Re:Safari adopts the Chrome/Firefox extension model
by _qulr on Friday August 28, 2020 @06:40AM
(#24303366)
> People keep talking about the UI as being an important differentiator. But I don't believe that's true, because the UI of all major browsers is decent.
UI is the differentiator of the Mac itself. Otherwise, why not just use Windows, which is "decent".
Re:Safari adopts the Chrome/Firefox extension model
by bad_user on Friday August 28, 2020 @08:19AM
(#24303963)
TBH, I don't know why other people use Macs, but speaking in my own name, no, I'm not using it for its UI.
I use macOS because things usually just work, because it's a Unix, and because the available apps are good. I don't have a problem with the Windows 10 UI, I have a problem with everything else.
In fairness, switching from Linux to macOS because of the UI is an acceptable viewpoint.
Re:Safari adopts the Chrome/Firefox extension model
by pankajdoharey on Friday August 28, 2020 @10:05AM
(#24304967)
It depends on people to people, for instance I use Mac because it has a Unix terminal with great commercial software support and decent GPU drivers something that is missing on Linux. UI is the last thing, in fact I would say the choice of UI on linux is far and beyond any other OS can even dream to offer.
You can take a look at Firefox, which has extensions that in Chrome are not currently possible. Or extension features that aren't possible, like the ability to block first-party analytics in uBlock Origin, as a small example.
I am, however, glad that all of them are adopting more or less the same APIs, because extension developers can now target all 3 major browsers with ease.
> the discussion on macOS browsers is going to come back to UX, speed, and battery usage
The biggest, most relevant component of a browser has always been the browser engine, because it dictates available features, and yes, speed and battery usage.
People keep talking about the UI as being an important differentiator. But I don't believe that's true, because the UI of all major browsers is decent. Of course, power users can cling on to features, like the Tree Style Tabs in Firefox, but for the most part, I don't think it's the UI that makes most people switch browsers.