I used to be an avid Firefox user. I switched to Chrome because it was faster and had all the same extensions I used on Firefox. Why should I switch back? Chrome is still faster no?
AdBlock sucks on Chrome due to Google's architecture choices.
Firefox 15 plugs the add-on leaks
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Re: Firefox 15 plugs the add-on leaks
#82That's a cool blog post, and kudos to the Mozilla people, but I have to wonder about the mindset of the user whose stuck with Firefox even as his setup was unusable to the point of needing to install a restart button add-on . I mean, I know from being habituated to a given routine, but that seems particularly self defeating behaviour, especially considering that decent alternatives to Firefox exist?
> stuck with Firefox even as his setup was unusable to the point of needing to install a restart button add-on.
That seems hyperbole to me. As I have commented on HN several times before FF was the only full featured browser that worked for my browsing habit. I browse from a old laptop that only has 512MB of RAM. On this m/c I would keep some 300 or more tabs open for months on end, without shutting FF down or rebooting the laptop.
What I did have to do was reset the default cache sizes and some caching policy sizes, disable flash, and have an add-on that unloads the content of an idle tab. So strictly speaking I didn't have all of 300 tabs loaded in memory (but that was a good enough approximation for me).
I agree FF can hog a lot of memory, but I think it was and is eminently usable if one is willing to tweak the about:config settings a bit and install a few helpful plugins like flashblock etc.
Re: Firefox 15 plugs the add-on leaks
#83I used to be an avid Firefox user. I switched to Chrome because it was faster and had all the same extensions I used on Firefox. Why should I switch back? Chrome is still faster no?
TreeViewTab extension. Until an equivalent shows up for Chrome I will never...no, strike that, I am physically unable to switch. It pains me because I have to restart Firefox every few days or else it turns into a slow, memory-eating blackhole. But, sigh, I cannot live without that extension.
I agree with this.
I use the similarly named:
tree style tab
it is the bees knees, tree style tabs on the left of the screen, its simple and genius. Its the reason firefox is my default browser, despite its gradual slowing as it keeps running
Re: Firefox 15 plugs the add-on leaks
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am also a happy FireFox user, but recently I have found a growing number of websites that won't even let you use their functionality unless you are using Chrome or Safari (Fluid for one: https://www.fluidui.com/editor/live/ ). It must have something to do with FF's support of certain capabilities, although specifically what I'm not sure. This is pushing me to use Chrome for those reasons - so I hope that FF fills w…
> I am also a happy FireFox user, but recently I have found a growing number of websites that won't even let you use their functionality unless you are using Chrome or Safari This seems unlikely as FireFox user share was bigger then Chrome until recently and is much bigger then Safari. Except for Mobile, where I think the dominance of Android/ios has led to a lot of use of webkit specific features.
It's not that unlikely when Google is the author of some of these sites, sadly. At this point they seem to have a policy of writing Chrome-specific things first and then maybe making it work in other browsers and maybe not.
Re: Firefox 15 plugs the add-on leaks
#85The about:memory feature is useful to get a glimpse into what extensions and tabs are chewing up the most memory, although I haven't had much luck in FF 14 using the GC/CC to correct that. I hope that FF 15 gives the user a bit more intuitive view and control over the memory consumption on tabs and addons/extensions.
Sure, for technical users that might be a nice value add. In fairness though, a regular person shouldn't have to care--Firefox should just work, stay responsive, etc.
about:memory is primarily intended as a debugging tool, so we can diagnose and fix memory problems. It has been a fantastic success in this regard.
It also gives add-on authors and web application developers a chance to do the same.
If some (advanced/heavy) users are also able to use about:memory to diagnose and work around problems they encounter, that's a nice side effect. As long as some of those users remember to file bug reports, that is :)
Re: Firefox 15 plugs the add-on leaks
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't reboot my desktop for months at a time. Current uptime is 25 days... 25 days ago I moved offices. X stays up. Firefox and Chrome and most of the other applications I use regularly stay up. Why should this be exceptional? What's faster than an SSD for loading an application? Switching to the already open window.
While this is basically true (and even more so for me, typically 3+ months before a security update finally nags me into rebooting 1 month after it was installed) Firefox saves your open tabs, so restarting takes no time and it is basically like it didn't even happen.
You're right (although re-starting firefox isn't quite an instant thing), but like dsr_, I don't turn my computer off - so why would I ever restart a program unless I need to? Killing firefox and restoring the session might not take a long time, but it's always going to take longer than not having to restart it.
Re: Firefox 15 plugs the add-on leaks
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
TreeViewTab extension. Until an equivalent shows up for Chrome I will never...no, strike that, I am physically unable to switch. It pains me because I have to restart Firefox every few days or else it turns into a slow, memory-eating blackhole. But, sigh, I cannot live without that extension.
I agree with this. I use the similarly named: tree style tab it is the bees knees, tree style tabs on the left of the screen, its simple and genius. Its the reason firefox is my default browser, despite its gradual slowing as it keeps running
Whoops, this is probably the extension I use. I'm horrible with names =)
Re: Firefox 15 plugs the add-on leaks
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
Firefox lost market share because Chrome was a leaner, faster, and better browser. I have started to hear more stories about folks switching back to Firefox because a lot of their issues with the browser have been fixed. And based on independent review sites like Tom's Hardware, there is no longer an appreciable gap in the performance of Firefox and Chrome. As regards market share, Firefox's market share would be in…
>Firefox lost market share because Chrome was a leaner, faster, and better browser. Not to mention secure. Sandboxed PDF reader, java whitelisting, sandboxed and auto-updating flash, etc while FF and IE were arrogantly telling users "Fuck you, update your own add ons, they're not our problem" even when all the exploits were from these add ons. Now IE and FF ape some of these features. I can't wait to hear the next an…
I do not prefer chrome's PDF reader.
I use XPDF, mostly like how it works (I generally dislike PDFs, but that's another issue).
Auto-updating is a misfeature on a package-based Linux distro (e.g.: any sane one).
The extensions management is better in Chrome. But not the permissions handling. I'd prefer to tell my browser what it is/isn't allowed to say about me, and for extensions to sort out the damage (is it worth it to you, Mr./Mrs. Extension Author, to forgo marketshare if user declines to provide some/all data?).
Re: Firefox 15 plugs the add-on leaks
#89I'm on Aurora right now (15a2), and after YEARS of bitching am cautiously optimistic this is really it!
Just a few weeks ago I was closing FF once a twice a day as it approached almost a GB of RAM. Now it's holding steady at under 230mb! I have few extensions, but use firebug. I knew it was part of the problem but it's unfortunately essential for me.
With this fixed perhaps they can now work on tab isolation, another of their last major issues, (instead of rearranging the interface again).
Re: Firefox 15 plugs the add-on leaks
#90I used to be an avid Firefox user. I switched to Chrome because it was faster and had all the same extensions I used on Firefox. Why should I switch back? Chrome is still faster no?
I did the ff-chrome-ff switcheroo a number of times. Now I generally use both: I find that chrome is a snappier startup and has a better flash runtime (since it does its own rather than relying on adobe). Firefox is more stable / uses less memory for a larger number of tabs. I do believe in the mozilla mission for an open web, and it's got fairly comparable performance overall, so I use it for my main browsing / fire…
> rather than relying on adobe
I may be over-thinking this, but in case you didn't know, Flash Player in Chrome is still developed mostly by Adobe. Chrome has a different plugin API, I think, and some extra sandboxing, but the core parts of Flash Player in all browsers come from the same Adobe-owned codebase, including Chrome's bundled version.