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Helium Browser

helium.computer

281–290 of 561 posts

Re: Helium Browser

#281

> Helium is based on Chromium > Best privacy by default Sorry, pass... Even with un-googled Chromium I do not think these statements are self-consistent. We need browsers that do not allow Google to control the ecosystem. We need legitimate competition. So what, our choices are Firefox (Gecko), Safari (WebKit), and Ladybird? Personally I go with Firefox on most devices and Orion (WebKit) on my iPhone and iPad. > Heli…

Yet I pick a Chromium based browser because Firefox is awfully anti-user. I still can't load extensions that are not Mozilla-approved, a major deal breaker for me. Then there's the "news" (ragebait slop) on the new tab screen by default, almost like I'm using MS Edge, and also the many sponsored & "suggested" (read: sponsored) links by default in new tab and the address bar as well.

The only acceptable Gecko-based browser I know of right now is Zen, which is great but still in beta. And Tor & Mullvad Browser are good for private one-time sessions.

We need competition for a free and open internet, I fully agree. Mozilla is far from a decent champion for that cause. I'm far more excited at what Ladybird has to offer.

Re: Helium Browser

#282
While I am not interested for the same reasons many others have stated here, I would like to point out that their privacy policy is exemplary:

> Helium does not make any network requests, including to the Services, unless such requests are the result of user actions (for example, visiting a website or installing an extension) or are part of features that the user has explicitly enabled or configured during setup. If Helium is making any network requests without your consent, please file a bug report.

Gold standard.

Re: Helium Browser

#283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just wish there were a browser that would use their webview technology with better tabbing, video playback, etc. Apple is often minimal to a fault.

Kagi’s Orion browser tries to do this, and it works great for me on iOS (though I still use Firefox on my mac) https://kagi.com/orion/

I have troubling using different browsers for different platforms these days. I get too much benefit from sync.

Re: Helium Browser

#284
post #150

> Helium is based on Chromium > Best privacy by default Sorry, pass... Even with un-googled Chromium I do not think these statements are self-consistent. We need browsers that do not allow Google to control the ecosystem. We need legitimate competition. So what, our choices are Firefox (Gecko), Safari (WebKit), and Ladybird? Personally I go with Firefox on most devices and Orion (WebKit) on my iPhone and iPad. > Heli…

Yeah, everyone is doing their little contribution to help Google take over the Web and turn it into ChromeOS Platform. Why did we ever bothered with the IE lawsuit, for a newer generation to give the Web on a plate to Google?

  > Why did we ever bothered with the IE lawsuit, for a newer generation to give the Web on a plate to Google?
Without proper education, every generation repeats the follies of their parents.

Re: Helium Browser

#285

I have felt like a perennial browser refugee for a while. For about 20 years now (since OG Firefox was at peak and Chrome was not yet launched), every new browser promises the same things, gets popular enough, then does a full or partial 180. While I like the pitch of this browser, I find it a little difficult to take it at the face value, especially given there is no info on the founders, or whether it is run as a c…

it’s made by the same person who made cobalt.tools

That makes it a lot more credible in my books, still not sure about a chromium browser but it takes it from a hard to a soft pass

Re: Helium Browser

#286
It's a good plan to plug-in AI into chromium and sell it to someone like atlassian. Or you know, ask MS to invest a couple mil and buy azure infrastructure from them. VC go brrr..

I'll stick with FF or brave until Mullvad or else comes up with a good alternative

Re: Helium Browser

#287

Can someone explain to me why most browser forks are based on Chromium? If the goal is to make a privacy focused browser which is independent of Google, isn't it then a bit counterproductive to put all your eggs in a basket which only exists due to the goodwill of your main competitor? Why not webkit or Gecko? There might be a good argument for it, but as a person concerned with privacy and the future freedom of the…

My guess is just that a lot of people really like Chrome and wish they could have that without the privacy concerns. I mean honestly I'm the same, I'm just seemingly more cynical as to whether that's possible.

That plus the fact that using a chrome based browser effectively hands over a bit more control of the web to chrome. If I don't like the privacy issues with chrome, it seems like a bad idea to hand (more) control of web standards over to the company that makes it, directly or indirectly.

Re: Helium Browser

#288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't donate to Firefox. You can donate to Mozilla, but that money doesn't go to Firefox.

I recently purchased Firefox relay because I thought it was a nifty service to start using to prevent spam and preserve my privacy, but also a driving factor in my purchase was giving money to Mozilla. I didn't really look into it beyond that internal thought process. Your comment made me wonder, are things so segmented at Mozilla that supporting something like relay doesn't actually help Firefox in general?

Long story short, you made the right choice. You can't purchase anything from a non-profit and you can't donate anything to a corporation.

If you purchase a product from them, it goes to Mozilla Corporation which makes all the products[0], if you donate money to Mozilla, it goes to the foundation.

[0] Minus Thunderbird, Thunderbird is developed by a separate foundation. Both the "Thunderbird foundation" (not actually called that) and Mozilla Corporation are 100% owned by the Mozilla Foundation.

Re: Helium Browser

#289

I am really trying to understand how the web would work with 0 ads. I hate all the invasive pop-up crap ads with a passion, but this 0 ads just gets to a lot of gatekeeping, putting things under subscriptions etc.

It would work just fine. People will use search to find products they seek.

Re: Helium Browser

#290

Yeesh, tough crowd in these comments. And yet everyone's excited for new Gmail skins. Anyway. I hope more people take ungoogled-chromium and create new interfaces. It's a shame that Servo's in an unusable state, I'd love to see more tooling around that. I just want someone to give me Opera 12...I suppose that's Vivaldi though.

And Vivaldi also supports MV2 extensions - so uBlock origin still works without any issues.
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