Firefox @lemmy.ml ᗪEᑎᑎIᔕ :django: :commodore: @fosstodon.org 1 yr. ago

I am tempted to start using the @Vivaldi browser but then I looked\* at the diversity in the underlying technology and I think it is better to promote and start

I am tempted to start using the @Vivaldi browser but then I looked* at the diversity in the underlying technology and I think it is better to promote and start using @firefox :firefox: more.

Or should we leave it to #Google :omya_google: and #Apple :apple_inc: only❓

I'm curious 😅 @Vivaldi why not use SpiderMonkey and Gecko❓

*Table was created with the help of #Bard

#OpenSource #browser #w3c #codinglife

43 comments

Vivaldi is not fully open-source
- it's source-available
  
  Is it? Vivaldi hides the 5% source code under "performance and security optimisations" reasons, which sounds like complete BS.
  
  Your moms source available.
  
  (Sorry... I'm feeling goofy today)
- @mr_MADAFAKA would be nice it was.
  
  On the other hand it has cool build in functionality.
Firefox + uBlock Origin is the only thing that makes mobile browsing tolerable. Ads are so bad, and web design so poor, that even if you're someone who is usually ok with advertising you'll often find that sites are literally broken if you allow them to render.
- You can use Cromite (Bromite fork) or Kiwi Browser as well if you're on Android
  
  I believe those are both Chromium, right? I'm suspicious that when manifest v2 support ends in Chromium it will kill ad blockers across the Chromium market.
Safari isn't open source but there's Gnome Web.
It's built on the open source WebKit engine.
also yeah you made a mistake there. webkit is in fact foss.
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Avoid proprietary software.
Google Chrome, Opera, Microsoft Edge and Vivaldi are not open source. Chromium is open source but all those browsers add additional proprietary functionality on top.

Edit: I read the table wrong. The open source columns seem to be about their left column. Still, I find the table to be misleading. Especially since almost all browsers use an open source engine, except Safari. Imo it's more important whether the actual browser is open source. Which boils down to Firefox and Tor and Brave as far as I know.
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  The term open source includes the right to modify and distribute source code. Only being able to audit code is called source available.
  
  https://opensource.org/osd/
  
  Yes, Vivaldi is certainly not as closed as Chrome and is privacy respecting while Edge is the opposite. But if we're strictly talking about open source they aren't there. If they'd change the license to an open source one I'd probably given it a go a few years ago. Only being source available stopped me.
were opera is open source lmao

most of that list is not opensource, only firefox, everything has just chromium as opensource, what don't change anything because the company can put the same crappy on top of chromium
- I mean the list never said that the browser is opensource. The opensource column is for the respective technology to the left of it. So it describes if the js and browser engines are opensource.
I used to use Opera back when they had their own JavaScript and rendering engine, then bailed and switched back to Firefox when they became a chromium clone.
You can use Floorp, which is a soft fork of Firefox with Vivaldi features
That's a weird chart in the thumbnail.

Almost all of the common chromium based browsers, but only mainline firefox.

Anyway, it's definitely a good thing to use more than just the chrome based browsers for the exact reason you said.

However, vivaldi is a decent choice for when you need to. Yeah, their ui isn't open source, but it really doesn't matter in real world use. The only other option for me is ungoogled chromium, and cromite on android.

On android, my main browser is mull, with Iibrewolf on PC. I can't say any non chromium browsers are perfect on android, but mull is plenty fast and does everything you want it to do, and doesn't do what you don't want.
- Probably because chromium based browsers are often marketed as completely separate ones. Browsers based on it want to make the impression that they are a unique browser with outstanding functionality etc.
  Edge? It's Edge, OUR BROWSER, YOU DON'T NEED ANYTHING ELSE.
  Vivaldi? It's Vivaldi, "we built the best browser with most features blabla".
  Opera? It's Opera, "better, faster and more secure than a default browser".
  In contrast, librewolf.net's first sentence is literally "A custom version of Firefox...". Mullvad also says it's a collaboration with Tor, and a paragraph down they explicitly say it's Tor, and therefore FF, based.
  Many users, me included, don't see Librewolf or Tor as separate browsers, because the former is basically just a preconfigured FF, and the latter adds an access point to the Tor network and removes some privacy/security harming features (eg. Sync). The Browser, its features, design and features, stay the same.
@dmenis @Vivaldi @firefox

Maybe Gecko still hasn't become embeddable again❓:
https://www.chrislord.net/2016/02/24/the-case-for-an-embeddable-gecko/

For the Vivaldi choice : https://vivaldi.com/blog/vivaldi-browser-vs-google-chrome/#Whats_in_an_engine
- @ramon @Vivaldi @firefox
  
  #Vivaldi's choice is understandable
  
  Consequence is that we will end up with only 2. With the development driven by :apple_inc: and :omya_google:
@Vivaldi @firefox @velox_vulnus

Statcounter has different stats, with #Firefox at 0.53% so that would make it even less and on the desktop it is probably not much better.

Do we need/want an alternative browser engine❓ If the anser is yes then we probably need to use :firefox: at bit more.

#Webdev is focused on Safari and Chrome as that is what the vast majority uses.

Having only 2 to worry about is making testing easier. 😅

https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/mobile/worldwide

#codinglife #coding
- We had that monopoly thing with ie already and it was marvelous when, for a short time, you developed for a perfect score with the acid test.
Personally I'm hyped for Servo
- I think it's years off until it's usable though. Their current focus is on embedded devices iirc because no engine does that well
  
  Sure but it's something to be hyped for.
- @PropaGandalf Didn't know @servo , looks interesting
Google chrome... Open source? When?
- https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/
  
  awhile now, about 2008
Does Firefox on Android still have whatever supposed flaw the graphene os team said it has? Their own chromium based browser is very lacking in the UX department. Very thumb crampy button layout. They also recommended bromite which is dead. There is cromite which is a fork but it largely has the same issues. I use Firefox on PC, and literally everything else is entirely untrustworthy. The goog has created a pretty lousy situation for the internet where everyone proudly simps for their favourite shitty chrome clones that take advantage of their users.
@dmenis @Vivaldi @firefox

https://privacytests.org
- @fradie_new @Vivaldi @firefox wow that’s a very comprehensive compare. Thx👍
@Vivaldi @firefox ⚠️ Correction webKit is open source I see on #wiki, #Bard got it wrong 😅
- Technically only Firefox is fully open source, the rest of the list has a lot of proprietary bits (for example all of the UI, or the account system) that don't allow you to compile your own browser
@Vivaldi @firefox Thinking to give Librewolf a try. https://librewolf.net/

have too many browser installed already 😂

FYI https://privacytests.org/ gives a good browser privacy comparison. No affiliation and don't know how correct the data is.

Some more info on browsers https://www.privacytools.io/private-browser 😅

@eff
- FYI https://privacytests.org/ gives a good browser privacy comparison. No affiliation and don't know how correct the data is.
  
  After that project was started, the author started working for Brave.
  
  The data and tests seem good, but some aspects of the methodology are opinionated. For example, browsers are tested in their out of the box configuration, not in a configuration that a reasonably privacy-conscious user would select with a couple of clicks. Thus, a browser dedicated to blocking tracking (like Brave) gets a lot more checkmarks than a general audience browser like Firefox.
  
  LibreWolf is essentially Firefox with all those privacy features pre-enabled.
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  Hi there! Your text contains links to other Lemmy communities, here are correct links for Lemmy users: !librewolf@lemmy.ml
  
  @dmenis @Vivaldi @firefox @eff @librewolf Im using Mullvad browser. Based on firefox , like librewolf; plus more private. Using along a VPN, most sites don't even know anything about me or my browser.
  
  Well, for most things that needs login and accounts , i still use firefox though.
@dmenis @Vivaldi @firefox@lemmy.ml from my experience, @Firefox is very good and honestly, the option to customize your browser clean and choose specific settings/changes that Firefox gives you helps your #Privacy. Other things like @brave are there too. I think brave is based on Firefox. In my opinion, we should not wait for google and apple to hope they would do a Browser which has #OpenSource engines, with many add ons or other things and is private friendly. So, stay more with Firefox. #privacy ftw.
- Brave is based on Chromium, not Firefox.
  
  There are Firefox derivatives, but most "alternative" browsers are based on Chromium.
- @Senshiro @dmenis @Vivaldi @firefox@lemmy.ml @Firefox@mstdn.social @brave There are things in firefox that piss me off. But, unfortunately, I did not find an alternative
  
  @SergoZar @dmenis @Vivaldi @firefox@lemmy.ml @Firefox @brave what were points that you don't like of it? So from that it depends what alternative would be the best
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  @dmenis @Senshiro @Vivaldi @firefox@lemmy.ml @Firefox@mstdn.social @brave
  
  Brave is a bad browser. It hinders privacy more than it helps
@dmenis @Vivaldi @firefox I recommend using a fork of firefox called librewolf a better version of it in terms of privacy and less bloatware. #Bard has limited knowledge and erroneous data.
- @mr_kumar @Vivaldi @firefox thx, I will have a look at Librewolf.
  
  We should not forget that it takes a lot of effort to maintain your own independent browser engine. @firefox might be the Linux (kernel) of browser world 😅. Kudos to #Firefox.

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