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Ask HN: Are There Any Compelling Reasons To Continue Using Firefox?

11 points by citizenkeys ↗ HN
I've been using Firefox since pre-1.0. However, two other major browsers use WebKit: Chrome and Safari. WebKit also powers the mobile versions of those two browsers. So it seems that WebKit is now the standard for web development.

Unlike Chrome, however, Firefox is released by a company that has no interest in collecting any personal usage information. The majority of users also still use Firefox so its nice to know that I'm seeing what they'll see while developing. Those are really the only reasons I continue to use Firefox.

So my question is... Is there any compelling reason to continue using Mozilla Firefox as my primary browser?

31 comments

[ 4.7 ms ] story [ 78.8 ms ] thread
madhouse
FireBug is an excellent tool, that is not available for Chrome yet (at least, not with all its bells and whistles, lasts I checked). That's the single reason I still have Firefox installed.
citizenkeys
Yeah... I also use the "Web Developer Toolbar" for Firefox. The guy that wrote that released it for Chrome but it doesn't have even half the features as the Firefox version.
mtrimpe
And FireBug add-ons, like FlashConsole, make FF indispensable for me.
johnnytee
I have found that the Chrome Web Developer Tools can do anything the Firebug can do and usually Chrome does it in a better way in my opinion.
nandemo
Firefox has a bootload of add-ons. I might be wrong but I don't think Chrome's got as many extensions.
mooism2
Isn't Internet Explorer still the dominant web browser, and Firefox still the clear number two? I don't see that WebKit browsers are better supported on the desktop, so I don't see this as a reason to switch.

(I expect WebKit browsers are better supported on mobiles, but --- shock --- I don't have a smartphone, so can't comment on this.)

mcdaid
The group your tabs feature in FF4 is very useful. The bookmarks manager is much more advanced than chrome.
allenc
Firefox's ad blocker is still ahead of Chrome's; if I remember correctly the browser's API limits what Chrome's ad blocker can do.
user24
ha, really? conflict of interest much?
lolcraft
Why do you say that? I am using AdBlock Plus in Chromium. It works fine, as far as I notice.
andrewcooke
i think adverts embedded in flash aren't as well handled, for example (things like youtube). (i'm a chrome user, but only switched recently).
allenc
I'm thinking of stuff like Flash preroll ads, which somehow the Firefox adblock is able to get to but Chrome's will let through.
blub
I've used Firefox since the first available versions. Technically, it doesn't matter to me.

What does matter (as you've mentioned) is that Firefox is created by a company whose purpose is to make web browsers. Chrome on the other hand is created by a company whose purpose is making money from advertising. They do that better by datamining...

bo_Olean
I use Firefox for the Add-ons:

Pencil - Awesome tool for wireframing

Firebug - Simple, but powerful. Love the copy as Bookmarklet feature.

ColorZilla - Color Picker

Web Developer - Quick CSS writeup

Pixel Perfect - overlay image over top of the developed HTML, check your design

Fireshot - for screenshot

S3 Firefox - Manage AWS S3

Elasticfox - AWS EC2 Interface

Greasemonkey - User scripts

FireFTP - FTP client

JSONView - JSON Viewer

SQLite Manager

rmccue
The rendering engine makes no difference at all to me. Whether Gecko or WebKit, both follow the standards closely enough that I know how something will render in one or the other without testing. Combined with reset stylesheets, which iron out little differences in default stylesheets, they're essentially the same.

One thing that's great about Chrome is their rapid development pace. I think Mozilla has realised this is something that they need to change, and they're changing their release cycle to be much quicker (though, IIRC, not Chrome-scale).

Firefox's extensions are what seals the deal for me though. Chrome's extensions are nowhere near powerful enough to do some of the things that Firefox extensions do with ease.

atomicdog
It has a nicer interface than Chrome.
wladimir
For me, it's mainly the wealth of plugins (Firebug, Ghostery, SSL everywhere, and so on) that makes me prefer Firefox.

Also, I agree on the collecting personal information thing. With Chrome, I kind of feel watched by Google. I trust Firefox more with regard to privacy.

I'm satisfied with Firefox, and have been using it for a long time. And after all that time, they still manage to improve continuously. I don't see any compelling reasons to switch to another browser.

neeleshs
Firebug is the primary reason for me to use firefox. And, firefox 4 is pretty fast.
eklovlfjkeos
You said it yourself: "Firefox is released by a company that has no interest in collecting any personal usage information."

Once everything online is run by Google - including your browser, your search engine, your email, your documents, your cell phone info, etc. - Google's power becomes too big.

MatthewPhillips
Please explain in detail what bad things will come of Google knowing that I searched for "bioethanol" a lot yesterday.
invertd
That search alone is probably nothing to worry about. However, over time they will know almost everything about you and you, on the other hand, will know almost nothing about them. I am not sure how that makes you feel, but some people do not prefer to be in that situation.
MatthewPhillips
Again, please explain in detail what bad things happen to me because they know a lot about me. Are they going to blackmail me and threaten to tell my family about my furry fetish? Are you worried about a leak?

There is a strong market motivation for them not to abuse the data they have. If you think otherwise, please explain. I'm genuinely interested because I often here people being worried about this issue but I've not seen many explain why.

cheae
"Are you worried about a leak?"

Nobody can't argue it can't happen, why take a risk of having our entire search history in one place.

invertd
You don't have to wait for the worst to happen. They don't have to blackmail and/or threaten you. They don't even have to abuse the data. What they have already gives them informational asymmetry over you and other users in aggregate - and that's what matters to them. By having access to your search history, documents, emails, spreadsheets, pictures, text messages, blogs, videos, your web page analytics, visitors, purchases, location, friends etc etc they're always guaranteed to be one step ahead of you. That ensures predicting with satisfiable accuracy, say, what you'll buy next, what you'll visit next, where you'd click next, where you'd go next, or, in general what you'll do next. This gives them a clear advantage in terms of controlling a good part of your online life and in turn a good part of your real life. If you feel that's something you can live with, that's fine. Older people recommend not putting all the eggs in one basket (even Google apparently listens to them by diversifying immensely). I am sorry if this may sounds a bit unrealistic/gloomy to you but there's never been an entity in the history of the world that has not abused the power that was given to them.
MatthewPhillips
What you say is completely true. I say they will use that information to serve me ads and content that might be of interest to me. You say they will use it to control me? Explain this further, as I don't understand it.

Are we at a wall where, on my side I see advertising as some times beneficial (and some times not), and on your side you see advertising as a method of control through mind manipulation? Or are you talking about control through some other methods? Please explain more, it's intriguing to me.

invertd
If you really think about it that's what advertising is, isn't it? Introducing the right stimulus at the right time at the right place to hopefully make you act when you otherwise wouldn't. But it's not just about advertising....having someone or some entity - with much better analytical capabilities than you yourself - posses all this fine grained knowledge about you and you knowing nothing about them and having no control over their actions (in terms of what they can do with your information) it's just asking for trouble. I think we're at a wall here so let's agree to disagree - at least this way we're both happy...
android2
And how does Mozilla make the vast majority of their revenue? Google partnership. Lulz.
melling
I'm in the dev channel for both Chrome and Firefox. Each updates automatically, and I take turns using both. Why do you need a compelling reason to use just one? Each has different plugins and both are improving at a rapid pace.
bendmorris
I was a faithful Firefox user until there were just too many features Chrome had that either Firefox lacks or I just haven't found. For example:

* Takes up less vertical space - very nice on a netbook.

* You can use one address bar to search any search engine with just the keyboard. I used to have separate address/google and wikipedia bars on Firefox; now everything's combined into one bar.

* Sync lets me keep my bookmarks, etc. up to date on multiple machines/operating systems.

* I've noticed that load times and browsing are significantly faster.

etc.

As a web developer, I loved Firefox for its web development tools, but nowadays I've been able to find all the tools I need for Chrome.