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In 2024, please switch to Firefox

roytanck.com

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Re: In 2024, please switch to Firefox

#411
post #377
post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing unreasonable or unsubstantiated. This is exactly what happened with app geolocking, privacy sandbox/topics, SafetyNet/Play Integrity API, etc. All of these are supposed to improve security and privacy and yet none of them are under the control of the user. Clearly implying that the user is the biggest security/privacy threat to them.

Which sites require those? How would that allow them to make more profit? I literally said if they want people to visit anywhere they use a site and if not they lock down the experience with an app, and you said they lock down apps as 'proof' that they'd lock down web sites because somehow they are equal. Apps have never been about freedom. Starbucks doesn't want user choice and privacy when they ask you to download…

> Which sites require those? How would that allow them to make more profit?

Practically every banking site (or more importantly banking apps). And a lot of weird cases like bus/train timings app, mobile operator apps, etc. You don't see that a lot with websites yet because the web isn't so severely constrained as mobile apps are. But the moment they appear, it will go the other way. One good example of this is AMP - which thankfully fizzled out for other reasons.

> And I'm yet to see what business model it would work for. I'm going with 'none'.

You can go with whatever you feel like. But the real world experience corroborates what the other commenter said. And one good reason for this is the corporate security culture. 'Our app isn't secure if it doesn't use the PIntegrity' type of argument. They'll all fall for it even if it's detrimental to their users.

Re: In 2024, please switch to Firefox

#412
Switching to Firefox is like asking python devs to not use CPython.

Firefox in the current ecosystem is the least innovative or open tech. It is not modular, you can't use it for anything but Firefox. The technology is designed only for FF, you can't use it for your own purposes without metaphorically reaching in and pulling out wires. They don't have the resources or the engineers necessary to make technology. All they can do is try to play catch-up with their browser. This is why everyone else (not webkit) saw the writing and went chromium.

If Firefox was the optimal browser everyone would have forked it instead. They would be using it in their own stacks.

Re: In 2024, please switch to Firefox

#415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention on iOS your choices are really between Safari and Safari with a different skin.

No, on iOS the choice is between Safari + Plugins (official Safari) and Safari w/o Plugins (Chrome, Brave)

I have had a lot of success with Orion on iOS. I can use both Firefox and chrome extensions, all on my iPhone. It seems like even YouTube works better in Orion than in Safari.

Re: In 2024, please switch to Firefox

#416
post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Firefox out of the box indeed does not cause broken websites. However, the demographic of this forum probably will use Firefox with "Multi-Account Containers", "Temporary Containers", "uBlock Origin", and a few more. These are amazing for privacy and productivity, but will occasionally cause broken websites. Source: I am a Firefox-first user who occasionally uses plugin-less Chrome because the aforementioned plugins…

> Firefox out of the box indeed does not cause broken websites. There are definitely websites that don't work with Firefox out of the box. Just one example that annoys me is https://mtgarena-support.wizards.com . "Firefox users: Firefox's Enhanced Tracking Protection may interfere with Sign In. Temporarily disable it in Firefox Privacy Settings to load the sign in screen."

Alternatively read as: “We are actively hostile to user-chosen browser privacy settings such that we develop our application to coach our users to turn these settings off as a necessary means of accessing their account”. I guess that’s what they call a death spiral given that the behavior discourages me from attending any would-have-been-DCI events.

Re: In 2024, please switch to Firefox

#418
post #31

I switched to Firefox earlier this year, having used Chrome since 2008/2009, previously having used Firefox. Mostly out of laziness. Can't believe how good Firefox is now, and how great it is on Android (addons, config). Being able to control anything on the browser is fantastic. Want to increase a certain UI elements font size just a tad? Sure! Want to tweak every aspect of the UI? sure! Want a myriad of config opti…

One UI feature that I love that Firefox lets you change is the scrollbars. I forget the precise settings, but I set them up so that they are always present and always big enough for me to see how far down a page I am (yes, like I'm using Windows 95!). That might only be something that matters to a few people, but the fact that it is customizable to that level is one of Firefox's greatest strengths.

This sounds great, but for web developers I feel it’s a risky change if you want to see your sites as your users do.

Re: In 2024, please switch to Firefox

#420
post #383

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On desktop, various Firefox updates would change my settings subtly and nag me about features I had no interest in If Firefox suited my needs 100% as well as Safari, this is why I’d still not use it. God damn is it noisy. You’re a browser, I have no interest in engaging with you more than necessary, whatever-I-was-trying-to-do is what I care about. Please stop acting like a kid who’s not getting enough attention. I…

> God damn is it noisy What is this noise you're referring to? I'm 90% Firefox and 10% Safari and I don't understand this comment.

I kinda do. Safari feels very much like a simplistic browser, but a damn good one, except when it's not. Firefox tried to do a lot, tons of features baked in, Safari outsources a lot to the operating system and as a result the interface and interaction becomes simpler, but less flexible.

The primary reason I don't use it 100%, but 90/10 like you, is due to extensions and those few sites that doesn't work in Firefox.

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