Google Chrome vs Firefox

Professor Snugglesworth · September 2011

So I've been an avid Firefox user for several years now, but I'm seeing a lot of ads and such about Google Chrome. People seem to like it, so I'm looking to get more information out of it.

So a simple enough question: what does Google Chrome provide that Firefox with its thousands of apps does not?

This isn't meant to be a debate thread, I just want some honest feedback on whether or not it's worth moving to Chrome.

Stormwatcher · September 2011

well, the best thing I did for my Firefox install was clearing away ALL addons and history and bookmarks... It got so much faster and stable. And Chrome is even faster, in my limited experience.

minor incident · September 2011

Chrome is generally accepted to be the fastest browser around (ignoring the protests of Opera users, but those people are like crazy Morlocks. We're better off if we just pretend we don't hear them).

It also has excellent extension/userstyle/scripting support, and it's based on WebKit, which is a much more reliable rendering engine than Mozilla, in my opinion.

Firefox just seems to have gotten clunkier and more bloated with every revision, while Chrome gets faster and more streamlined.

Dritz · September 2011

They both seem the same to me, though I think Firefox looks better. I don't have many addons or anything though. Some people have weird problems with Firefox though so try both and see what works better.

TychoCelchuuu · September 2011

minor incident wrote:

Chrome is generally accepted to be the fastest browser around (ignoring the protests of Opera users, but those people are like crazy Morlocks. We're better off if we just pretend we don't hear them).

It also has excellent extension/userstyle/scripting support, and it's based on WebKit, which is a much more reliable rendering engine than Mozilla, in my opinion.

Firefox just seems to have gotten clunkier and more bloated with every revision, while Chrome gets faster and more streamlined.

I know it's trendy to make fun of Opera but you're not particularly correct about the speed thing and Opera is pretty much the best browser ever. I usually just urge people to try all 3 and see which they like more. I personally like Firefox a bit now that's it's sped up, although I really dislike having to track down extensions for everything. I like Chrome a lot but I dislike not being able to do everything. I like Opera more than both of them combined, because it does more than Chrome and about as much as Firefox, and it does it much faster than Firefox and often faster than Chrome.

minor incident · September 2011

TychoCelchuuu wrote:

minor incident wrote:

Chrome is generally accepted to be the fastest browser around (ignoring the protests of Opera users, but those people are like crazy Morlocks. We're better off if we just pretend we don't hear them).

It also has excellent extension/userstyle/scripting support, and it's based on WebKit, which is a much more reliable rendering engine than Mozilla, in my opinion.

Firefox just seems to have gotten clunkier and more bloated with every revision, while Chrome gets faster and more streamlined.

I know it's trendy to make fun of Opera but you're not particularly correct about the speed thing and Opera is pretty much the best browser ever. I usually just urge people to try all 3 and see which they like more. I personally like Firefox a bit now that's it's sped up, although I really dislike having to track down extensions for everything. I like Chrome a lot but I dislike not being able to do everything. I like Opera more than both of them combined, because it does more than Chrome and about as much as Firefox, and it does it much faster than Firefox and often faster than Chrome.

I can't hear you, Morlock.

Professor Snugglesworth · September 2011

So Chrome is preferred as a minimalistic browser? Thing is, I've been spoiled by all the Firefox add-ons, including Webmail Notifier, No Script, a customizable search bar, Paste and Go, and Last Pass, just to name a few.

Are there no Chrome equivalents for any of those?

TychoCelchuuu · September 2011

Professor Snugglesworth wrote:

So Chrome is preferred as a minimalistic browser? Thing is, I've been spoiled by all the Firefox add-ons, including Webmail Notifier, No Script, a customizable search bar, Paste and Go, and Last Pass, just to name a few.

Are there no Chrome equivalents for any of those?

No, Opera is preferred for the minimalistic browser. Opera has equivalents for Webmail Notifier and NoScript, it did customizable searches before everyone else and it has always done them better, it did Paste and Go before Firefox (although it doesn't do it better because there's only one way to do it), and it does password management fine.

Meanwhile, for Paste and Go in Chrome, just follow these simple instructions:

You install AutoHotKey and then run the "ChromePastenGo.ahk" script file to add the "Paste and Go" hot key to Chrome. The script at that link uses Windows key+V as the hot key, but I used the text below instead to use Ctrl+Shift+V (personal preference). If you want to use Ctrl+Shift+V you can grab the text below and save it as "ChromePastenGo.ahk".

;<========= ChromePastenGo.ahk =========>
; Relevant blog post: http://www.howtotuts.com/2008/09/07/how-to-paste-and-go-in-chrome-using-keyboard/
; Author: Sridhar Katakam, Edited by: Wesley Hart
; ^ = Ctrl, ! = Alt, + = Shift, # = Win

#NoEnv
#SingleInstance force

#IfWinActive ahk_class Chrome_XPFrame
^+v:: Send !d^v{Enter}
^!+v:: Send ^t!d^v{Enter}
#IfWinActive
;</========= ChromePastenGo.ahk> =========>

So clearly Chrome is the winner here, because why bother with built-in Paste and Go when you can install a third party program and grab your own script from someone on the Internet? Heck, that's even better than Firefox, which only makes you download a single extension!

Snark aside, just try both. I didn't really understand why anyone would bother with Opera until I got curious one day, tried it, and realized that it did everything I wanted in a browser without fiddling around with extensions. In the rare case that something wasn't intuitive, I would just Google "X in Opera" where X is what I wanted to do, and the solution would usually pop up. In Firefox, the solution is generally an extension, and before long your browser is sucking up a gig of RAM and performing badly. In Chrome the solution is generally "Chrome doesn't really do that."

Barrakketh · September 2011

TychoCelchuuu wrote: »

Meanwhile, for Paste and Go in Chrome, just follow these simple instructions:

*snip*

So clearly Chrome is the winner here, because why bother with built-in Paste and Go when you can install a third party program and grab your own script from someone on the Internet? Heck, that's even better than Firefox, which only makes you download a single extension!

Chrome has Paste and Go as a standard feature. By default if you right click in the address bar it'll default to "Paste and search", but if you have an address in your clipboard it'll be "Paste and go".

theSquid · September 2011

Professor Snugglesworth wrote:

So Chrome is preferred as a minimalistic browser? Thing is, I've been spoiled by all the Firefox add-ons, including Webmail Notifier, No Script, a customizable search bar, Paste and Go, and Last Pass, just to name a few.

Are there no Chrome equivalents for any of those?

Chrome has add-ons too, I'm pretty sure its got webmail + no script covered. In fact most major addons for Firefox now have their own thing for Chrome as well.

Alegis · September 2011

Used chrome as a main browser for a while, now I use Firefox 8 aurora, although I use both. Often simultaneously.

If you select [X] Don't load tabs until selected (general options) in FF8 aurora it will start up very quickly if you keep a lot of tabs open to restore like I do.
What I prefer about FF is that I find it more stable, keeping stuff that I type in text fields even if the browser is closed or if I press the back button, more extensions etc.
Chrome is a bit speedier in opening tabs/opening itself and has neat things like allowing extension installation without restarting the browser.

Firefox really improved over the past half year with the new speedy releases.

Nightslyr · September 2011

I still lean Firefox for a couple reasons:

I have some extensions I love (Echofone, AniWeather).

I vastly prefer Firefox's UI over Chrome's.

TychoCelchuuu · September 2011

Barrakketh wrote:

TychoCelchuuu wrote: »

Meanwhile, for Paste and Go in Chrome, just follow these simple instructions:

*snip*

So clearly Chrome is the winner here, because why bother with built-in Paste and Go when you can install a third party program and grab your own script from someone on the Internet? Heck, that's even better than Firefox, which only makes you download a single extension!

Chrome has Paste and Go as a standard feature. By default if you right click in the address bar it'll default to "Paste and search", but if you have an address in your clipboard it'll be "Paste and go".

I'm not sure right clicking in the address bar is the sort of functionality we're talking about. Paste and go is useful because you can use a hotkey to do it.

orionminus · September 2011

Oh man I haven't tried Chrome in months so I just installed the latest version.

SO GOOD.

It's so much faster than Firefox.

Oh Google, you may be taking over the world but if the world runs as fast as your web browser than I'm A-OKAY with that.

;3

Darmak · September 2011

I use Chrome because it's so much faster than Firefox and I never have nor will I use any extensions or anything else so I'm not missing anything.

Djeet · September 2011

My default browser is Chrome with plug-ins and javascript disabled (via Under the Hood -> Content Settings, no add-ons/extensions necessary). I also install Chrome and configure it that way on systems I setup for friends, family and at the workplace. I may be missing out on some functionality/eye candy, but it hasn't really been an issue for me.

Professor Snugglesworth · September 2011

Alegis wrote:

If you select [X] Don't load tabs until selected (general options) in FF8 aurora it will start up very quickly if you keep a lot of tabs open to restore like I do.

This sounds incredibly useful, since I always have a handful of tabs open that I like to resume later. How do I enable this option?

Stormwatcher · September 2011

My browsing experience got a billion times better AFTER I removed all the addons and shit from Firefox.

And I hate using Opera. The interface is so awful
and it can't eve control click right, screw you opera.

minor incident · September 2011

Stormwatcher wrote:

My browsing experience got a billion times better AFTER I removed all the addons and shit from Firefox.

And I hate using Opera. The interface is so awful
and it can't eve control click right, screw you opera.

Both of these statements are very true. I limit my extensions in FF/Chrome/Safari to little more than a dictionary, Stylish/Userscripts, and not much else.

an_alt · September 2011

Adblock Plus was the killer app that brought me to Firefox and NoScript quickly followed. What's keeping me on FF now is the Sync feature. Find pages at work when my brain needs a break and read them at home or conversely find work related stuff at home and bookmark it in my work folders? Absolutely perfect.

Chrome is about the only thing that won't grind a netbook to a halt though. Firefox just chokes on my better half's netbook when sitting on Javascript heavy sites like Facebook and G+ all day. IE is better, but it's still a problem on those sites.

Professor Snugglesworth · September 2011

I will add that I have yet to solve this problem I've been having with Google Instant (that thing where it opens up results as you're typing) on Firefox; it's very slow and hangs on each letter typed.

I haven't had this problem on IE or anything else, so I'm trying to figure out how to fix it on FF's end.

Magus` · September 2011

Speaking of Firefox, has 7 been weird for anyone? Maybe it's just these forums, but it feels stutter-y at times.

Frem · October 2011

Two possible things could be happening there, Magus`.

A bunch of patches hit in 7 that improved memory management a lot. I don't know if those changes included more frequent garbage collects, but that could be one possible issue.

I believe 7 also got some DirectWrite patches, so in theory the interface should run smoother on graphics cards that support it. The changes made there might not be playing well with your graphics drivers.

I don't know for certain either of those are the issue; that's just what comes to mind. Also make sure it's not an issue with one of your extensions.

Atomika · October 2011

I use Chrome.

- Super fast.
- address bar searching
- conjectural page loading
- incognito browsing
- no clutter

Arthil · October 2011

Chrome has this lovely habit of crashing my tabs/crashing flash or silverlight or WHATEVER. But it doesn't do it constantly. For my general browser needs, I use it. For anything I'd like not to horribly crash on me at an inopportune moment... I use Firefox.

Quake Matt · October 2011

Woo, Opera thread! It does everything I want and it does it fast.

Sure, Firefox goes fast(ish) if you remove all the extensions, but then you're running a barely-functional shell of a browser. In which case, you're still better off using something else, IE9 included.

Edit: to be fair to Firefox, the jump from 3.5 to 4 made for a serious improvement. It just happened a couple of years too late.

bowen · October 2011

Having used them all, I prefer chrome to both firefox and opera. Opera is a thing, sure, but in the grand scheme of web browsers it's more of a hobbyist super serious web browser than an accepted "everyone's using this" web browser.

The big 3 are going to have better compatibility on websites anyways.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_web_browsers
http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

Donovan Puppyfucker · October 2011

Chrome.

That is all.

TheCanMan · October 2011

I'm actually kind of shocked nobody has linked the most recent Tom's Hardare's Web Browser Grand Prix. That may answer alot of the questions you have, Snuggles.

Professor Snugglesworth · October 2011

Still wondering how to enable my Firefox settings to only reload tabs one at a time when starting up.

Also still wondering if there's a way to fix the sluggishness of Google Instant.

bowen · October 2011

TheCanMan wrote:

I'm actually kind of shocked nobody has linked the most recent Tom's Hardare's Web Browser Grand Prix. That may answer alot of the questions you have, Snuggles.

IE is going to be an outlier on anything there simply because the windows shell is basically IE with some executable html pages (HTAs) thrown in there, so be weary of any results on IE to say the least.

Professor Snugglesworth · October 2011

So I decided to give Chrome a try.

Yeah...I like it. I like it quite a bit. It's faster, has several of the big apps that Firefox had (like an all-in-one mail notifier), and I was able to find an extension for automatically playing YouTube at 1080p, something I could never pull off in Firefox. Even has an Xbox Live notifier, which should really come in handy.

There are a couple of major things missing though, most notably the search bar. I loved being able to type something and pick from a list of search extensions (Amazon, Wiki, etc). Chrome has extensions that install on the side, but that's a more cluttered alternative.

Also missing is the ability to customize this forum with its classic look with a user script.

Barrakketh · October 2011

Professor Snugglesworth wrote: »

There are a couple of major things missing though, most notably the search bar. I loved being able to type something and pick from a list of search extensions (Amazon, Wiki, etc).

That's actually not a problem. Once you've used the search feature of a site, you can access it from the address bar. Type in the address of the site ("amazon.com"), then hit tab. Then it'll say "Search amazon.com:" and you can enter whatever you're searching for.

Once you've used the address bar enough you usually only have to type a few characters for the site you're looking for to come up ("am" is enough for Amazon to come up, then I can hit tab to search or enter to go to the site).

Also missing is the ability to customize this forum with its classic look with a user script.

Userstyles should let you install what is basically a small Chrome extension that will style the site, and I believe there is a Stylish extension for Chrome.

Professor Snugglesworth · October 2011

That's fairly neat, but it's still not as convenient as picking a place to search in two mouse clicks.

Azio · October 2011

Chrome is fast and purty. It's also free so there's no harm in trying it out for a week or so.

Donovan Puppyfucker · October 2011

Professor Snugglesworth wrote:

That's fairly neat, but it's still not as convenient as picking a place to search in two mouse clicks.

Click on this, then click on "install as user script" link in the green box.

Literally two clicks to make the new forums look more like the old ones.

Chrome.

Professor Snugglesworth · October 2011

chrishallett83 wrote:

Professor Snugglesworth wrote:

That's fairly neat, but it's still not as convenient as picking a place to search in two mouse clicks.

Click on this, then click on "install as user script" link in the green box.

Literally two clicks to make the new forums look more like the old ones.

Chrome.

Thanks for that. Wasn't sure if user scripts worked with Chrome the same way. :^:

I still want the search bar from Firefox.

Also, is there a way to have re-opened websites auto-refreshed when reloading Chrome? This is something that bugged me with Firefox.

Professor Snugglesworth · October 2011

Couple of other issues/things I'd like to resolve, if possible:

1. Chrome doesn't seem to allow dragging pictures to a separate program (namely Photoshop); there's a Photoshop extension that seems like it would come in handy, but again, can't drag pictures to it.

2. When I download something, it displays the most recent download on the bottom screen until I close it. I'd prefer it didn't show this pop-up at all.

3. Is there a way to customize the toolbar so that the tabs and the address bar switch places (in other words, tabs are at the bottom, address bar at top)?

4. Does Chrome have a group tabs feature like Firefox?

5. In Wordpress, I can't seem to resize an image by manually dragging it like on Firefox.

Monkey Ball Warrior · October 2011

These are the extensions I use in Chrome.

ArcSyn · October 2011

I am a minimalist when it comes to browsers. The only extension I install is lastpass and that is recent. I use chrome just because I like the UI more than Firefox and Opera. I used Firefox through 3.5 and then switched to Chrome. I download and try out other browsers from time to time but nothing has caused me to switch yet.

WMain00 · October 2011

I've recently swapped over to Chrome and i'm generally finding it a better experience. Not only does it seem quicker to respond, the UI is minimal and the process space it uses is lower than that of Firefox. A big problem I've had with Firefox recently is that it has become really bloated and slow to load. I imagine removing add ons might fix that, but i'm enjoying Chrome at the moment.

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