My love for Chrome ended and I switched back to Firefox about 3 months ago. The switch went well and I'm happy with my choice. Reasons:
1. First version of Chrome for the desktop supported extensions, because it was competing with a popular Firefox, and now on Android they don't give a shit about enabling users to customize the behavior of their browser, which pisses me off.
So I switched to Firefox on my Android because it allows me to use these plugins ... AdBlock Plus, HTTPS Everywhere + LastPass. Plus it has a handy Reader Mode, that's like Readability built into my Firefox. And I find the UI nicer on my 7-inch tablet. This naturally led to a decision to switch to Firefox on the desktop too, because Sync.
2. In Firefox on my desktop I like having Tab Groups + the Awesome Bar (which does a good job of doing full text searches in my history, much better than what other browsers are capable of) + a really cool tweak to the Australis theme called "The Fox, Only Better" which is awesome and will make it much harder for me to switch browsers again.
I also love it when Mozilla develops something, then everybody benefits, like Asm.js or PDF.js. Try using Chromium instead of Chrome, it's not the same experience.
3. I've been all hooked into Google's stuff, I even pay for a Google Apps account and everything, but I noticed that Google hasn't been aligned with my interests.
For example they killed Google Reader to promote Google+, they showed no interest in fixing Gmail's broken IMAP support, they showed no interest in fixing Google Calendar's broken CalDAV support, they discontinued the Exchange support from Gmail, they discontinued the XMPP support from Google Hangouts, they announced no interest in providing alternatives that I know of, certain features in their online products only work in Chrome. It seems to me that Google is only interested in standards as long as they are the underdog.
I also moved to Dropbox as my cloud storage, because Google Drive still does not have a Linux client. I mean, Google out of all companies should think that Linux support also means headless servers (like home servers or other appliances), so providing Linux support should be obvious. But no, 2 years later, the OS X client is still shitty and still no Linux support. I have to trust my data to a third-party if I want that, or suffer one of the shitty open-source alternatives and risk my data.
So there you have it - Firefox is a great browser and it also tries to make me happy. And yes, I would also like the one-process per tab model, but they are actively working on it.
> the Awesome Bar (which does a good job of doing full text searches in my history, much better than what other browsers are capable of
I'm surprised that the other browsers are still so much worse on this front, and that this difference doesn't get more attention. Firefox's implementation is fantastic and has been for years and years.
Probably because others are too eager to fill out the results via an online search than from your history, and I doubt if that is because they have your best interests at heart.
A note here - this isn't just about privacy, but also about usability.
The problem is that many times I can remember an article I've read or a link I visited only vaguely, by a single word in the title or something like that. Well, try searching for a single word on Google.
For example, I tried typing "manifesto". Firefox's Awesome Bar suggested to me amongst others: a YouTube video called "Firefox Manifesto 2012" (watched it yesterday), a blog article on a website titled "The Social Customer Manifesto" and a link to ReactiveManifesto.org.
I typed the same in Chrome and note that I keep Chrome around and it has a very rich history. Guess what Chrome gave me? Nothing from my history. It only gave me search suggestions like "manifesto definition", "manifesto lyrics" and "manifesto of the communist party".
So that's a big problem. You remember a single word or two. You want something from your history. Firefox does a good job at suggesting from my history. Chrome expects me to do searches on Google. I wouldn't mind those searches, but they aren't solving my problem.
So yes, that's why Firefox is back again to being the browser I love most. Along with Tab Groups and efficient UI tweaks that I can do, I find it hard to use anything else.
I read bad_user's comment as saying "desktop Chrome supported extensions from the start, but mobile Chrome doesn't; so I switched to mobile Firefox for the extensions, and then subsequently to desktop Firefox for Sync."
> I shouldn't need Python and an SDK installed to develop a JavaScript browser extension.
You don't. The only things you need are a text editor and a zip utility (and I'm not sure about the last; it's certainly not needed if you're not distributing the extension). You only need the SDK if you want to use the Add-on SDK.
Well yes, I did that, but then I realized that means giving Insync access to my data and that was a tough pill to swallow given that trusting Google with my data was already pushing it. I mentioned this already without naming Insync, but yes, I have a license even before 1.0.
It seems the standards-based browser du jour is moving back in Mozilla's favor lately. I can say, for the first time in ages, that FF is very fast, very stable and very secure. Chrome, on the other hand, has been less stable, less fast and less secure.
Firefox needs a better security model for add-ons. The thing that bothers me in Firefox is the Private Mode (Incognito in Chrome), as it doesn't disable add-ons. And I use private mode quite often.
Mozilla has been relying on a more strict review process for whatever gets published on addons.mozilla.org (when compared to Google), with Firefox users experiencing less instances of add-ons turning to mallware/spyware, but I'd like both this review process and a better security model for these add-ons.
Profile manager UI is still around and used to be easier to get to (there's a command-line option for it now), but it was too easy to accidentally remove profiles and also confusing for people who got into it accidentally.
Profilist is relatively new and doesn't allow profile deletion, but to me still seems like the kind of feature that's great as an add-on but not used by so many people and confusing to less power-users.
I'm not sure about FF but the beauty of Chrome's Private Browsing mode is that all extensions are disabled by default with the option to allow on Private Browsing mode.
Somebody pointed out that you could setup/use different profiles in Firefox and there's a plugin "Profilist" that makes creating / switching profiles easy, just tried it out and works well.
The mentality with add-ons in Firefox is that when you install an add-on, you trust that it does the right thing (e.g. it gets a notification that you're in Private Mode such that it has a chance to stop logging or whatever) and then you trust Mozilla's review process to catch perpetrators.
The problem is of course that some add-ons are more trustworthy than others. I trust Mozilla and I may choose to trust Ghostery, but do I trust the Readability add-on in Private Mode? I can't do that. And you can take security measures, like connecting through a VPN and connecting through HTTPS, but if your browser is compromised, then tough luck.
I use Private Mode when searching / watching porn, or when logging to my Banking account. And I take security very seriously. Therefore I have to abstain from installing add-ons that I don't find to be trustworthy. Of course, at this point I trust extensions in Chrome's Store even less, but I'd also prefer its security model for extensions. Hopefully once Electrolysis is in, they'll also work on this.
I wonder if there's any demand for a maintained noscript whitelist, for folks who want a kind of middle ground. Allow functional stuff from google.com, microsoft.com, etc. but continue to block google-analytics and all the ad crap.
This anniversary makes me feel like I should do something nice for Firefox. Then I realised that I've been working on their DVCS of choice, Mercurial. Well, Firefox, you've served me very well over the years. I hope I can make Mercurial better for you in return. Thanks!
I was a Mozilla Suite user 12 years ago. Then became a passionate Firefox user and supporter of the Open Web. Happy Birthday Firefox! Looking forward to 10 more years!
I've been a Firefox user since it launched. It's still my browser of choice on my personal Windows laptop and on all of my Android devices--I admire Mozilla's willingness to not let the OS vendor hold a monopoly on the browser software, now as much as they did a decade ago with Microsoft.
Then again, my primary music player on my laptop is still Winamp, so make of that what you will.
I just got back from visiting a friend the Mozilla office. Thanks for creating an amazing web browser that opened a new dawn away from the shackles we were once stuck with.
I find its UI better on my 7 inch tablet (those tabs in Chrome are small and annoying and I also prefer Firefox's UI when doing searches). It also has add-ons and for example I use AdBlock Plus (websites on your mobile full of ads are unusable), HTTPS Everywhere (especially important for mobile devices that connect to public Wifis) and LastPass.
It also has a Reader Mode that strips the annoying styling off an article, much like Readability or Pocket. You can also save articles for later reading. Feature is still young, but it's been working well for me.
It also inherits the Awesome Bar from the desktop version. It does a very good job at suggesting previous links from your history. This saves you from doing searches on Google, which many times is like searching for a needle in a haystack.
It's also a platform for apps, apps that get published in the Firefox Marketplace and that can work in Firefox OS as well as on Android (and more recently on your desktop). Much like Chrome for desktop does, but it works on your mobile. Still young, doesn't have many apps, but it's been growing and improving and the whole thing is based on web standards or APIs that Mozilla is pushing for standardization.
Try it out, you might like it. And let me tell you, once you become hooked to one of its add-ons, you won't be able to switch back to Chrome anymore ;-)
The last time I tried it the only thing it was missing was the thing that chrome does when you tap near several links and chrome determines that the click was somewhat ambiguous and offers you a zoomed up version in a pop-up box. Does it have that now?
The big problem for me on Android is that it doesn't yet support the native android zoom gesture - double tap, hold and swipe up or down.
Pinch zooming is for the birds compared to that, and Firefox still hasn't updated to fit in with the Android default gestures (Since JB or KitKat I think).
Why was this comment downvoted? This is exactly why Phoenix — I mean Firebird — I mean Firefox — was started, because the Netscape Suite was a fiasco, but the underlying Gecko rendering engine was worth salvaging. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox#History
1. First version of Chrome for the desktop supported extensions, because it was competing with a popular Firefox, and now on Android they don't give a shit about enabling users to customize the behavior of their browser, which pisses me off.
So I switched to Firefox on my Android because it allows me to use these plugins ... AdBlock Plus, HTTPS Everywhere + LastPass. Plus it has a handy Reader Mode, that's like Readability built into my Firefox. And I find the UI nicer on my 7-inch tablet. This naturally led to a decision to switch to Firefox on the desktop too, because Sync.
2. In Firefox on my desktop I like having Tab Groups + the Awesome Bar (which does a good job of doing full text searches in my history, much better than what other browsers are capable of) + a really cool tweak to the Australis theme called "The Fox, Only Better" which is awesome and will make it much harder for me to switch browsers again.
I also love it when Mozilla develops something, then everybody benefits, like Asm.js or PDF.js. Try using Chromium instead of Chrome, it's not the same experience.
3. I've been all hooked into Google's stuff, I even pay for a Google Apps account and everything, but I noticed that Google hasn't been aligned with my interests.
For example they killed Google Reader to promote Google+, they showed no interest in fixing Gmail's broken IMAP support, they showed no interest in fixing Google Calendar's broken CalDAV support, they discontinued the Exchange support from Gmail, they discontinued the XMPP support from Google Hangouts, they announced no interest in providing alternatives that I know of, certain features in their online products only work in Chrome. It seems to me that Google is only interested in standards as long as they are the underdog.
I also moved to Dropbox as my cloud storage, because Google Drive still does not have a Linux client. I mean, Google out of all companies should think that Linux support also means headless servers (like home servers or other appliances), so providing Linux support should be obvious. But no, 2 years later, the OS X client is still shitty and still no Linux support. I have to trust my data to a third-party if I want that, or suffer one of the shitty open-source alternatives and risk my data.
So there you have it - Firefox is a great browser and it also tries to make me happy. And yes, I would also like the one-process per tab model, but they are actively working on it.
Happy Birthday Firefox.