Why you SHOULD be using Firefox

Phil2008 · 4 Jan 2020 at 21:19

FF is a pile of rubbish now, I have switched to waterfox and palemoon, as these browsers are Firefox in the early years, plus the old plugins work too........

james.miller · 4 Jan 2020 at 21:30

I'm not worried about chromium's position or that google is behind it - as long as it stays open sources that's just dandy. That 'list' in the OP though, jeez. You only have to read to the second bullet point and already the Author has lost his credibility.

[Point 2]Security
Well, this is a contentious one. But a simple one for me. Overall, Firefox is fairly secure and robust. Is it better than competitors? I don't know. Then again, I think the whole security deal is overrated.

Whaaat?? 2 points in and he's already obliterating his own article.

"Firefox on mobile" isnt a reason to use Firefox - plenty of other browsers are on mobile.

"Customisation" well, there are plugins and there are other browsers based on browsers and... Yeah. There's plenty of ways to make a browser work and behave just about any way you want.

Total non-article.

EDIT:

Those tabs ^^^. Nope. no way.

Elevon · 5 Jan 2020 at 20:58

opethdisciple said:
Only the masses use Chrome. Techies use FF and that is the gospel truth.

What a load of crap, I started with Netscape then moved to Firefox version 3 (yes 3, decade ago), then over to Opera before it went Chromium based, then to FF until Quantum version came out (which had add on issues) . I went to Vivaldi which has lots of customisation that techies love. For me it's all about stability and customisation which Vivaldi has.

opethdisciple · 6 Jan 2020 at 09:36

Elevon said:
What a load of crap, I started with Netscape then moved to Firefox version 3 (yes 3, decade ago), then over to Opera before it went Chromium based, then to FF until Quantum version came out (which had add on issues) . I went to Vivaldi which has lots of customisation that techies love. For me it's all about stability and customisation which Vivaldi has.

I only say that due to things like ESNI as an example. When new standards need to be tested or even adopted it's usually companies like Mozilla collaborating with the likes of Cloudflare to get things rolling. There are certain companies in the industry that work in a open source way and cloudflare are one of them so it makes them cool by proxy. (This is the techy in me speaking)

So yea, it's not really a load of crap because you wouldn't find Cloudflare working with Google to do this as they dont share the same values around privacy, freedom and being open source.

Anyway forget the main article read the Mozilla statement when Microsoft announced Edge was going Chrome based.

It's not healthy for the state of the internet.

Elevon · 6 Jan 2020 at 21:33

opethdisciple said:
I only say that due to things like ESNI as an example. When new standards need to be tested or even adopted it's usually companies like Mozilla collaborating with the likes of Cloudflare to get things rolling. There are certain companies in the industry that work in a open source way and cloudflare are one of them so it makes them cool by proxy. (This is the techy in me speaking)

So yea, it's not really a load of crap because you wouldn't find Cloudflare working with Google to do this as they dont share the same values around privacy, freedom and being open source.

Anyway forget the main article read the Mozilla statement when Microsoft announced Edge was going Chrome based.

It's not healthy for the state of the internet.

I don't see the problem, there are plenty of non Chromium browsers out there if that is what you want or prefer, we all have our favourites regardless of being tech savvy or not.

Secret_Window · 7 Jan 2020 at 16:31

I use Firefox on the pc and chrome on my mobile and tablet. I have tried using Firefox on mobile devices, but with Chome I find the integration is just better on mobile devices.

opethdisciple · 8 Jan 2020 at 13:30

Germany's cyber-security agency recommends Firefox as most secure browser

arc@css · 8 Jan 2020 at 17:05

Elevon said:
One reason why I left Firefox was it is not as stable as Vivaldi and a lot of third party add-ons would not work with FF Quantum build , Vivaldi was developed by the original developers of Opera before Opera went Chromium based, there are plenty of browser alternatives out there for you to choose from, personally if you are worried about data tracking etc don't use Windows, don't leave your house (tracking satellites, phones etc, and wear a tin foil hat). There are plenty of ways they track you regardless of you using your PC or browser, so the statement does not mean much, paranoid ring a bell?

Personally I won't be moving away from Vivaldi, its rock stable, fantastic customisation and everything I need, bye-bye Firefox RIP.

Thanks for mentioning Vivaldi, I've not tried it before or even heard of it for that matter. So far, it seems very well organised and laid out. Liking it a lot.

Vince · 8 Jan 2020 at 17:15

Techie here that has basically always hated FF. I used it for a few days once but find it a mess. I installed it on the back of this thread and still dont like it. Its also a proper pain in domain environments which basically put an end to it straight away for me.

b00merang69 · 8 Jan 2020 at 17:16

I would rather die in a ditch!!!

darael · 8 Jan 2020 at 18:32

I really don't understand why there exists any dislike or hate towards Firefox. In my eyes, it is one of the more honest and customisable browsers compared to other major browsers.

When branches of browsers are released, Chrome, Firefox or otherwise, I have to question what is in it for the developers and do I trust them. So far no branches appeal to me and I would rather trust a major developer such as Mozilla when it comes to browsing the internet.

opethdisciple · 8 Jan 2020 at 19:38

Yes, I cant understand the hate either. It's based on old school assumptions.

Like AMD being crap compared to Intel. This just doesn't apply any more.

The issue is not that people use chrome. People are free to use what ever they like.

The issue is that the internet is being shaped by chrome due to it's high usage. This in turn makes other browser developers adopted chromium for they're underling browser engine and thus websites are only being created with Chrome in mind.

This also puts Google in the drivers seat when it comes to the direction the internet will go with regards to technology, freedom, privacy etc...

If you want to support a free and open internet then you really need to start using a browser that supports those values. And Chrome and it's derivates just ain't that browser.

Firefox is.

Elevon · 9 Jan 2020 at 12:50

arc@css said:
Thanks for mentioning Vivaldi, I've not tried it before or even heard of it for that matter. So far, it seems very well organised and laid out. Liking it a lot.

You are welcome, glad you like it. They have a pretty good community forum at Vivaldi website if you want some questions answered about layout, customisation etc...

Sp00n · 9 Jan 2020 at 14:17

opethdisciple said:
The issue is that the internet is being shaped by chrome due to it's high usage. This in turn makes other browser developers adopted chromium for they're underling browser engine and thus websites are only being created with Chrome in mind.

This also puts Google in the drivers seat when it comes to the direction the internet will go with regards to technology, freedom, privacy etc...

If you want to support a free and open internet then you really need to start using a browser that supports those values. And Chrome and it's derivates just ain't that browser.

I'm with you man, I switched back to Firefox after reading Chris Beard's blog post on Edge switching to Blink.

james.miller · 9 Jan 2020 at 14:44

I think this thread needs some balance. People are inferring Microsoft gave up and bowed out but that is not the case. Microsoft still contribute, only now they contribute chromium instead of fighting a loosing battle, trying to maintain compatibility with an Internet that's largely built for chrome anyway.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/368180/microsoft-edge-on-chromium-what-does-it-mean

Why move from Microsoft's own EdgeHTML rendering subsystem? Freidman described it as wanting to be free from the "chase state." The team was chasing compatibility issues that popped up because most websites target Chrome. With the move to Chromium, the development team could stop chasing and start contributing new web capabilities. That possibility lifted the team's spirits, Freidman said. Since making the move, the team has had over 400 of its contributions, or pull requests, accepted into Chromium.

Another reason for the move, according to Friedman, was the ability to build a browser cross-platform, meaning not just for Windows, but for iOS, Android, and even Apple Macs. Web developers who use Macs were a specific driver for this: With Edge on the Mac, those developers wouldn't need to switch boxes to see how their sites rendered on the Windows default browser

I don't see the issue to be honest. MS are far from out of the game.

opethdisciple · 9 Jan 2020 at 15:27

james.miller said:
I think this thread needs some balance. People are inferring Microsoft gave up and bowed out but that is not the case. Microsoft still contribute, only now they contribute chromium instead of fighting a loosing battle, trying to maintain compatibility with an Internet that's largely built for chrome anyway.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/368180/microsoft-edge-on-chromium-what-does-it-mean

I don't see the issue to be honest. MS are far from out of the game.

But your article says exactly what I'm saying:

"But the idea of the non-vendor-specific, interoperable, standards-bases web seems to have died with the move; Firefox is now the last holdout among independent browser engines"

If you care about freedom, privacy and choice then stop using any chromium based browsers.

Only you can effect change!

james.miller · 9 Jan 2020 at 16:17

I dont care about that. Chromium is open source and contributed to by MS, now. The only thing that's changed is Edge got better. MS can concentrate on helping to push web forward instead of trying to play catchup. Win-win as far as I'm concerned

Elevon · 9 Jan 2020 at 18:20

opethdisciple said:
But your article says exactly what I'm saying:

"But the idea of the non-vendor-specific, interoperable, standards-bases web seems to have died with the move; Firefox is now the last holdout among independent browser engines"

If you care about freedom, privacy and choice then stop using any chromium based browsers.

Only you can effect change!

So by your statement you are telling us not to use Chromium browsers so trying to stop those that enjoy Chromium browsers, wow some irony in that, as I stated more choice the better, sounds like you are just anti-Chromium personally, and want those that use Chromium based browsers to stop using them.

Ever considered those that use them actually enjoy their Chromium based browsers and don't want to move, or back to Firefox in my case.

Deleted member 77746 · 9 Jan 2020 at 18:54

james.miller said:
I dont care about that. Chromium is open source and contributed to by MS, now. The only thing that's changed is Edge got better. MS can concentrate on helping to push web forward instead of trying to play catchup. Win-win as far as I'm concerned

Yep this is how I look at it. Browsers wars should slow down but the technology should get better.

5 days for Edge Chromium to be released to the public out of beta.

james.miller · 11 Jan 2020 at 18:27

These firefox vulnerabilities are badly timed are they?