I think LibreWolf is going to end up being the go-to browser at this rate.
this post was submitted on 01 Jun 2024
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Laughs in Firefox
How long until the majority of the Internet is inaccessible to non-Chromium browsers because the pages "don't support them"?
If it don't work on Firefox I won't use it. There are better FOSS options anyways
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I don't think that's going to be the case. People will find workarounds. The whole point of these alternative browsers is to use the web in whatever way the developers think their user base wants to use it. If the web is inaccessible to non-chromium browsers then people will spoof their browser to the site to look like a chromium browser.
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Then I guess people will use the web less and less.
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I've long ago stopped using Chrome on my computer because it was getting too bloated.
As with others, I use Firefox for my main browser, and Brave when I need a Chromium-based browser for something. I don't see many ads...
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To my shame, I'm still deeply ingrained in the Google ecosystem. I settled on it like 8-10 years ago and I'm not sure how to dig myself out of this pit. More than Chrome, I heavily use Docs, Sheets, Drive, Wallet, YouTube, Gmail, I even have a Pixel (I hate how bloated Samsung is).
I've used Firefox a little for work because of the nice containers feature. Is Google Drive bad too? It's so easy to share things, I torrent a lot of books and I've shared with a bunch of friends, idk if there's an alternative that others could easily use.
Here's what I did:
- switch to Firefox - works with all the Google crap, so it's an easy switch
- get a slim wallet - I don't need Google Wallet at all anymore, I just keep the two cards I use for everything easily accessible
- install GrapheneOS on my Pixel phone - can install sandboxed Google crap if you want (I do it in a separate profile)
- YouTube - install ad-block and use Grayjay on my phone to make it easier to watch non-YouTube channels
- forward all gmail to a new account (I picked Tuta, but Protonmail is probably better for most) - easy to configure forwards in gmail, and then I just give out my new email to family and friends; plan is to keep gmail for spam once I'm no longer getting important emails sent to my new email
I'm still stuck with Google Drive though. As you said, it's just so convenient. I'm trying out OnlyOffice with a self-hosted NextCloud instance, but there's a lot of sacrifices. I have some complex spreadsheets, and switching to literally anything else loses features (I like the GOOGLEFINANCE() feature).
But yeah, I wish Google didn't suck, they have some really convenient products, I just don't trust them anymore.
Don't fret, I think a lot of us are on a long-term journey to de-Google. I've actually found that changing browsers is one of the easiest things to do, especially with the ability to import your bookmarks and such. With Firefox Sync, you pretty much have the same functionality as you would with your Google account signed into Chrome.
Gmail is probably the hardest one to kick. I'm fine with paying for an email service if it's functional and doesn't siphon my personal data, but finding a quality trustworthy provider and then migrating 20 years of data to it seems so overwhelming.
I think migrating is the hardest part. My email history has a lot of important records and notes that I don't want to lose.
By the way, I recommend checking out this video, which makes a great point that email is inherently insecure, regardless of the provider you choose.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://www.piped.video/watch?v=iH626CXyNtE
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
Why do you need to migrate 20 years of data? Do you actually look at anything more than a month or two old?
That said, Protonmail has "Easy Switch" to copy emails and whatnot.
The harder part for me is Drive, since there just isn't a competitor that's anywhere near as good in terms of overall experience. I'm going to try out OnlyOffice, but I know there are a few features I just won't have anymore.
I do occasionally need something from 10 or even 15 years ago, needing the exact date I sold a property or started a new project or even just jogging my memory of an old contact I am reaching again. While none of this is strictly necessary, I could make do without it if I had to, it does create inertia.
I really need to check out Proton, Google is just getting worse and worse and the sooner I can get away from their ecosystem the better.
Give it a shot! Worst case scenario, you just go back.
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The silver lining here is that you'd hope that more people will simply adopt Firefox. It's user share has been too low for too long given how great it is
I think you're ignoring the functional aspect of the integration of Chrome into the Android platform. A lot of people's entire online life is stored within the walls of the Chrome ecosystem. And moving all of that to a completely different browser that is not fully integrated with Android is daunting to say the least.
The situation is even more dire on iPhone.
Their user share was pretty okay for a while, but bombed when Chrome first released because it was much more performant. Unfortunately, that stigma never quite fell off and they lost a huge opportunity to overtake the market.
How was it more performant? As I remember it, Chrome was loading websites not noticeably faster than Firefox, as website loading speed depended and still depends mainly on your internet connection and hardware anyway.
As I remember it, Chrome exploded because it was pushed onto users at every possible opportunity while Firefox depended (and still depends) on users actively looking for it.
Used Google or Google products? Get ads for Chrome. Wanted to download Google Earth? You had to activly uncheck a box such that Chrome wasn't going to be installed as well. Meanwhile no ads and not the same amount of exposure for Firefox.
That way they achieved a critical mass and snowballing did the rest. There were so many users using it that it was considered a good choice just because it was used by many people.
Regarding the performance aspect, if there even was a noticeable difference, it was worse than Firefox. Where else did the "Chrome eating RAM" memes come from?
I was a Firefox user at the time, using adblockers, and the swap was a huge improvement to my browsing experience. I can’t even remember all the ways, since this was a decade ago. But at the time, Firefox was in a lul.
Things likely swapped pretty fast, but I wasn’t aware of it at the time because I was already using Chrome.
No ads swayed me, no Google specific sites, it wasn’t side loaded with anything.
The Chrome eating ram memes came much later, after the enshitification process reached the third step. You seem to be compressing the entirety of both browsers into a single moment, and that’s not really how time works.
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I just remember Firefox around that time and for like over a decade just felt bloated and super slow in comparison. No idea if it’s better these days or what.
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They messed up 10 years ago when for some reason it took ages for Firefox to load compared to Chrome, and sadly it never really recovered the user base even though the performance is vastly improved.
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Good thing I exclusively use Firefox.
I say this a lot but get Firefox.