on an iPad. HTTP links in Gmail open in Chrome if that browser is installed. Just FYI.

Google had to do that specifically, iirc, since Apple doesn't like other browsers. It's also worth pointing out that Chrome on your iPad is just Mobile Safari (the slower version for 3rd party apps) with a Chrome skin/UI on top of it. It's not the real Chrome/Blink engine used on Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, etc, which would be faster.

Very interesting. Thanks!

Re: The Decline of IE and Firefox

#40

Post by darkandbrooding » Mon, Dec 30, 2013, 12:11 AM UTC

vetinari wrote: post #24

darkandbrooding wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have Gmail and Chrome installed on an iPad. HTTP links in Gmail open in Chrome if that browser is installed. Just FYI.

Yes, but that's due to specific effort of the Gmail team. Links from other (non-Google) apps still open in Safari.

Apologies for communicating my thoughts poorly. I was confident that the integration was intentional.

I had intended the trivia about gmail:chrome integration as a way to illustrate the parent's opinion that Apple controlling the user experience on the iPad is, ultimately, a moot point.

If Apple cannot prevent the distribution third party browsers (note: see caveat in comment above), and they cannot prevent other apps from invoking those third party browsers, then Apple cannot prevent a company with sufficient drive and resources from creating a self-reinforcing ecosystem on top of iOS. All they can do is raise the barrier to entry, to increase the likelihood that smaller players will build on top of the iOS ecosystem, rather than do an end-run around it.

Just in case there is any ambiguity, I am glad that Google is innovating (to the extent that they are permitted) on top of iOS. I tend to buy Apple gear because I think that Apple makes very good hardware, and I use OS X because it's a desktop-centric Unix that runs software from Adobe and Microsoft, and lets me watch videos from Netflix and Amazon.

As someone who has used Apple services since iTools debuted in 2000, I think that Apple's services (iCloud, iTunes, etc) are strictly "ehh." I'm glad to see the competition. If Safari usage numbers tank as a result, well, that's a solvable problem.