Proposed: Chromium as Ubuntu's default browser

[monkeybrain2012]

From a practical standpoint it's not a big problem. Firefox is not installed by default in Kubuntu anyway so I already have to apt-get install firefox as one of my first actions on a fresh install.

But I agree with smellyman, Firefox has symbolic value. Mozilla may be sponsored by Google but their intentions and spirit seem totally different. Firefox was likely the first open source application that I used, starting on Windows ~ 10 years ago. When I installed Ubuntu I was glad to see Firefox there installed already I have used it ever since on any OS installation and still do today. According to what I read Firefox is slow compared to Chrome(ium) but I haven't noticed that myself. The extensions were awesome and still are today. Firefox Forever!

+1

[vasa1]

I keep forgetting how easy it is to install from a binary, but I am sure I will remember when the time comes.

That's why Canonical has (or had) a team to "maintain" Firefox and Thunderbird and has a "maintainer" for Chromium. No doubt people who keep forgetting how easy it is to install binaries could help fix this bug: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...r/+bug/1183086

BTW, this topic of discussing the proposed change seems to bother some people. I don't see why. The discussion was initiated in the vUDS. Feedback was solicited.

Anyway, there's always the "report" button. Far more effective than sarcasm.

[malspa]

So why is Chromium (by Canonical/Ubuntu/Community) still at version 25? I think Canonical's Firefox team is more "on time" in terms of providing a current browser to its users.

It's quite sad that no one has explained clearly why Chromium is so outdated.

Yeah, I keep wondering about this, too. If Chromium is chosen as the default browser, one would hope that part of the deal would involve keeping it more up-to-date.

The discussion was initiated in the vUDS. Feedback was solicited.

Then, I wonder if anyone involved with making the decision has been following this thread.

And I wonder if anything posted in this thread has led anyone to change their position or opinion on the matter. Probably not, I'd guess.

Well, it certainly seems to be an important (and often emotional) topic to some people; and for some others -- shrug of the shoulders, "Whatever." I think a lot of good points have been made for and against, and it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out. My guess is that Firefox will remain the default, and everybody will go on as they have before, using whatever browser they prefer most. (Or Chromium will become the default, and everybody will go on as they have before, using whatever browser they prefer most.)

[monkeybrain2012]

I am not sure what kind of users is Chromium supposed to target. Those who want Firefox would uninstall it at the first chance, those who want a Chrome experience will get the real thing and also uninstall Chromium at their first chance. That leaves a few rare people who like an open sourced, albeit crippled Chrome experience and those who like the Chrome feel but are convinced that Google spies on them. Well I don't think there are enough of such people (like Chrome feel but don't want Chrome) to warrant using Chromium as default.

[malspa]

Well I don't think there are enough of such people (like Chrome feel but don't want Chrome) to warrant using Chromium as default.

You may be right about that.

As for uninstalling "at the first chance," I don't know about other users, but I don't even bother trying to uninstall a distro's default browser if it happens to be one I don't prefer using. Having it there doesn't bother me at all. Maybe it would if hard drive space was an issue, I guess.

[craig10x]

I agree with malspa...even though i rarely use firefox but rather Chrome instead, i never un-install it...in fact it's on my unity dock as we speak, i don't even remove it from there!
In the case of Chromium as default, i might remove it from my unity dock as it would be a little confusing to see 2 chrome type icons on there (even though they are different colors...lol)
but i wouldn't un-install it, just not use it...

I also agree with monkeybrain2012 scenerio he mentioned above...the problem is they wanting (and insisting) it be Chromium rather then Chrome...that's basically what makes the change useless for so many...

[Copper Bezel]

Yeah, as a Chrome user well aware of the existence of Chromium (I even periodically install it to not use it,) I also wonder who would really be likely to choose to use Chromium. People who want to get away from Google generally shoot a little further afield; to me, Chromium is just a less colorful icon in my Launcher and a loss of the PDF viewer, which I actually use as my default PDF viewer (with --new-window.)

I think, though, that this is still about the default Ubuntu experience, users who don't care enough to switch browsers. Even for them, though, it's an odd choice, because even for them, there's still some subtle brand recognition in Firefox and Chrome that Chromium doesn't have, and they're still likely to react to that. Chrome or Firefox would still be a familiar icon in an unfamiliar desktop, and I think that does good work in making the desktop feel just a little more accessible. If Chrome isn't an option (and there are good reasons why that seems to be the case,) Firefox still makes the most sense to target those users, and still would whether or not Chromium was the better browser outright.

[vasa1]

This maybe interesting as background: Webkit maintenance strategy

[Copper Bezel]

Does that tell us anything that your earlier link to the video didn't? I get that Canonical may be working on its own, entirely new browser based on Webkit, but that project can't possibly hit by 14.04, can it? In the shorter term, the question of whether Chromium or Firefox is used on the desktop seems like a separate one. I know that Chromium uses Webkit, but I don't think that using it as a default app would offer any meaningful stepping stone toward the in-house Webkit browser, and I'm guessing that the "Webkit maintenance strategy" is specifically about the new browser.

[malspa]

If Chrome isn't an option (and there are good reasons why that seems to be the case,) Firefox still makes the most sense to target those users, and still would whether or not Chromium was the better browser outright.

But how many people would actually choose or not choose a distro because of the default web browser? How many people get turned off by, say, a KDE distro that comes with only Konqueror by default? I'm thinking that the number's quite tiny. One of the first things anyone does after installing Linux, you go and install your favorite software, right?

If you're a Windows user who uses Firefox instead of the default Internet Explorer, and you decide to try Linux, is it really going to bother you to install Firefox to use instead of the default Chromium (if that was the case)?