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Firefox has lots of room to improve if it wants to beat Chrome

snazz.xyz

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Re: Firefox has lots of room to improve if it wants to beat Chrome

#71
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hear this dev tools argument occasionally, but I don't really get it. The Firefox dev tools seem just as good to me. What am I missing?

Oh man, where do I begin? - workspaces. This allows updating live code (JS, CSS, and languages that compile to them) without refreshing. Also allows editing and saving source files in place from DevTools, including CSS changes in the element inspector. It effectively turns DevTools into its own IDE. You can open, edit, and save any file from the workspace, regardless of whether it’s been requested/loaded by the web a…

I debug in chrome daily and I didn't know it could do any of that.

I do however know that when working with my SPA compiled with webpack that the chrome debugger will try to open the giant chunk.js file and freeze chrome until I close the debugger and that everytime after the source tab is opened it'll freeze. Only fix is to open the debugger to another tab and then control-p to open another file.

Rather silly annoyance.

Source being reloaded on change is so-so reliable. Sometimes I have to close the debugger and reopen, sometimes refresh, and sometimes chrome thinks 2+ filed with the same name exist and starts setting breakpoints in the wrong version and nothing gets hit.

Re: Firefox has lots of room to improve if it wants to beat Chrome

#72
post #7

I feel there's an opening for mobile experience on Android. Chrome is pretty terrible in that space. No extensions, no reader mode, no eacape from AMP, etc.

Mozilla seems to think so too: https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2019/06/27/reinventi...

Re: Firefox has lots of room to improve if it wants to beat Chrome

#73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If developers are genuinely concerned with browser diversity and not handing the Web over to Google and whatever they deem to be the next IE6, it starts with having a test plan for other browsers. I'd say it starts with dialing back the "new feature/change fetish" that a lot of web developers have. Yes, I know some things simply can't be done without a JS webapp, but not all and probably not even a majority, so if HT…

The problem with this is that the web is competing with native apps. A vanilla HTML site might be good enough in some cases but often you really need to push the envelope of what’s possible the web and that’s hard to do and also support niche browsers on a tight development budget.

The problem with this is that the web is competing with native apps.

Only for certain things. A lot of web browsing is still pure information-consumption. The "native apps" are also turning into effective webapps, thanks to Electron and the like.

Even this site, which is interactive, doesn't require JS to use (it provides some enhancements, but the site is still quite usable without.)

Re: Firefox has lots of room to improve if it wants to beat Chrome

#74
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

not what i would call a "dark" background. that's pale. and obviously the material theme google has been pushing... anyways, sorry some people don't like it.

I don't think this is even remotely Material Design. The background colour looks like Solarized. Material Design would have higher contrast than this.

Yep pretty much Solarized Dark and a reminder to me why I prefer a monokai derived theme.

Re: Firefox has lots of room to improve if it wants to beat Chrome

#75

> While I understand that they have to make money somehow I don't. I don't understand how Mozilla has over a thousand employees and over 500 million dollars in annual revenue. With that kind of money, Firefox should be absolutely dominating the browser space. They shouldn't be making Firefox worse with advertising in order to subsidize their flailing around trying to find traction in mobile or VR. It actually reminds…

Those 500 million are easily eclipsed if you compare it to what Google's revenue is... EDIT: It was 136 billion in 2018: https://www.statista.com/statistics/266206/googles-annual-gl...

And Google builds only a browser? What's the budget of the Google Chrome team?

Re: Firefox has lots of room to improve if it wants to beat Chrome

#76

> While I understand that they have to make money somehow I don't. I don't understand how Mozilla has over a thousand employees and over 500 million dollars in annual revenue. With that kind of money, Firefox should be absolutely dominating the browser space. They shouldn't be making Firefox worse with advertising in order to subsidize their flailing around trying to find traction in mobile or VR. It actually reminds…

Those 500 million are easily eclipsed if you compare it to what Google's revenue is... EDIT: It was 136 billion in 2018: https://www.statista.com/statistics/266206/googles-annual-gl...

Even though Google is 250 times or so bigger, the point is still valid. Where the hell money gets spent? That kind of revenues are huge for any software company, especially for a one that is just making a browser.

Re: Firefox has lots of room to improve if it wants to beat Chrome

#77

> While I understand that they have to make money somehow I don't. I don't understand how Mozilla has over a thousand employees and over 500 million dollars in annual revenue. With that kind of money, Firefox should be absolutely dominating the browser space. They shouldn't be making Firefox worse with advertising in order to subsidize their flailing around trying to find traction in mobile or VR. It actually reminds…

Those 500 million are easily eclipsed if you compare it to what Google's revenue is... EDIT: It was 136 billion in 2018: https://www.statista.com/statistics/266206/googles-annual-gl...

But Google's revenue isn't only generated by Chrome.

And even if it was, Mozilla shouldn't try to chase that revenue. It should generate only enough revenue to sustain and futher develop web technologies which allow people to stay free on the web.

Re: Firefox has lots of room to improve if it wants to beat Chrome

#78

> While I understand that they have to make money somehow I don't. I don't understand how Mozilla has over a thousand employees and over 500 million dollars in annual revenue. With that kind of money, Firefox should be absolutely dominating the browser space. They shouldn't be making Firefox worse with advertising in order to subsidize their flailing around trying to find traction in mobile or VR. It actually reminds…

> I don't understand how Mozilla has over a thousand employees and over 500 million dollars in annual revenue.

Mostly agree.

> The whole point of Mozilla is supposed to be Firefox and Thunderbird.

I can understand your view. With that said, I am quite happy they funded Rust and also gave a grant to the Godot project to develop their webassembly interface.

Re: Firefox has lots of room to improve if it wants to beat Chrome

#79

It has to freaking stop crashing first. And stop freezing my computer with just 20 tabs open (for 32gb of ram). And complete their password manager. And implement recent standards to make apps work. And... Yeah, I'm still using it instead of Chrome just because I want to depend less on Google, but dammit Chrome is better.

It has to stop taking 3 times as long to load Slack, or crashing/freezing when I'm using WebEx. Yes, the applications bear a lot of blame here, but they are the applications I am stuck with for business use.

Re: Firefox has lots of room to improve if it wants to beat Chrome

#80
post #10
post #2

I hope you don't take offense but I feel it's hard on my eyes to read text on a black background. I tried to read the article but it kind of hurt my eyes and had to leave.

Were you reading in Chrome? Use the Reader mode in Firefox and you'll be fine.

It's funny how much I find myself using it since I've switched full time to Firefox. Site has never been tested on wide monitors? font-size is tiny? Terrible color choices? Annoyed by the font? Don't like flashy sidebars next to the content? Reader mode has you covered.

Previously, when reading longer pieces, I'd go into dev tools and quickly kill the side bar, set a max width etc, but it's so convenient with reader mode.

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