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[pronk420]

I use Safari on desktop because of the login/url suggestion sharing with mobile, and it seems like it is reasonably fast and unbloated.

Chrome gets used for the chromecast and it can't even do that properly, randomly doesn't detect it, plays completely different youtube videos than the one you casted for no apparent reason, keeps nagging you to log into your google account. If it wasn't for the chromecast I wouldn't even have it installed.

I started using Firefox again for work recently and it actually feels like a huge improvement since the pre-chrome days. It seems to deal with lots of tabs better than Vivaldi, and some of the new test pilot features (https://testpilot.firefox.com) like tabs on the side are pretty cool.

I tried Vivaldi for a bit but none of the extra features actually seem that useful to me.

 

[Uno Venova]

It always puzzles me when people touts Chrome's "sync across devices" feature as if it were a killer feature or something. Firefox has the exact same feature.

You needed a new firefox account and a pin number to sync back in the day, having sync included with a gmail you already likely have and use is much better.

 

[Novocaine]

last time i checked it basically had no addon support. is it better now?

It has addon support now but only a few things like Adblock.

 

[gamz]

last time i checked it basically had no addon support. is it better now?

Yeah, I'm not a add-on whore tho, so I don't know what you need.

It works really well with Windows 10 and I like Cortana integration. Play a music video and it brings up the lyrics in a sidebar. You sign pdf documents right in the browser. Little touches like that I really like. It feels light, modern, and stable.. It's come a long way.

 

[uncelestial]

Disagree. Edge on Windows 10 is great.

No, no it isn't. I have Windows 10 and Edge and have to use it to test with at work. It's an awful browser, by modern standards.

 

[gamz]

No, no it isn't. I have Windows 10 and Edge and have to use it to test with at work. It's an awful browser, by modern standards.

I don't use windows 10 or edge for work, but I'll take your word for it.

For me personally, it's been great. Haven't had an issue since CU. Dunno....

I honestly didn't think I could ever leave Chrome. Don't miss it at all.

 

[FyreWulff]

Switched to Chrome once Firefox changed the way they did updates, rather than do huge numerical ones, they changed it up to doing a bunch of small ones but they still numbered them. I remember 2 and then 3 and then 4 all bringing a ton of new changes, so something about them releasing Firebox 8 or whatever and barely changing anything bothered me.

You saw "box release" software model die in real time for internet-connecting software.. Also as pointed out they were adopting the Chrome model of version numbering.

Microsoft just straight up doesn't even number Edge publically (I think if you dig down into it's settings page it's at version 40), and Chrome and Firefox have no overt forward facing number on their download pages either.

 

[Accoun]

I'm that guy that keeps a 100-500 tabs open at any given time. Despite my love for the Fox it doesn't seem to handle that load even close to as well as Chromium. Both CPU and memory usage are through the roof once you break 100 or so.

Really? My experience was the total opposite. Opera 12 was the best with a larger amount of tabs open, Firefox was kinda decent, and Chrome was absolutely the worst.

 

[Razorback]

Chrome and Firefox are kind of interchangeable to me to be honest. It won because you can't win against the might of Google.

Used to be an Opera user ages ago. It unfortunately turned to shit. It doesn't even have bookmarks anymore. I don't know why it even exists still.

Yeah, I used Opera for years. The day they dropped bookmarks I jumped ship to Chrome. Not sure what they were thinking.

 

[Koren]

I'm still using Firefox

I'm still using pre Chrome-skin Opera (Opera 12) ^_^ Not all the time, though.

Anything but Chrome to me, really.

 

[ZSaberLink]

I haven't been checking arstechnica recently, but they had browser popularity comparisons and while Chrome was gaining every once in a while, it also fell quite a bit at points. Basically Chrome & Firefox were battling it out at like 15-20% (with Chrome winning by a bit eventually), and IE still being used over 50%. This graph totally contradicts that and shows Chrome gaining ridiculous popularity. Honestly makes me a bit skeptical.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

I haven't been checking arstechnica recently, but they had browser popularity comparisons and while Chrome was gaining every once in a while, it also fell quite a bit at points. Basically Chrome & Firefox were battling it out at like 15-20% (with Chrome winning by a bit eventually), and IE still being used over 50%. This graph totally contradicts that and shows Chrome gaining ridiculous popularity. Honestly makes me a bit skeptical.

Sounds about right for the 2011 mark I think.

 

[Kysen]

They were too slow to adopt tabs using separate threads and the rampant memory leaks meant by the time they fixed these issues I was long gone. It sucked so much that one tab crashing would kill the whole browser. At the time they also had no real mobile presence either. Which meant syncing across devices was impossible.

They were content to take Googles money to be the default search all while Chrome was rapidly catching up in features.

I wont ever be switching back, the developer tools in chrome are way better. Having deep integration with my icloud and google accounts is another reason.

 

[Einchy]

You know they changed to mimic Chrome's update model.

Current version of Chrome is v58, Firefox is v53.

Sure, whatever.

I don't remember the last time I even downloaded an update from Chrome since it's all in the background while Firefox was super upfront about it. I stopped looking forward to updates and just got annoyed when yet another version came out.

 

[WriterGK]

I still use Firefox but it crashes a lot and it's goddamn slow. Even Microsoft Edge starts up 10 times faster then my Firefox.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

If Firefox is slow make sure you guys have multiprocess enabled. You can check by going to about:support then look for Multiprocess Windows under Application Basics. If it says disabled by addon then install Add-on Compatibility Reporter and disable addons that are not compatible with multiprocess.

 

[SURGEdude]

Holy shit. Are these the use cases that create all those memory leaks? Maybe that's why I never see these problems

How do you even surf like this? At that point you are just using tabs as bookmarks

I use bookmarks a lot too. As well as session saving extensions.

Really? My experience was the total opposite. Opera 12 was the best with a larger amount of tabs open, Firefox was kinda decent, and Chrome was absolutely the worst.

To be fair I think it comes down largely to a lack of an adequate extension similar to The Great Suspender. My tabs get frozen after 30 minutes unless they contain any field input. Clicking them triggers either a refresh or being pulled from cache depending on settings. As such my 500 open tabs have the overhead of maybe only a hundred or so. I believe the extension ought to work on Opera as well but I'm not a fan of the interface and last I checked since they switched engine it lost a lot of customization. Though I haven't checked recently.

 

[a.wd]

Use Opera for when we're getting shit done

Chrome for social and entertainment, it's so bloated.

 

[Azerare]

I still prefer to use Firefox. Wasn't as tasking on my laptop. That and I've just been use to this browser for years.

 

[Engell]

Firefox for me, and i don't see myself changing that anytime soon.

 

[M3d10n]

last time i checked it basically had no addon support. is it better now?

They added support two or so Windows 10 major updates ago. There aren't many extensions available, however. It has Lastpass, however, which is the only I do use and made Edge useable for me.

 

[VanquishUK]

I always found Firefox laggy as fuck and terrible at handling a lot of tabs. Never a hiccup when I use Chrome. Just overall feels like a smoother experience to me.

 

[Angelus Errare]

last time i checked it basically had no addon support. is it better now?

Still sick and flabby. I can't even get Windows Store to load so I can't give you a real idea on the number of extensions that are on there

 

[Unknown Soldier]

If Firefox is slow make sure you guys have multiprocess enabled. You can check by going to about:support then look for Multiprocess Windows under Application Basics. If it says disabled by addon then install Add-on Compatibility Reporter and disable addons that are not compatible with multiprocess.

This sounds like a lot of work to enable something which is natively in Chrome

 

[DiipuSurotu]

This sounds like a lot of work to enable something which is natively in Chrome

Except it's natively in Firefox too.

It only gets disabled if you mess your browser with non-standard addons and dubious plugins and modifications.

Also I love how barely 5 minutes of work is "a lot of work".

 

[Uno Venova]

This sounds like a lot of work to enable something which is natively in Chrome

And this is why Firefox lost.

 

[DD]

I tried other stuff (except Safari [tried many years ago, and it was awful enough for me not even bother anymore] and MS Edge), you know, Opera, Chrome, Vivaldi, but I always come back to the good old Firefox. I'm so used to it, and it feels much better than the rest...

FF <3

 

[The Real Abed]

This sounds like a lot of work to enable something which is natively in Chrome

And this is why Firefox lost.

Firefox is like classic Windows. As Windows evolved, Microsoft had to keep a lot of old stuff around so people with really old apps can still run them, but as more and more stuff is left in, it made Windows really clunky. Microsoft wanted to dump all this old stuff they should never have kept, like say the Registry, but they couldn't because a lot of people still had really old software that depended on it. So they kept it around for a long time. It might even still be around. I dunno. Google seems to say so. I'm probably just rambling.

Point is, Firefox has kept itself clunky because they didn't want to break so many things at once so while all the other browsers were being created with or evolving to add these new features like separate tab processes, Firefox stuck behind. Now they're playing catchup and have realized they lost. Hell, even Microsoft realized IE was a dead end and released a brand new modernized browser to replace it to try and stay in the game. (Albeit a bit late as well, as usual with Microsoft.)

I tried other stuff (except Safari [tried many years ago, and it was awful enough for me not even bother anymore] and MS Edge), you know, Opera, Chrome, Vivaldi, but I always come back to the good old Firefox. I'm so used to it, and it feels much better than the rest...

FF <3

Safari has been one of the best browsers for a few years now. Apple really stepped up their game when they integrated iCloud support and a faster Webkit.

 

[Dr. Kitty Muffins]

I still use Firefox everyday. Dolphin on Android. I just like how each handle bookmarks.

 

[The Real Abed]

If Firefox is slow make sure you guys have multiprocess enabled. You can check by going to about:support then look for Multiprocess Windows under Application Basics. If it says disabled by addon then install Add-on Compatibility Reporter and disable addons that are not compatible with multiprocess.

I can't get it to enable itself on my computer. It still says "Disabled by add-ons" but all my add-ons are compatible. I even deleted the ones that weren't because disabling them didn't work. Still can't get it.

Does it just not work on macOS? Because if so then it should really be more clear. If it does, then what gives??

 

[panzone]

I can't get it to enable itself on my computer. It still says "Disabled by add-ons" but all my add-ons are compatible. I even deleted the ones that weren't because disabling them didn't work. Still can't get it.

Does it just not work on macOS? Because if so then it should really be more clear. If it does, then what gives??

I'm using Firefox on macOS and it's active (by default).

I've returned to Firefox in the last couple of months because I wanted a browser where a profile is simply a directory, so that I could sync it with syncthing.

 

[Korey]

Firefox is like classic Windows. As Windows evolved, Microsoft had to keep a lot of old stuff around so people with really old apps can still run them, but as more and more stuff is left in, it made Windows really clunky. Microsoft wanted to dump all this old stuff they should never have kept, like say the Registry, but they couldn't because a lot of people still had really old software that depended on it. So they kept it around for a long time. It might even still be around. I dunno. Google seems to say so. I'm probably just rambling.

Point is, Firefox has kept itself clunky because they didn't want to break so many things at once so while all the other browsers were being created with or evolving to add these new features like separate tab processes, Firefox stuck behind. Now they're playing catchup and have realized they lost. Hell, even Microsoft realized IE was a dead end and released a brand new modernized browser to replace it to try and stay in the game. (Albeit a bit late as well, as usual with Microsoft.)


Safari has been one of the best browsers for a few years now. Apple really stepped up their game when they integrated iCloud support and a faster Webkit.

No, Firefox lost because only nerds know what Firefox is.

It's a product by a company that only makes Firefox. Who the fuck is Mozilla? Like, you have to actively know to go out and search for Firefox when you get a new computer to get it.

Chrome on the other hand is made by Google (which a lot of people know who they are), and is advertised to the user whenever they visit Google.com, among other Google sites. Chrome is destined to win the mainstream marketshare from brand recognition alone.

All the other details like multi-process tabs are complete non-factors in this competition.

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

Even the relatively new feature of highlighting text and googling it just reinforces the feedback that i need Google in my life and bing, ie, and others will mess things up.

It makes you wonder how'll and when they'll fuck things up.

 

[GrapeApes]

Firefox add-ons keep me coming back. Before you could listen to YouTube in the background but an update deaded that. Good thing there's an add-on that fixed it back. Firefox can be slow for me especially on certain sites but the custom nature can't be beat.

 

[Wolf Akela]

Still use Firefox on my desktop and phone. I prefer Chrome at work because I can edit JS on the fly. Chrome debugger feels leaner but Firefox debugger is better in some aspects.

Chrome eats RAM though. Firefox is so much better at memory consumption when I have many tabs open.

IDK I feel better supporting Firefox. They prefer to adopt more open standards and there's no conflict of interest when it comes to ads.

I still use Firefox everyday. Dolphin on Android. I just like how each handle bookmarks.

Unless it changed recently, if you value your security you should not use Dolphin. I used to love Dolphin especially for Night Mode.

 

[Makoto Yuki]

I have moved to Chrome on my laptop, but on my phone I'm using Firefox Focus. I don't want to be browser 20 tabs on my phone, keeps my bad tab habits in check.

 

[kittoo]

Still on Firefox!!
Didnt know it was that bad though.

 

[Occam]

Unless it changed recently, if you value your security you should not use Dolphin. I used to love Dolphin especially for Night Mode.

I read that Dolphin used to send your URLs to their server 6 years ago, but that was supposedly stopped.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/1...e-you-visit-to-a-remote-server-in-plain-text/

Are there any other issues?

 

[Katcrawler]

Even the relatively new feature of highlighting text and googling it just reinforces the feedback that i need Google in my life and bing, ie, and others will mess things up.

It makes you wonder how'll and when they'll fuck things up.

What? You can do this in Firefox.

 

[Dinskugga]

Gonna use Firefox to the end!

Have been using it since the first beta.

Sure it has its problems. But i still love that fox

 

[FaintDeftone]

Firefox crashes on me a lot. I run it on my work laptop (which is pretty powerful) and my gaming desktop at home and it happens quite often on both. I switched back to Chrome and never looked back.

However, Safari still rocks on MacOS.

 

[roosters93]

Wanna hear something totally crazy and slightly off-topic?

Nearly all of South Korea still uses IE in professional spaces.

*shudder*

I don't know where to find stats to back up my thinking but I reckon Chrome's market share here is increasingly a lot lately.

 

[pestul]

If Firefox is slow make sure you guys have multiprocess enabled. You can check by going to about:support then look for Multiprocess Windows under Application Basics. If it says disabled by addon then install Add-on Compatibility Reporter and disable addons that are not compatible with multiprocess.

Thanks man.. I didn't realize that had been implemented into Firefox. I found 3 extensions that weren't compatible and now FF is much faster.

 

[desu]

I used and loved FF for like 10 years but it was just crappy at the end. I usually keep my browser open for weeks and FF was just bad with memory and eventually keep crashing after 2-3 days maximum. Switched to Chrome a few months ago which wasn't easy at the beginning but now I love it. I keep running it for days/weeks without any issues unlike FF.

 

[Wolf Akela]

I don't know where to find stats to back up my thinking but I reckon Chrome's market share here is increasingly a lot lately.

Friend from SK told me online banking still requires IE6. *Shudder*

 

[Kumquat]

Sometimes I feel like the only weirdo who uses Opera.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

I used and loved FF for like 10 years but it was just crappy at the end. I usually keep my browser open for weeks and FF was just bad with memory and eventually keep crashing after 2-3 days maximum. Switched to Chrome a few months ago which wasn't easy at the beginning but now I love it. I keep running it for days/weeks without any issues unlike FF.

Yup. That's why I gave FF up. It just ran like trash.

 

[Pokemaniac]

Sometimes I feel like the only weirdo who uses Opera.

Opera used to be cool back when it still had Presto. Now it's just Chromium Browser #4664346799.

 

[RPG_Fanatic]

Still on Firefox!!
Didnt know it was that bad though.

Same here.

 

[Caayn]

Opera used to be cool back when it still had Presto. Now it's just Chromium Browser #4664346799.

Opera Neon is pretty cool and a refreshing browser to use. But it sadly lacks support for extensions.