Comments on: Why I switched from Firefox to Chrome

I didn't set out to switch. But while using Chrome, it felt as if some friction had been removed from the Web. Now it's my default, despite its shortcomings.

[emacs19]

Besides the fancy features, please review the privacy issues with Chrome (usage data being sent back to Google) and then make an informed decision.

The above analysis is incomplete/biased if such important privacy concerns are ignored (or just included as a one liner). It might not be a concern to the author but might be very important to others!

[Hunnter2k3]

Oh come on, are you serious?

Anyone who actually believes they have any privacy when using public systems is deluded.

[HakNick]

-- Anyone who actually believes they have any privacy when using public systems is deluded.--

You clearly don't know the meaning of open source.
Even if Firefox would actually send any data anywhere modifying it so that it wouldn't do so is not a monumental task.

[Hunnter2k3]

Yes, i use plenty of open source, thank you.
And i also laughed pretty hard too.

And if you think proxies will help, you're already doomed.

Tor, Freenet, etc, they are all incredibly slow, and they simply won't do for constant browsing.
And despite what you are led to believe with these systems, as more people join, it *doesn't* go faster, it goes slower.
More than half the people using them have no clue how to setup servers, nevermind actually securing them.
Enjoy terribly slow connections to actually gain true anonymity.

The only way you will gain true anonymity is if you find a wireless hotspot that is open, then do whatever you want.

[Mr. Dee]

I like Chrome, just can't get use to it fully. I am currently in between Firefox 3.0 and IE 8 Beta 2.

[pjhenry1216]

As the above analysis DID mention sending data back to Google, I don't find it to really be a biased article.

[emacs19]

"The only way you will gain true anonymity"

Do u even understand the technologies behind web? Do u even understand what privacy is?

[jake3373]

I agree with Hunnter2k3 (kinda). I'm OK with sending usage data to Google - as long as the connections encrypted.

[burny420]

What a joke. Your privacy has been gone for decades. I would be more concerned with the video cameras on every block of any decent size city than google using your ad data. Of all the companies out there that know everything about you, the one you are worried about is google?!? Go drink your kool-aid.

[ranpha]

SRWare Iron - Google Chrome with no of the phoning home things from Google. You got everything else that Chrome has (or not have). They actually uses a newer Webkit engine too.

http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron.php

[Chromeaholic]

There is still some improvement to be made to Chrome but it is still Love at first use, and I must say I couldn't have put it any better comparing the experience of using Chrome to realizing that you had been driving with the parking break on just a little, Pure genius. But I must also emphasize that yes although Chrome has it's shortcomings we are comparing Chrome to 3 fully commercial products where as Chrome is still in BETA testing which is the incredible part. If Chrome can make such a great impressino as a BETA, I absolutely can't wait until it reaches final build. So once you put that into perspective Google Chrome is absolutely the hands down winner. That is of course if they listen to our advice and add all those extra features. I also agree with the color management, but let's just hope they add it as an optionally selected feature that also only is used when there are tagged images therefore it will only slowdown those who turn on the feature and even those it will only slow them down minimally. Well thanks for the exceptional review.

[Orengeman]

Isn't everything from Google ALWAYS in beta?

[Shankland]

Miraculously Picasa just exited beta status! http://www.download.com/8301-2007_4-10103384-12.html

Google has different standards for what's beta and what isn't. Gmail is still beta, yet Google offers it as part of a paying service to big companies, including a service level agreement. But Chrome is definitely really beta software--fast changing, with obvious missing features.

[rustygrrl]

LOL I was just thinking that about Google and the perpetual state of all it apps in BETA.

[theazurepoet]

The main reason I stopped using Chrome was because it was wiping all formatting from HTML editors, including WordPress, since I mainly work with online HTML editors in CMSs and blogs, I just can't realistically use it for work.

It also would make my computer "work really hard" and the fan would kick in like crazy at times.

But I haven't tried again since initial release, so maybe things have improved?

I really do crave the speed though :(

[JohnLudlow]

The things that are stopping me from using chrome are

1. lack of support for RSS feeds

2. relatively poor site support (some menus etc on sites not working). Forgivable in a v1.0 browser, but not a replacement for FF or IE (whichever you use)

3. and the lack of an extension/plugin mechanism. Again, perhaps forgivable in a v1.0 browser, but at the moment they're being outperformed by their own Google Toolbar.


Things I like about it are

1. Fast

2. Nice and clean UI

3. Tab management kicks the stuffing out of every other browser on the planet. This is Chrome's killer feature for me.

i used to use Mozilla, but then i changed to chrome and I kept getting an error message but now that i fixed that problem and it works great, extremely fast

[mjconver]

No Adblock == No Chrome

[thelemurking]

My thoughts exactly! AdBlock Plus is like the Smoothie King of web browsers! My own little personal nirvana! I love my extensions, plug-ins, and the ability to theme and reskin. As much as I love all things Google, and I do like Chrome, I just can't give up my beloved Firefox.

Minefield has been super sweet in terms of speed to the point where I don't think any normal person would notice the difference between it and Chrome. Who really sits in front of their monitor with a stopwatch ;) Sure, there is an extension for Firefox that gives me page load times, but that's beside the point!

NO ADBLOCK, NO CHROME!

[Shankland]

I used AdBlock for awhile when I was having trouble with a spate of ads that caused Firefox to hang, and it also was like removing some friction from the Web. Overall, though, I don't mind ads, though, and not just because the ones on CNET pay my paycheck. :) However, I hear from a lot of people about AdBlock's absence from Chrome from readers, so I suspect it's one of the big reasons people want Google (or conceivably somebody else--it is open-source software after all, though Google maintains the project) to add the missing extensions framework.

[mchinsky]

You are dead on. Adblock plus is the single greatest thing for web browsers (and worst for web sites). Doubt chrome will ever get it because advertisers would boycott google's paid advertising and that's their 97% cash cow.

So even if Chrome made my coffee in the morning, it's not finding a home here.

Supposedly the soon to be released 3.1 Firefox will be dramatically faster in many ways so at a minimum hopefully it will close the performance gap.

With adblock, things are much faster anyway because you avoid all the wasted bandwidth downloading ads and related flash media.

[Hunnter2k3]

Simple solution
Go get a HOSTS file manager, like HostsMan.
HostsMan > Adblock,

Or, better yet, a fantastic solution for those who hate Flash: UNINSTALL TIME.
Not like you will miss it, right?

FYI, I hate silly ads as much as most people do.
But ads led me to one of the best programs i have ever used.
So i only block flash abusers and gif abusers.

[alex_mayorga]

Spot on!

Minefield + AdBlock Plus == No Chrome

[SteamChip]

No Adblock == No Chrome
No NoScript == does Chrome have it?)

Adblock is also helpful for blocking on message boards were people have
--obnoxious avitars
--banner signitures (often distracting and larger than the message itself)

[dallas7]

10-4! I used to maintain a blocking hosts file. Now Ad Block Plus/Easy List and Flashblock do it effortlessly in Firefox. And those two are just the two I choose from a plethora of anti-ad/script/Flash extensions available. I wouldn't run a blocker at all if 99% of ads didn't jump, strobe, bounce, spin, flicker and pump out inane sounds. I have become spoiled by "quiet" browsing.

I don't believe, given google's model, we'll ever see blocking happen. To paraphrase a popular Seinfeld expression: No Chrome for you!

Oh yeah, I also use CustomizeGoogle not so much to control results and tracking and force global https, but mostly for filtering foreign domains so if I'm searching for a product, I don't get 10s of thousands of hits from every Tom, Dick and Harry on the planet selling what I'm looking for. And I filter the sites that, when I'm looking for software, return hits by the 100s for "free" 30-day trials. I doubt if we'll see an extension like that for Chrome, either.

I also don't like the way it scatters itself all over my system dive in arcane locations under Documents and Settings and in a manner much more egregious than any other app I've observed. And the way the installer assumes I want my other browsers' environments hijacked (pulling from bookmark, json, sqlite, etc. files).

And the version I was using for a while wasn't all that much faster than my Firefox setup. In fact on some sites, zap2it for example, it was slow slow slow.

I'm going to keep any eye on it, but for now, "No Chrome for me!"

[paoconnell]

Exactly--must have Adblock Plus! Google won't ever support it, because they make all their money from ads.

[mikeburek]

There are well designed web sties and poorly designed web sites. Some of the tells of a bad site:
- html file size is too big and takes too long to download,
- starts to play loud music right away - even worse when it can't be stopped
- graphics are not laid out correctly and a graphic covers some text
- a graphic must be downloaded for the page to render and display

Because I physically see an ad as part of the website, the website inherits the bad designs of the ad. Just like a company would get a bad rap for a very lousy employee.

I understand the need for ads, and don't really mind them. But if they cause your web page to act poorly designed, I will just assume the whole page is poorly designed, and stop using it. I do use, and love, Ad Blocker. Although ideally I would prefer to not have to run a program to filter out web content in real time and use up system resources. Text ads get past the Ad Blocker, and I have not found any complaints about them. And even with the speed of Chrome, I do get bothered by the ads, and have closed web pages that are just insane.

Because CNet does use text ads (in addition to a few flash, though low key), and I download a freak-ton of podcasts from CNet, I turned off the Ad Blocker on the CNet domain. And I don't use the CNetTV interface, so that wasn't the reason. But if CNet were to go crazy with flash ads and replace the text ads with flash, that blocker would go back up in an instant.

[pproven06]

I use a nifty external party called privoxy. I had the exact same reservations about chrome, but now it is AMAZING! My favorite bit is how each tab is its own process, so closing a tab is actually killing all that mem usage. In FF I found that closing a tab didn't really proportionally decrease the FF mem usage, and memory leaks ensued. Also how tabs are in the blue space above everything, it really saves a bunch of space.

[brian.lee]

Chrome is fast right now because it's what all browsers started as "just a browser" just like if you put the default mail client that comes with Windows Vista up against Microsoft Outlook 2007. Remember Mozilla and how slow that was becausei t had everything all in one HTML editor, mail client etc.... Firefox was a back to the basics web browser, and Firefox is still one of the best browsers interms of developer tools and debugging tools. I still think they should release a Firefox Lite with no frills just browser for people who want to surft the web.

[Khurt]

Firefox Lite? What was added to Firefox that made it "regular"?

[RobertAPierce]

In addition to not having support for important plugins and other functionality, the fact that chrome is basically a data gathering tool for google is enough to make me not use it. I don't care if it's a tad faster loading a page, that's a small price to pay for not turning over all your information to google to do with whatever it wants.

[mrcockrell]

i read all these complaints and i never seem to see anyone mention that Chrome butchers yahoo mail and yahoo web pages all together actually

[Shankland]

I have no trouble with Yahoo pages; I use Yahoo.com, Yahoo Finance, Flickr, Delicious, Yahoo Mail, and Yahoo search regularly. Can you send me a screenshot? stephen dot shankland at cnet dot com. Or post it somewhere and share the URL.

[mrcockrell]

Ill send one when it happens again, its an almost daily thing i notice when i click on a specific email in yahoo mail i get an error page and have to log out and use IE, doesn't happen all the time comes and goes.. but frequently it seems, i have noticed it on other Yahoo pages but can't remember specifically right now ill pay more attention next time

[Jack K1]

Didn't work with Facebook.
Didn't work with Salesforce.com.
And I seem to recall it didn't work with gMail, either.

[Hunnter2k3]

Then your computer must be messed up, because the first and last work perfectly fine here.

Can't verify Salesforce, because it is blocked by HostsMan.

[Shankland]

I also have no trouble with Facebook and Gmail while using Chrome; I can't speak for Salesforce.com There was a really annoying Gmail issue for me until recently in which you could type Tab to move the focus from the e-mail text to the Send button, then type Enter to send the message. The problem was that the "send" button didn't change appearance to indicate the changed focus. But that's fixed now.

[godsgunslinger]

Sorry to tell you this jack... It does. your pc seem to have a trouble but the good chrome works with sales force... my new IE 8 does not... actually it sucks in many ways... y replaced it for mozilla but i will think about clicking on the "make chrome my default browser" button.
the only think that has me thinking a bout it is the spelling check... I'm not a fluent english speaker so I need a hand there

[FlashThompson]

I have experienced no problems with gmail and haven't tried on salesforce. But on facebook there are some minor issues, such as when using some applications facebook chat doesn't work and the same with other features of the facebook bar. If it is something similar to this that you are calling not working then I feel that your definition of not working is perhaps rather broad.

[denlow]

I don't use Chrome regularly because it doesn't work properly with some of the Facebook apps I like to use. Pages don't fully load. Can't tell whether it's the responsibility of Google or the app developers, but it's an issue.

[rodLX]

godsgunslinger said
"chrome works with sales force... my new IE 8 does not... actually it sucks in many ways... y replaced it for mozilla"

just to remember that IE8 is in BETA, in case you didn't noticed you're comparing different things here. Use the "compatibility view" option and you'll be fine...

[assman]

Chrome is quite barebones and can't yet be used as a default browser for me. It is fairly buggy as well. A couple years down the road it will likely be a great browser, but right now the only thing going for it is its speed, which is only one component of a satisfying browsing experience.

[sargebx]

i am curious did this writer turn trace monkey on before doing the speed test between firefox 3.1 and chrome i feel that would make a big difference in the speed of firefox (if not this can be done in the about:conig menu)

[Shankland]

Yes, I run Firefox with TraceMonkey enabled. Here's how to turn it on: http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/3381/firefox-31-how-to-enable-the-tracemonkey-javascript-engine/

[Chet_Kuhn]

I'll be eagerly awaiting the next article in the series entitled "Why I switched back".

Oh wait. <a href="http://blogs.computerworld.com/chrome_firefox">Somebody already wrote it.</a>

:-)

[Shankland]

Your mileage may vary. I haven't had the crashing and video plug-in issues that author did. If I did, then yes, I'd drop Chrome like a hot potato. The issues are certainly real--the last month or so of new builds fixed several plug-in issues with Flash and Silverlight.

[ckurowic]

You know what though...EVERYONE I knew and folks on message boards claimed for the longest time that FireFox was "soooo" much faster than Safari. What a farce, Safari is at least twice as fast for me, so why in the world should I switch to yet another browser that claims to be "faster"? I know there is not a Mac version yet anyway, but still.

[Khurt]

And there is no guarantee that a Mac version of Chrome will be faster than Safari. They both using the same engine ( WebKit). At least Safari can be extended ( although there are limitations ). What's Chrome offering that Safari does not?

[askj113]

The difference between safari on a mac and safari on windows is light years, literally. It's disappointingly slow on windows

[nicmart]

by askj113 N
"The difference between safari on a mac and safari on windows is light years, literally. It's disappointingly slow on windows"

Light years, literally? It's amusing when people employ metaphors and immediately declare that they are literal.

[ThatAdamGuy]

Hey Stephen, nice writeup! As a recent convert to Chrome from FF, quite a lot of your comments resonated with me. And one of your complaints -- the lack of RSS handling -- was annoying for me, too. I also happen to be a fan of Google Reader, though, and I found the Subscribe in Reader bookmarklet to work quite well. Like you, though, I still wish there was that little orange icon to let me know when there's a feed available :).

And regarding Chrome and privacy: Every Chrome user has the right to decide whether they want the suggest (autocomplete) feature or not, and it's quickly changeable (to Yahoo, Live, etc.) or disableable in the Options menu. As you can imagine, though, people tend to love that feature and there's really no way Chrome could intelligently complete URLs in that way without Google at least temporarily seeing the beginning letters typed in.

DISCLAIMER: I work for Google, though I have no affiliation with Chrome other than as a happy user and so I don't speak on behalf of the Chrome team.

[cgramer]

I've mostly switched over to Chrome, as I also love the speed and smoothness of it. My only major gripe with it so far is that the Shockwave Flash plugin frequently becomes unresponsive, especially when browsing on Flickr. I also wish Google would introduce a Google Toolbar for it so that I could use my Google Bookmarks across browsers. Still, considering it's still a beta, it's amazing. I still haven't made Chrome my default browser in Windows, though it is the browser I turn to first when I need to get on the Web.

[loose_screw]

You may need to reinstall the flash player. See:

http://news.cnet.com/seven-steps-to-update-the-adobe-flash-player-on-windows/

[droid137]

Chrome is very fast for casual browsing, but RSS, extensions, and usage data collection are a killer for businesses (and real people.)

[bj1126]

The reasons I'm not using Chrome:

1) Poor cookie handling options.

2) Saved passwords not securable.

3) Address bar info sent to Google,

[thelemurking]

Just to point out, for your #2 in your list... Firefox, while it can be a godsend in some cases, it's also very spooky, Tools > Options > Security > Saved Passwords > Show Saved Passwords.

If you can get access to a machine, you can easily copy the profile folder and load it up as your own and retrieve another user's passwords with very little time and effort.

[Michael too]

re: Speed of Firefox

The real speed gains of the 3.1 beta comes through its new javascript engine. However, the engine is turned off by default in the beta. In order to see its true speed you need to go into about:config and turn on the jit javascript compiler. Do a search on enabling javascript jit compiler (tracemonkey) in firefox for directions.

[Shankland]

Yes, actually, I do turn the TraceMonkey JavaScript engine on for my testing (I learned the hard way by posting some benchmarks with it switched off initially: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10068743-92.html). I included instructions on how to switch in that story, but here's a direct link:

http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/3381/firefox-31-how-to-enable-the-tracemonkey-javascript-engine/

[ducttape36]

try mozilla minefield. its the fastest hands-down. its only in alpha, but ive been using it for a month now with now problems. its now my default browser.

[QASIMARA]

Tried it. It stinks.

[pithenumber]

I use it too.
enable tracemonkey and the internet suddenly becomes faster
many firefox addons work with minefield