Switching to Chrome

[BigSilly]

It's almost unthinkable for me - a Big Deal. I've been a Firefox user for absolutely ages (got to be since around 05/06). And it's not like it's doing anything especially bad. It's certainly fast enough (though I do think Chrome is that bit faster). But Chrome...I dunno, it just feels right on Linux, where Firefox has always seemed to me to focus on Windows. Chrome on Ubuntu feels sort of smoother and cleaner, nicer to use. So I've pretty much switched over to it completely, at least for now.

I was reading that Ubuntu was considering a switch to Chrome (or Chromium) as default browser. I actually think for Ubuntu/Linux users that makes some sense. I just wish I could put my finger on just what it is that I prefer in it! Anyone else feeling the same way, or am I...strange?

[craig10x]

Not at all, BigSilly...i am a BIG Google Chrome fan myself...I find that the fonts look nicer (especially with mscore fonts installed) and web pages just seem to have more "sparkle" to them....both in terms of font rendering and the actual web page rendering including how photos look on web pages...not sure what it is, but i see the difference over Firefox (not to start a war with you Firefox fans as that looks pretty good in ubuntu also but there is something about the way things look on Chrome)...

I think it may have something to do with being based on webkit which is what Mac's Safari is based on...i used the mac for awhile and always loved how things looked on Safari...
I realize Chrome is switching to "Blink" and it's already beginning to change to that but it is forked from webkit so i think that fine look will hold up in future versions

What i also love about Chrome is the built in flash plug in (pepper) which always has the LATEST version of adobe flash....unfortunately on Firefox you are dependent on the rather old flash version that is installed with ubuntu restricted extras since Adobe no longer makes new versions for linux except for the agreement they have with Google for "pepperflash"...

I also like the built in pdf reader and that a ppa is added to the software updater in ubuntu which means you always get the latest new versions of Chrome as they are released very promptly...

Chromium is pretty good except for not having pepperflash included and no built in pdf reader and doesn't send automatic updated versions, so i would still download Chrome even if ubuntu switches to Chromium...Too bad ubuntu won't make Chrome the default instead....

[Bashing-om]

craig10x; Hi !

My story, I switched to FireFox as my preferred web browser back in Windows XP days,. My background is open source platforms and when I ditched XP I eventually came to ubuntu. One of many of the reasons for choosing ubuntu was that FireFox came pre-installed onto the operating system. I remained a fan of FireFox for many years, until the non-support issue of flash. I installed Google-chrome and have never looked back !
I think Chrome is faster, smoother and the more intuitive, and more in-tune with what is going to happen in our future WWW.

That's my story, and I am sticking to it

[BigSilly]

That's my story, and I am sticking to it

Lol! You can't say fairer than that!

I'm not so bothered by the whole Flash thing. Not be long now before it's gone I reckon. You can already feel it draining from the web.

I do still feel that Firefox is massively important. It's a lot more Free (with a capital F) than Chrome for a start. They do need to improve their mobile version though. It does the job but it's not as polished as the Google equivalent yet. But I think specifically on Ubuntu, Chrome is just so fast and feels better. I can understand why they want to switch. It feels tighter to the system than Firefox does.

Did they make a decision either way?

[synaptix]

I wouldn't touch Chrome with a 10 foot pole.

For one, Google already knows enough about me through being a member of their Adsense program.
Two, Google already tracks via their search engine.
Three, I don't feel like having Google tracking me through Chrome when I visit websites.

I do hope Xubuntu decides to keep Firefox as default, otherwise I'll be adding Chrome to the #1 spot on my removal script after a fresh install.

[BigSilly]

I wouldn't touch Chrome with a 10 foot pole.

For one, Google already knows enough about me through being a member of their Adsense program.
Two, Google already tracks via their search engine.
Three, I don't feel like having Google tracking me through Chrome when I visit websites.

All completely understandable. I can relate to this. I use an Android phone and a Nexus tablet. It can get pretty scary sometimes when you consider just how much they "know" about you. But they're all at it aren't they? All the big companies, I mean.

[synaptix]

All completely understandable. I can relate to this. I use an Android phone and a Nexus tablet. It can get pretty scary sometimes when you consider just how much they "know" about you. But they're all at it aren't they? All the big companies, I mean.

Besides, Firefox does the job for me perfectly and has so for quite some years now.

[The Cog]

I've been drifting from firefox to chromium for a while. One of the main reasons is that chromium feels around ten times faster than firefox. Not so much with html, but our stuff at work has lots of svg in it with mouseover effects. What is blindingly fast in chromium stutters appallingly in firefox. And I really like the debugger in chromium, while in firefox it seems that even console.log() has stopped working recently so now I have to debug in chromium.

The one thing that grates on me with chromium is having the menu pulldowns on the right. The menu has arrows for the submenus pointing to the right, but the submenus sprout to the left. It's just wrong. The menu buttons should be on the left.

[monkeybrain2012]

Chrome is only fast if you don't open many tabs, it uses also a lot more ram than Firefox, it doesn't have the addons I use and if they exist the Chrome version doesn't work as well (adblock, for example) Linux multimedia plugins for format other than flash often don't work in Chrome (since gecko-mediaplayer doesn't)

But more importantly, Mozilla remains the biggest champion of the open web and a shining example of an open source software that beats the proprietary alternatives. Unlike Google, it takes your privacy seriously, it shows that innovations, usability and mass popularity can be achieved without selling out. The community first business model of Mozilla is really remarkable (the Mozilla Foundation is the boss of the corporate arm, not the other way around).

Firefox is not only a browser, it represents a vision, Chrome is just another product put out by a big corporation.

Chrome's supposed popularity in Windows, I suspect, may have something do with the fact that it is bundled with a lot of freeware and got installed whether you ask for it or not (distribution via the crapware model)

I install Chrome just for the odd times when I need up to date flash, but most sites don't require it anyway.

Edited: People who complain about Firefox speed probably haven't used it in Linux since version 3.6 or something. I don't find current releases of Firefox "slow" at all. It is fast and smooth even with 150 tabs open. Chrome would have choked to death with about 20.

[craig10x]

Tracking doesn't really bother me, guys...for one thing, most of the major home pages and search engines track you anyway, regardless of the browser you use....even my favorite home page (which is yahoo) tracks...but the purpose of the tracking is simply to target the ads you see (assuming you don't use ad blockers which personally i just don't bother with) so that they are more relevant to the kind of things you search for...and frankly, as long as i am seeing ads anyway, i'd rather get more "relevant" ones

Chrome has a modern and polished look about it that i find hard to resist and as i mentioned...i just love the way web pages LOOK on it...also, it has many neat extensions...the gmail notifier extension i use on it is outstanding (for example)...also i find that it's easier to set font size properly in Chrome as compared to firefox so fonts looks better to me on it also...It just reminds me so much of Safari and i use to love using Safari so i was "hooked" early in the game...

@monkeybrain2012: perhaps a bit of "irony" for you but from what i have read and seen...looks like Firefox is going to become a LOT more Chrome-like as of version 25....but regardless, i think i'd prefer to stay with Chrome myself...but looks like the Firefox team has an attraction for Chrome too...