Chrome Now Most Popular Browser

[Milt Schmidt]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

Completely ignoring that Safari runs on Mac, Win32, and iOS, and across multiple CPU architectures.

IE is the only current browser that doesn't run on more than one OS or CPU architecture.

I didn't mean it as a slam on Safari, just that it exists mostly within the Apple ecosystem. Safari is available on Windows, sure, but it's a minor player in that space, it's real strength is as a consistent experience in the OSX/iOS world. Where Firefox, Chrome/Chromium, and Opera are found across the desktop OS spectrum from Windows to Mac to Linux to BSD, Safari and IE are more tied to the OS's of their respective creators. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just the current situation.

Milt

[Milt Schmidt]

Originally Posted by HPLovecraft

Browsers believe operating systems are unknowable?

Between Chrome OS and Mozilla's (as yet unreleased) Boot2Gecko you might be on to something

Milt

[Notorious Honey Badger]

after using chrome and speed dial 2.0 for 20 minutes i can confidently say im sold. i even exported speed dial settings to my gmail so i can do it at work.

chrome seems faster at polling sites than firefox. they both load a page just as fast, from what i can see, once firefox 'gets in touch' with a page. it seems that the initial handshake happens faster on chrome tho

[Mightyfire89]

I honestly can't tell the difference between all the different browsers. Most people who have a preference must be doing stuff that I don't. I have Safari, Chrome and Firefox on my mac (and have used IE, mostly at work) and I don't know what difference there is. If it loads sites/pages for me in a reasonable amount of time, it's all good.

What am I potentially missing?

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Milt Schmidt

I didn't mean it as a slam on Safari, just that it exists mostly within the Apple ecosystem. Safari is available on Windows, sure, but it's a minor player in that space, it's real strength is as a consistent experience in the OSX/iOS world. Where Firefox, Chrome/Chromium, and Opera are found across the desktop OS spectrum from Windows to Mac to Linux to BSD, Safari and IE are more tied to the OS's of their respective creators. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just the current situation.

Milt

I didn't say you were slamming Safari, I simply pointed out that it is also platform agnostic - it runs on three different major platforms and multiple CPU architectures. Marketshare on each platform is irrelevant to that discussion.

[Milt Schmidt]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

I didn't say you were slamming Safari, I simply pointed out that it is also platform agnostic - it runs on three different major platforms and multiple CPU architectures. Marketshare on each platform is irrelevant to that discussion.

Fair enough.

Milt

[Milt Schmidt]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Krack Korn

I honestly can't tell the difference between all the different browsers. Most people who have a preference must be doing stuff that I don't. I have Safari, Chrome and Firefox on my mac (and have used IE, mostly at work) and I don't know what difference there is. If it loads sites/pages for me in a reasonable amount of time, it's all good.

What am I potentially missing?

Add-ons is the big thing for me. Things like Flashblock so that I choose when that stuff plays, DownThemAll for managing downloads, HTTPS Everywhere for security, and GreaseMonkey for scripts, Firebug for code, those are the big one's for me. How much I like using a browser is closely tied to how much I like the available add-ons. Once you get used to having add-ons it's tough to imagine doing without them.

Milt

[Mightyfire89]

Scripts, code, managing downloads? I don't know what any of that means. I'm serious, I do two things with my computer; surf the web and listen to music.

[hmmhmmcamo]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Krack Korn

Scripts, code, managing downloads? I don't know what any of that means. I'm serious, I do two things with my computer; surf the web and listen to music.

That's about where I am too. I keep hearing about all these add ons that people can't live without, but when I take a look at them I can't really see anything that would drastically change my life that much. Having said that i know there is great stuff out there that I'm missing out on, I'm just not sure how to find it.

Any tips for add ons that make web surfing better?

[psicodude]

Last Pass and AdBlock are personal favorites.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by hmmhmmcamo

That's about where I am too. I keep hearing about all these add ons that people can't live without, but when I take a look at them I can't really see anything that would drastically change my life that much. Having said that i know there is great stuff out there that I'm missing out on, I'm just not sure how to find it.

Any tips for add ons that make web surfing better?

AdBlock and RemoveItPermanently for starters. here's rottentomatoes.com on IE

Spoiler!

and here's the same site in Firefox

Spoiler!

notice how not only are the ads gone, but that thick blue bar at the top and that stupid facebook box in the middle. AdBlock takes care of the ads with online filter subscriptions, and RIP will let you clean up any part of a website that you don't like. when they're combined it's like ads were never even part of a website's original design

another must for Firefox is NoScript. it will block Java and other scripting plugins on all sites except for those that you trust, makes browsing infinitely safer

[Milt Schmidt]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Krack Korn

Scripts, code, managing downloads? I don't know what any of that means. I'm serious, I do two things with my computer; surf the web and listen to music.

Originally Posted by hmmhmmcamo

That's about where I am too. I keep hearing about all these add ons that people can't live without, but when I take a look at them I can't really see anything that would drastically change my life that much. Having said that i know there is great stuff out there that I'm missing out on, I'm just not sure how to find it.

Any tips for add ons that make web surfing better?

FlashBlock is great, it stops sites from launching videos and flash ads unless you click the box to play them. Lastpass and Adblock Plus are also very useful as mentioned by psicodude and Hemi-Cuda. HTTPS Everywhere ensures that your browser uses a secure connection for things like Facebook. There's a ton of Grooveshark/Spotify/Lastfm add-ons if you're into streaming music on those sites. DownThemAll lets you manage downloads, for example if you're downloading a bunch of photos from Flickr or something and you have to stop it you can hit a pause button and later you can resume the download, that way you don't have to go back to the site and start over. Stylish lets you put custom themes, or 'skins,' on websites, so you can make Youtube or Facebook look different. GmailWatcher lets you have audio notifications for gmail. Poke around the add-ons available for your browser of choice, you'll probably find some cool things that you'll like.

Milt

[hmmhmmcamo]

Adblock is pretty sweet, although I thought I was pretty much ignoring most of the ads anyway. CP definitely looks cleaner without the ads. Does using it affect the ad revenue the site would have generated had I not been using adblock?

[psicodude]

Originally Posted by hmmhmmcamo

Adblock is pretty sweet, although I thought I was pretty much ignoring most of the ads anyway. CP definitely looks cleaner without the ads. Does using it affect the ad revenue the site would have generated had I not been using adblock?

Yes! You should set it to NOT block ads on this site, or any other free site that you frequent, as you are taking money out of their pockets.

[Milt Schmidt]

Originally Posted by hmmhmmcamo

Adblock is pretty sweet, although I thought I was pretty much ignoring most of the ads anyway. CP definitely looks cleaner without the ads. Does using it affect the ad revenue the site would have generated had I not been using adblock?

Yes, sites will note get revenue for any blocked ads. You can disable Adblock Plus on individual sites you want to support. That's what I do, that way I can support the sites I want to as long as the ads aren't too intrusive.

Milt

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by psicodude

Yes! You should set it to NOT block ads on this site, or any other free site that you frequent, as you are taking money out of their pockets.

Maybe. This is a moral/principals question I struggle with constantly - the fundamental premise of the web is that the client requests the data that it wants, and is responsible for rendering it in the format and style it chooses - site designers spend tons of time on layout, for example, but fundamentally it is up to the client side device to render it in a manner the user sees fit. Same thing with the content - each URL is offered as resource that a client may or may not choose to consume. The client makes the requests; the data is not pushed down in a coherent package to be consumed as the publisher intended.

That is how the web was designed and how the web works.

On the flip side, advertising income offsets hosting costs that might prohibit content producers from running sites, limiting access to content. And a greater demand for hosting drives the industry (IT) that I work in, and more demand is good.

On the flip, flip side, on a forum, most of the value is derived from user contributed content - without us, the site is mostly useless, so why are we paying with our eyeballs and demographics data for the product we already produce.

And on the flip, flip, flip side, I'd say that advertising online is a terribly primitive financial model, and maybe sites should resist resting on their laurels and look to build more sustainable and engaging transaction models with their customers. I know there are lots of sites where the community is important enough that I would consider a premium account to support them, and in fact there are some that I do (jazzradio.com as an example), and there are others where I am waiting for the opportunity. I guess by that logic I should donate to CP; maybe I'd better look into that.

I don't know what a good middle ground is - even per-site decisions around ad blocking are odd to me - why does CP get my revenue while CNN doesn't, as an example. I guess I could donate to CP and then run my ad blocker conscience free....hmm..

[Azure]

Originally Posted by psicodude

Yes! You should set it to NOT block ads on this site, or any other free site that you frequent, as you are taking money out of their pockets.

Yep.

I allow ads for CP and other sites that I post on because it helps them bring in revenue.

Everyone else should do the same.

[Yamer]

Question about the AdBlock type apps: When they are turned on, and you go to a site with videos (TSN, YouTube), do they block the ad but still allow the video to play?

To explain a little better, I have Kaspersky with a banner blocker, but when I switch it on and go to watch highlights on TSN or stream a game on CBC, the video won't play because it requires the ads to play first.

If these application have found a way around that, then I might have to make the switch to Firefox.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by Yamer

Question about the AdBlock type apps: When they are turned on, and you go to a site with videos (TSN, YouTube), do they block the ad but still allow the video to play?

To explain a little better, I have Kaspersky with a banner blocker, but when I switch it on and go to watch highlights on TSN or stream a game on CBC, the video won't play because it requires the ads to play first.

If these application have found a way around that, then I might have to make the switch to Firefox.

Sometimes it eliminates the ad entirely (Youtube for instance) and other times it doesn't. But I don't think I've ever once run into a situation where the video wouldn't play due to an adblock. Worst case scenario is you just have to watch the ad.

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by opendoor

Sometimes it eliminates the ad entirely (Youtube for instance) and other times it doesn't. But I don't think I've ever once run into a situation where the video wouldn't play due to an adblock. Worst case scenario is you just have to watch the ad.

Good to know, and I can deal with that. I've been putting up with commercials my whole life. I just like the idea of pages quickly opening without ads or hidden pop-ups, etc., but still being able to watch videos.