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Google is already pushing WEI into Chromium

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Re: Google is already pushing WEI into Chromium

#381
post #302
post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of that should prevent anyone from using Firefox. There are no alternatives, nearly all other browsers are built on Chromium. Making FF more prominent will not give Google more power, it will give Mozilla more power to negotiate better deals with Google and Bing to become the default search engine, because in the world of browsers, that's what pays the bills. Giving more power to Mozilla hinges on them having a…

Exactly. Also, if some anecdata can help change a mind: Firefox is a really good browser these days. I use it quite heavily, and it hasn’t disappointed in the last three or so years since I switched from Chrome. About the only use case I still need Chrome for is for sites requiring experimental web APIs not supported by Firefox, such as Web USB or Web Bluetooth. Site compatibility for everything else, including very…

I switched to Firefox for the idealogical reasons above and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a net improvement.

The only site I have compatibility issues with on desktop is MS Teams and even then it's only for voice/video calls, everything else works fine.

Firefox Android is a slightly less happy place. The password manager doesn't work very well (am moving away from the built-in one) and I can't log in on Amazon (which is important because I can't buy Kindle books in the app because of the Play Store).

Re: Google is already pushing WEI into Chromium

#382
post #34

And also, to switch back to Firefox

Who has been mismanaged for at least a decade and depends on Google to pay their bills.. I'm a FF user since the early 00's and Firefox will mostly not go away because Google has an interest in using it against monopoly accusations but the reality is bleak.. And the reality is these people ( Google in this case ) are so far removed from any moral compass about the Web ( at least what most people here think of "the We…

Sad that the broader message of this post was ignored in favor of “but you should use Firefox” replies.

Re: Google is already pushing WEI into Chromium

#383
post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Firefox 20 years ago that defeated IE6 by sheer force of nerds alone. Firefox was significantly better than IE though: it was faster, had more features, and things like that. This is what made Firefox popular, not "sheer force of nerds". Chrome, when released, also had some significant improvements to Firefox. In particular, it was loads faster. This changed with "Firefox Quantum" (59 IIRC), but "too little, too la…

Firefox was better than IE6, but it was the sheer force of nerds that dragged it across the finish line because neither the enterprise nor the general population otherwise cared.

What does that even mean? People used Firefox because it was better. It's that simple. No one forced anyone to use anything.

Re: Google is already pushing WEI into Chromium

#384

As someone who is a somewhat new to web technologies, can someone really explain why this is bad? I saw the techical discussions in the PRs made to the WEI repo but it was all super technical that I was not able to understand the arguments made for and against it.

WEI turns non-compliant browsers into second-class citizens. You’re perfectly free to use whatever compliant browser engine and OS combo you like today – but in a world with WEI, you’ll have to use Approved Chrome on an Approved OS on Approved Hardware with Approved Signing Keys, or you won’t be able to sign into your bank.

Approved Signing Keys -> Will this require for the end user to do it? If so, then this might be a short lived change, cause for a lot of people having a username and password is already super complicated.

Re: Google is already pushing WEI into Chromium

#385
post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I was watching a video about nesting in CSS and how it's just in Chrome Nested CSS is supported in the latest version of all major browsers. https://caniuse.com/css-nesting

It will be supported in Firefox 117, the latest release is 115 and needs you to manually enable a feature flag. The center row of versions with the gold border is how caniuse indicates the current release.

Thanks for the correction!

I hovered over the green box for Firefox 117 and it said “Released”. I see now that for browser versions that have actually been released, it says “Released ” and it’s just a very misleading bug because all unreleased browser versions will just say “Released”.

Re: Google is already pushing WEI into Chromium

#386
post #26

If this isn't the straw that breaks the camel's back, there is never going to be one. Google needs to be broken up. They own the browser market. They own the web (through Adwords). They own Search. They own mobile. They own most of the video sharing market with 2.5 billion monthly annual users. They own a good chunk of email with 1.2 billion monthly annual users. They have amassed an incomprehensible amount of power…

What would it mean for Chrome to be spun-off into a separate business? How would it survive?

Re: Google is already pushing WEI into Chromium

#387
post #5

I feel like I have to repeat this, since so much is at stake here, where it is about the preservation of the web as we know it today, at the peril of having it turned into yet another walled garden: The only way around the dystopia this will lead to is to constantly and relentlessly shame and even harass all those involved in helping create it. The scolding in the issue tracker of that wretched "project" shall flow l…

I agree with your overall ideal of free access to information but I disagree that harassment is a necessary or even effective option to push against this. I think the harassment puts us in a category of ineffective, bitter malcontents and that’s not what we are. We are capable of going to elsewhere to free and open access to information, and we would be better off spending our energy on positively influencing others…

Every time you see someone abandon an open source project, one of the biggest reasons is people suck and ask too much, harass, etc.

Therefore, one of the most efficient ways to kill a dangerous new standard is to endlessly harass anyone who works on it.

Sorry, the poor individual can not hide from their responsibility.

Re: Google is already pushing WEI into Chromium

#388
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately Firefox doesn't have a good UI/UX after all. The last time I checked, multiple profiles support is somehow half-baked.

Firefox is also missing a don't allow any website to play audio unless explicitly enabled setting (mute tabs by default, except on allowed sites), as far as I can tell.

I think it has?

Go to Settings, and search for Autoplay (or in the left navigation, select Privacy and Security and scroll to Permissions).

Click the Settings button next to Autoplay, and set the default to whatever you like (amongst them "Block Audio").

Re: Google is already pushing WEI into Chromium

#389

As someone who is a somewhat new to web technologies, can someone really explain why this is bad? I saw the techical discussions in the PRs made to the WEI repo but it was all super technical that I was not able to understand the arguments made for and against it.

It’s like having the “I’m not a robot” button embedded in your web browser.

Re: Google is already pushing WEI into Chromium

#390
post #26

If this isn't the straw that breaks the camel's back, there is never going to be one. Google needs to be broken up. They own the browser market. They own the web (through Adwords). They own Search. They own mobile. They own most of the video sharing market with 2.5 billion monthly annual users. They own a good chunk of email with 1.2 billion monthly annual users. They have amassed an incomprehensible amount of power…

Don't forget, increasingly transport, you won't be able to get a taxi in SF soon without being monitored / tracked by Google.

How so? Are they requiring request of taxis via a site with Google analytics?
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