a browser which doesn't have to be reformatted after every upgrade

[brynn]

Hi Friends,
Suddenly, I'm in need of a new browser.  Already gave up in IE, now giving up on Firefox, will not go to Chrome.  Time for research.  But if anyone wants to suggest one, I'm open to suggestions.  thanks

[Lazur]

chromium

[brynn]

I thought Chrome was a nickname for Chromium?  Hhm, looks like it comes from google.

I'm looking at 3 browsers so far.  I'll probably start with Opera, but I'm impressed with Sea Monkey.  Also found one called Pale Moon.  Looks interesting, but the lead developers says he doesn't believe in the benchmark tests.  Not a good sign....but otherwise looks good.

[Pilosopong Tasyo]

Chrome is based on Chromium.  Chromium is essentially Chrome without the Google branding and Google-specific "features."

[brynn]

Checked out Chromium briefly.  Looks like there's no convenient installer package.  Have to compile and build.

From what I've heard, Opera is the best at supporting SVG.  And it brags some other nice features.  I just downloaded, so I'll install and give it a test drive.  And there also is a Linux version, so when I switch to Linux, at least I won't have to learn a new browser.

Also like how Sea Monkey sounds.  Might give it a test drive too.  Last option Pale Moon.

[Moini]

What's the issue with the current Firefox? It works quite well (and it's really much faster than before). And NoScript is back, too

Or use the Chromium Downloads:
https://www.chromium.org/getting-involved/download-chromium

[brynn]

The issue with the current Firefox is that all my addons are permanently disabled - meaning, can't get them back, gone.  No replacements (except for NoScript).  All of them - 8 or 9, gone. 

Faster?  I didn't realize it was slow!

There's something wrong with the new NoScript, aside from being harder to use, and having ugly, hard to understand icons.  Sometimes, and I can't figure out what causes it (probably a bug) some scripts on some sites won't stay how I set them.  I click the button, it changes accordingly, I close NS, open again, and it's back where it started.  It's a pain in the behind!

But the main problem is that I'm sick and tired of being interrupted whenever an update comes down the pike, to reset this or that, which got changed by the update.  The Ff developers are woefully ignorant of, and unconcerned with users' needs.  And now we have this update which permanently disables addons, without providing any replacements.  It's a big reason why I abandoned IE a few years ago.

I noticed, as I'm researching new browsers, that Firefox's market share has been steadily declining over the last 10 to 15 years.  I'm guessing we'll see a big dip in that downward sloping line, after this "quantum 57" update.  Top of this page:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_web_browsers

Update, Opera will be a no-go for me.  It does't take on my system theme, and instead is all white (except for the worthless "start page" which can have a wallpaper).  It has no titlebar, the tabs are crammed up against the top edge of the screen.  (Although those who need more screen space might like that, as long as they like white.)  Plus, there appears to be no way to close the blankety-blank window!  Ooohh, just realized.  I'll bet it pinned itself to the taskbar when installed (grumble, grumble).

Now looking at Sea Monkey, which seems to be basically a really old version of Firefox, but with current security features.  I can probably make it work, but still investigating.  Will need a lot of customization, and Sea Monkey compatible addons are few and far between.  Maybe will change after this quantum57?

Chromium download:  https://download-chromium.appspot.com/ "might be tremendously buggy".  I think this is meant for people who want to test and/or develop it.  As far as I understand, Chromium is the development version for Chrome, but can stand alone.  However, all the clues point to it being for more advanced type of users.

For not being google branded, "google" sure appears a lot on the wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium_(web_browser)  Oh Moini, did you see see that GoodFirstBug link on the Chromium page?  It looks like they maintain a subset of bugs which are good for new developers to start with.  I wonder if Inkscape could do that, to attract new developers?

Haven't downloaded Pale Moon yet, but that "not believing in benchmark" things bothers me.  Ooh, just found Midori - might try it.

[Moini]

Have you searched for replacement addons? For most purposes, there are more than one. I've also replaced a couple. Actually, I think the usage statistics will go up. FF was painfully slow, and it's a breeze now.

Most browsers are themeable. Have you looked for a different theme, before dismissing a browser?

I think there's a label for it, something like 'easy-fix'. Isn't that mentioned on the getting started page? Ah, it says 'Inkscape bugtracker: Fixing some easy bugs is a great way to get started with Inkscape development.' Close. But not something we can advertise currently, anyway, because the bug triage doesn't really happen in a structured fashion anymore, so no tagging.

[brynn]

Have you searched for replacement addons?

Indeed I did.  I used exactly what Ff provided for that.  When I open the Addon Manager, next to each disabled extension, there's a link "Find a Replacement".  I thought "great, hopefully most of these will have a replacement".  Click the link for the first one.  None of the extensions showing there have anything to do with the disabled extension.  Hhm, I guess there's just not a replacement for this one.

Click the link for the next one....uh-oh, it's the same page which the link for the other extension went to.  Ooh I see, they've simply linked me to the new addon site.  No attempt to make it easy.  If they wanted to make it easy for the users, why couldn't the link to a replacement for each addon, produce a search automatically?  Now I have to search and search and search, using different search terms, not knowing the right search terms.  OMg, I have 8 addons to replace, and this is going to take hours!

Why don't I just do that?  Because my understanding of all these changes in Firefox, are the beginning of a move away from having a base browser which is extended using all sorts of different addons.  I don't know exactly what it's moving towards, but since this is the start of abandoning the whole notion of using extensions to provide a customized experience, I don't have much hope that I will find any replacements for the disabled addons.

So again, why not spend the same amount of time, searching for and learning a new browser - hopefully I can find one where the developers are more interested in keeping users, rather than alienate them.  Maybe they want to try just a little harder?

Did I mention that all my bookmarks were wiped out?  Yeah, now I have to keep IE open, where at least I still have all my favorites, until I can choose the new browser and import them.  Thank goodness I have IE, or else my hundreds and hundreds of shortcuts would have been completely lost.

I don't think any theme will either restore the addons, or find replacements, or restore bookmarks.  Of all my complaints, only about 1/10 are about the display.  And certainly a different theme will not change the fact that the developers are going to keep right on, fixing things that aren't broken, and breaking things which were previously working. 

I mean, is it really too much to ask, that a software update not break anything?  Which other type of software can you think of, where an update /regularly/ /breaks things/ for /large/ segments of the user base (excluding bugs)?  I can't think of any.  In my experience, it's rare for an update to break something.  But with Ff, it's a regular occurrence.  Firefox is only the 2nd browser I've ever used.  IE updates didn't break things.  Except for the last update I got, which did break things, and breaking those things is why I decided to try Ff.  Unfortunately, my experience with Ff is that it regularly breaks things.  Usually it just needs a tweak here and there.  But there's no amount of tweaking that will fix this version 57 for me.

[Moini]

None of the extensions showing there have anything to do with the disabled extension.

There's a search field that is waiting to be used. I was confused by that initially, too - but I like that they do not make any recommendations, but send you to the place where you can look for a replacement yourself. How would they search automatically? They can't know what you need the addon for. And they're not using any AI to guess what you want. I'm actually happy that they do not take that power from me, but allow me to do what I want, not what they think I want.

I found replacements for most of my extensions, and for the other ones I need, I know the developers are working on them. It did take some time, true. But it's one of my main tools, so I don't mind investing some time into optimizing for myself. Other browsers (except for Chromium/Chrome) do not benefit from such a large choice of addons, as far as I can think.

You might want to research on the missing bookmarks... e.g. https://support.mozilla.org/en/questions/1185539 (it might be that you just cannot find them - I suggest you activate the menu, if you haven't yet). It's mostly a matter of customization. Browsers are trying to adapt for use on tablets, to be easier to use with touch screens.

If bookmarks are really lost (which I doubt), you can probably export them from Edge, then import into FF... Doesn't take too long... Oh, it's even easier: https://support.mozilla.org/en/questions/1160195

Anyway, look for yourself. I hope you find something that will satisfy your needs. And when you encounter an issue, do a web search. Most questions have already been asked by someone else. And most have a solution, fortunately.