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Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by irrational on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @06:15PM (#20046182)
I don't get it. I've used Firefox and Chrome for years. Firefox is easily as good and capable as Chrome. The barrier to switch from Chrome to Firefox is almost non-existent. Is Google counting on the majority of people not being knowledgeable enough or motivated enough to switch browsers?
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by o10449366 on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @07:37PM (#20046857)
It's not "as good." I've tried every release of Firefox for the past decade. On Linux and Mac the video performance is noticeably worse than Chrome with significant frame drops, lag, and tearing. Yes, I've tried enabling/disabling hardware acceleration, flash, and all sorts of other flags and options, but the two are still incomparable. Furthermore, even with the quantum update Firefox is still slower for general web browsing and usage than Chrome. I've measured both dropped frames and load times to confirm this.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by comboy on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @07:57PM (#20046974)
Yup, let's not sugar coat it. Most HN says "switched to Firefox and haven't looked back" but Chrome does a lot of magic that makes everything faster (or at least seem faster - doesn't matter to me as a user). Firefox also still occasionally freezes even for a few seconds with some busy javascript, haven't had that experience on Chrome in a long time. I'm using FF for ideological reasons but currently Chrome is simply better in terms of user experience.

And sadly web became so dominated by Chrome that some pages simply don't work correctly under Firefox. I'm not going to switch bank or my mobile operator just because they suck at properly designing websites.

Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by josephorjoe on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @08:16PM (#20047117)
Well, once the web pages in chrome are bloated with ads that you can block in firefox, its apparent performance edge will fade.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by move-on-by on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @09:53PM (#20047657)
Seriously, when is the tipping point? Mine was a couple years ago. Recently with Chrome, there is forced login to the browser when you sign into your google account. Also, when you clear all cookies- it keeps the google cookies. Now it’s crippling ad blockers. Chrome is no longer a user agent, it’s spyware. But I guess as long as that crappy page overloaded with ads and trackers doesn’t freeze for 2 seconds, then it’s still the best.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by josephorjoe on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @11:07PM (#20048013)
I only use chrome on my work computer now, and even there I use firefox for logging in to my personal gmail.

My son just got his first computer -- a windows pc. He has edge and firefox installed, but no chrome. I told him he cannot trust google :( and should avoid their software as much a possible.

Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by rossdavidh on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @08:54PM (#20047318)
Uh, that's not my experience at all...I use FF normally, and Chrome not uncommonly (sometimes it's handy to have an entirely separate browser, plus compatibility testing), and I find no noticeable difference.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by galangalalgol on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @09:33PM (#20047542)
I agree in windows, but in Linux and android FF has some issues. I still use it but sometimes if a page is being super slow I'll open it in chrome instead.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by rossdavidh on Thursday May 30, 2019 @10:23AM (#20051401)
Hmmmm...not denying your experience, but I haven't used Windows routinely in years; my last several laptops have been Linux. Maybe I just use different websites?
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by oefrha on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @09:28PM (#20047515)
I've been trying to force Firefox (latest Firefox Developer Edition) upon myself yet again for the past week, and aside from performance problems which still seem to exist on the Mac (initial rendering of pages is slow), some things just annoy the hell out of me:

- Search results are not highlighted on the scroll bar, which means no information on grouping at a glance, and can't just scroll to the relevant part. I have to go through matches one by one.

- Font rendering is subtly broken as always. A specific example is font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums, which seems completely broken at least for -apple-system (.SF NS Text); as a result a data aggregation site of mine which I read all the time looks awful, larger numbers may be narrower and vice versa. (Oddly, font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums seems to work for "Fira Sans" on MDN; I haven't found another font it works on.)

- With developer tools open, pages are really slow.

I'm probably forgetting something else.

(I should add that I also forced Safari upon myself, which is a shitshow, problems too numerous to list. Until Google completely removes ad-blocking capabilities I need, Chrome is simply the best there is.)

Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by bradstewart on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @06:27PM (#20046297)
I've been using Firefox for the last two weeks or so. It's fine, but noticeably slower (on a 2018 MacBook Pro) when opening new tabs and especially dragging tabs into new windows. It also seems to get stuck resolving DNS sometimes, which is probably an artifact of the corporate network, but Chrome doesn't have that problem.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by codethief on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @07:18PM (#20046753)
I'm having the exact opposite experience with Chromium: Sometimes, two to three tabs (regular websites, no videos, no fancy stuff) already make it freeze. My Firefox, in contrast, runs smoothly even with dozens of tabs open.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by snek on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @07:18PM (#20046750)
Firefox is often faster than chrome for me on my 2015 MacBook air
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by riskable on Thursday May 30, 2019 @10:57AM (#20051851)
The DNS thing is probably caused by Firefox's OS-agnostic DNS. You see, in Windows Chrome will use IE's networking stack (so changing your IE proxy settings changes them in Chrome) if you have the "enterprise version" installed. Also, if your company has installed "security software" that screws with web requests and/or DNS resolution in order to "keep you safe" it'll treat Firefox's outbound HTTP requests like they're coming from a script and treat them with heavy suspicion (which slows everything down and can even result in timeouts).

It's super annoying. This is the state of things at my workplace and it's ridiculous.

Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by ptmcc on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @09:51PM (#20047639)
> It also seems to get stuck resolving DNS sometimes, which is probably an artifact of the corporate network, but Chrome doesn't have that problem.

OMG I thought I was the only one running into this exact same problem! This has been a deal killer for me.

Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by nanny on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @10:11PM (#20047744)
Switch your DNS servers (I suggest 1.1.1.1). Chrome uses Google's DNS servers by default, they're probably just faster than whatever you're using.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by ptmcc on Thursday May 30, 2019 @12:46AM (#20048472)
That isn't an effective solution on a corporate network that depends on internal name resolution.

And FWIW I run into the same DNS-like issues with Firefox on my home network, which uses Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 DNS. Perhaps it is something to do with the way my company provisions my machine, I don't know. All I know is that Chrome has no issues. I've made efforts to track down the issue but it's ultimately not worth my time.

Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by amaccuish on Thursday May 30, 2019 @06:17PM (#20056503)
Double check it's not using or trying to autodetect a proxy?
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by bradstewart on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @09:55PM (#20047666)
Me too actually... I haven't spent any time trying to actually track it down. Unsure if it's the internal DNS servers, the Squid proxies, or what exactly. It doesn't seem to happen at home, but I don't have much runtime on FF at home yet.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by ndiscussion on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @07:12PM (#20046713)
I know this is contentious, but I think the problem might be that you're using a razor-thin device with extreme thermal throttling problems. I experience no such slowdowns on a 2011 Acer econobook with an i5 and 4gb ram.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by ineedasername on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @08:30PM (#20047199)
If their hardware was the issue, then the issue would be present with both browsers, but it isn't.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by bradstewart on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @09:58PM (#20047688)
I would love for my laptop to be thicker, have fans, and run Linux. But I didn't buy this.

My personal machine is a Razer Blade.

Also, Chrome works fine.

Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by oefrha on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @09:34PM (#20047545)
Agree with the performance problem (initial rendering). Mid-2015 MBP 15'' ("the best laptop ever made").
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by teh_klev on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @08:18PM (#20047127)
Firefox isn't quite there.

How about a sane Profile manager? This is something I use heavily on Chrome. The "about:profiles" UI doesn't cut it.

Also when I use Firefox on my non-work Fedora machines (and this is going from Fedora 21 to 29) it seriously chews up memory and CPU. Facebook (yeah, I know) is rendered unusable after about 30 mins. And as other post(s) have pointed out, video playback can be a bit janky. These machines aren't slouches either, i5 ~2.5Ghz 4th or 5th gen, 8GB RAM, SSD, and dedicated graphics cards.

I'd love to switch, but these are things that are deal breakers.

Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by jerieljan on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @09:19PM (#20047470)
> How about a sane Profile manager? This is something I use heavily on Chrome. The "about:profiles" UI doesn't cut it.

What's your thoughts on Multi-Account Containers? I think it's better to use if your use case for multiple profiles is to keep sessions separate (i.e., keeping work and personal logins to clearly identifiable tabs / windows)

It's not as thorough compared to switching entire profiles but sometimes the above is sufficient. (ex: your history, add-ons and bookmarks are still under the same profile)

Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by teh_klev on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @09:51PM (#20047634)
They're just not the same. I need total isolation, and again the UI experience leaves a lot to be desired.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by fl0wenol on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @11:01PM (#20047989)
I've always used the -ProfileManager command line option in the past and shortcuts to "-P <profilename>" when wanting to launch/send actions to sessions. (didn't know of about:profiles UI, neat)

I haven't played with MAC (Multi-account Containers) yet but I understand they're a lightweight version of Profiles that can co-exist in a single browser session and have a bunch of neat features (like auto-binding certain sites to certain containers when visited). Would recommend trying out if you've been dissatisfied with the previous approach.

Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by LamaOfRuin on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @08:48PM (#20047287)
My money would be on you having an ATI graphics card and that being a good bit of the graphics jank.

2013 intel chip+integrated graphics runs like a champ and with lower memory usage than chrome (though I am blocking all the ads, which does significantly change performance everywhere).

Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by teh_klev on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @09:55PM (#20047672)
They're nVidia 750 Ti's (Asus). Sure, not exactly cutting edge, but work just fine on my Windows 10 machine with a similar spec (which I also game on and get decent frame rates even at 1080p resolution). Chrome is perfectly fine, it's always been Firefox that's the let down, even with the new Quantum releases. Trust me I'd love to abandon Chrome, but it just isn't realistic from a productivity angle.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by Krasnol on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @06:20PM (#20046242)
Yes, I'm pretty sure this is what they count on. Everyone who is knowledgeable or motivated enough, did already change. The rest obviously didn't so even if a part of those will change, they can keep on pushing it through bundling or advertising to regain a part of them. The bulk will just stay. This is the "internet program" for them.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by tlburke on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @08:03PM (#20047018)
Google Chrome (desktop) does not contain ads/"suggested content" on the New Tab page. For that reason alone I'll continue using Chromium on desktop until they actually pull the trigger and remove/neuter uBO.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by misterdoubt on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @09:59PM (#20047698)
I, too, find that the simple new-tab ads that I can easily disable with one option are the worst of all possible ads.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by AlexCoventry on Thursday May 30, 2019 @12:49AM (#20048490)
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by tamrix on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @10:30PM (#20047845)
From my experience, it seems that those who used the Internet in it's earlier years before and around Firefox 2 dominating the scene, have a much, much easier time going back to using Firefox again. Whereas those that first jumped online with Chrome was dominated, simply will never switch.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by Aeolun on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @08:30PM (#20047201)
Unfortunately, my Firefox on Ubuntu just keeps claiming more and more memory until it runs out and freezes the system.

I don’t want to use Chrome, but I still wouldn’t call that very great.

Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by riskable on Thursday May 30, 2019 @11:01AM (#20051900)
What extensions do you have loaded? Done anything else to customize it?

I've been running Firefox for over a year now on my Kubuntu desktop and haven't had that issue. Not with pre-Quantum or post-Quantum Firefox.

Also, some tabs will continually use more and more memory due to poorly-written JavaScript. That's not really Firefox's fault but Chrome seems to be much more aggressive in shutting those sorts of things down (which can be annoying because if you go over that threshold in your own JavaScript it'll stop working and you'll get ambiguous resource errors in the console).

Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by Aeolun on Thursday May 30, 2019 @08:18PM (#20057198)
I have only Bitwarden and Rikaikun loaded.

My tabs might be using a lot of memory though (React + Redux gets reloaded an awful lot).

Regardless, I’d expect my browser to be smart enough to know that allocating even more memory when the system is out and it already uses 12GB is probably not desireable.

Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by StavrosK on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @08:44PM (#20047270)
I have been running Firefox on Ubuntu for years and have never had this problem. Try deleting your profile?
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by FrozenVoid on Thursday May 30, 2019 @02:21AM (#20048850)
Try removing custom css from the firefox profile(userchrome.css/usercontent.css) and disabling themes.
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by Aeolun on Thursday May 30, 2019 @08:20PM (#20057212)
Thanks, I’ll try. How would those things ever end up using gigabytes of RAM though?
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by ineedasername on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @08:33PM (#20047215)
>or motivated enough to switch browsers

Yep, to be honest this is probably me. I use UBo, but I'm willing to make do with less effective rule-based blockers as long as the most obnoxious and intrusive ads are blocked.

Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by mlevental on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @06:29PM (#20046308)
it's not true even if some wish it were. Firefox isn't as performant, has fewer extensions, and is less polished. not to mention Dev tools are inferior (but typical users don't care about that).
Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by erklik on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @07:43PM (#20046889)
> Dev tools are inferior

You must not have used any recent version of Firefox. It has vastly better and more useful Dev Tools compared to Chrome, especially in regards to the frontend. Firefox Quantum is also significantly more performant.

Re:Google to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions t... by NeoBasilisk on Wednesday May 29, 2019 @06:54PM (#20046530)
Less Polished?