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Poll

What's the best browser of 2013?

Chrome/Chromium
[ 1 ] (9.1%)
Elinks
[ 1 ] (9.1%)
Firefox
[ 3 ] (27.3%)
Internet Explorer
[ 0 ] (0%)
Netsurf
[ 1 ] (9.1%)
Opera
[ 3 ] (27.3%)
Beer
[ 2 ] (18.2%)

Total Members Voted: 10

Topic: The best browser of 2013 (Read 16079 times)

The best browser of 2013

If I missed any, leave a comment. I believe JoshL said I should be able to add 'em to the poll without losing any existing votes.

Some background that might inform your vote:

  • Chromium forked Webkit and called it Blink. Google claims to have a bigger commitment to not breaking the web with a gazillion -webkit- prefixes.

  • Elinks didn't really change anything, but you don't change a winning team.

  • Firefox removed features like an easy Javascript toggle, small icons mode, and other customization options.

  • Internet Explorer 11 is the best yet, including vastly improved developer tools.

  • Netsurf 3 adds support for user CSS, improved text selection, a more native appearance, and more.

  • Opera switched from Presto to Chromium/Blink. It vastly improved on Chromium's speeddial alternative, although not on Opera's own speeddial, and allegedly improved website compatibility. It lost almost all customization ability in the process, but now has access to Chromium's vast extension catalog.

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #1 –
Quote from: Frenzie on

  • Firefox removed features like an easy Javascript toggle, small icons mode, and other customization options.


Less Than 20 Per Cent Of Users Like Firefox's New Australis UI

Quote
To add insult to injury, it’s already possible to download an add-on called “Classic Theme Restorer” that transforms the UI back to its classic look.


I looked shortly at Nightly 28 Alpha 1 Pre. You still can toggle JavaScript, Cookies or Proxies from about:config.
I suppose that it's only a matter of time till according extensions will permit to do it through customized buttons too.

Right now I'm using FirefoxESR 24.2.0 as my secondary browser and will stick with the ESR channel as long as I'll use Firefox.



Regarding your poll, I only looked at Firefox and Chropera. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as 'the best of 2013' for me.
The first might not be as crappy as the latter but over time the sequence might change  :o

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #2 –
That article says some pretty silly things, for instance:
Quote
As for customisation, unsurprisngly you’re going to have issues with add-ons and extensions with a new browser version.

Equating customization with extensions is exactly the problem. Say I'm on the train, so I want to turn off images and Javascript for faster browsing. Having to look for and download an extension defeats the purpose. If I'm lucky, I'll already have Elinks or Links 2 installed… Okay, so you can do that in about:config. Sorry, but should a user really know about about:config just to do something as basic as disabling images?

In Gnome they've also been struck with the same virus. By removing each and every bit of customization, suddenly I had to dive into gnome-config-editor for the most basic of settings, and I had to download a specialized utility just to change the fonts.

Quote from: krake on
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as 'the best of 2013' for me.

I agree, 2013 is a disastrous year in browsers. Still, Netsurf is an extremely fast and interesting browser in between Elinks and a full browser like Firefox.

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #3 –
Quote from: krake on
Regarding your poll, I only looked at Firefox and Chropera. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as 'the best of 2013' for me.
The first might not be as crappy as the latter but over time the sequence might change

I agree that there is no best browser. I have given up Chopera and totally avoid Chrome and IE. SR Ware Iron and Super-Bird might work, if I wanted a dumbed-down clean social browser. I have been using 64 bit Cyberfox since July. I am up to 50 extensions to do most of what I did with Opera 12. Customizing Opera ini files was easier than searching out extensions that don't conflict with either or almost do what you want.

Besides Cyberfox 26, my home desktop has Firefox 26, Aurora 28, Holly 29 Nightly and Australis 29 Nightly on it. Australis is running most of the same extensions as the other versions but does require the Classic Theme Restorer extension and some tweaking. Full themes for Firefox have not kept up with the rapid development scenario.

Someone should branch a Firefox build with the same functionality built-in as Opera 12 has and maybe we could get a 2014 winner.
Industrial Engineer, Restauranteur, Graphic Designer, Shareware Author and Genealogist.  Computer user since 1977.
Custom desktop, Win 7, Intel I7, 8gb, 3tb drive total, 1mb Nvidia & Dell XPS-17 laptop, Win 7, Intel I7, 8gb, 512gb SSD, 1tb WD drive.

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #4 –
Quote from: Frenzie on
In Gnome they've also been struck with the same virus. By removing each and every bit of customization, suddenly I had to dive into gnome-config-editor for the most basic of settings, and I had to download a specialized utility just to change the fonts.

Yeah. You'll need the Tweak tool and you need an extension just to have some sort of taskbar. It seems all the new browsers at minimalist (except Sleipnir.) I can't help but wonder if all this minimalism is just an excuse for not knowing how to design an interface.

Quote from: pizzapops on
Full themes for Firefox have not kept up with the rapid development scenario.

Full themes seem to falling by the wayside in favour of "personas." This means the default theme with some background picture that doesn't respect the actual size of the toolbars it's trying to decorate.

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #6 –
Quote from: Frenzie on
If I missed any, leave a comment.
Surely you know a bunch that could be added, but it only makes sense to add browsers that we the members of this forum actually use.

I happen to have fairly few needs. For most of my online life, Opera Presto satisfies all my needs and FF used to work as a reasonable IE-replacement on Windows. I am increasingly less certain about FF's utility on Linux, but I haven't found a good FF-replacement yet :)

When using KDE, Konqueror seems a sensible choice for browser, because there's no other point in using KDE than KDE apps, is there? If you don't like KDE apps in general, such as KMail, Kopete, etc., then don't use KDE. I happen to like the extensive settings and options of Konqueror's interface.

The Webkit-based browsers that I have used longer than two weeks are Qupzilla and Luakit. A Gecko-based browser similar to Luakit is Conkeror (should be readily available for Debian). I'm sure I am the only one in these forums using Elinks, Konqueror, Qupzilla, Luakit, and Conkeror. The list would be uselessly long.

Maybe it makes sense to re-arrange the list according to browser engines, such as Gecko, Webkit, Presto, IE, and console-based? Plus beer of course.

And I agree with the general sentiment that 2013 has been a bad year in terms of browsers (apart from the fact that I rediscovered console browsers after a decade's pause). Then again, I am quite sure 2014 will be even worse. The bottom has not been reached yet.

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #8 –
I keep on using Opera 12.
What seems to be happening with browsers, less options, less personalization, less choice, also seems to be happening  with other different software.

In my opinion that's not a mere trend or a matter of consumer's options, that's a deliberate strategy by the software industry that increasingly produces software as if people were retarded children. The software "knows" what we want so we don't need to make choices anymore... All the way up towards the brave new world.

I've been using more and more the Tor bundle that uses a Firefox version tweaked for privacy aspects.
I suppose I could use Opera 12 with the Tor network but I don't know how to do it.
A matter of attitude.

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #9 –
Quote from: Josh on

Quote from: Frenzie on
If I missed any, leave a comment. I believe JoshL said...
Yeah, you're a believer! ;)
What do Androids use as their default?
It's called "stock browser" in user comments. It's some kind of debranded webkit, I suppose. It's never updated.

Quote from: Belfrager on

I suppose I could use Opera 12 with the Tor network but I don't know how to do it.
In Ubuntu and Arch/Manjaro, first launch the Tor unit, then type "torify opera" and go to  https://check.torproject.org/ to see if it's connected to Tor network. "torify" may work for other internet-connecting software too.

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #10 –
Quote from: Josh on
What is Netsurf?

According to its website, "Small as a mouse, fast as a cheetah and available for free." If the website cooperates, like this forum does, it'll pretty much give you the speed of Elinks coupled with the looks of—well, any graphical browser.

Quote from: ersi on
Surely you know a bunch that could be added, but it only makes sense to add browsers that we the members of this forum actually use.

Naturally. I meant if I missed any that you think deserve to be voted for. :)

Quote from: ersi on
When using KDE, Konqueror seems a sensible choice for browser, because there's no other point in using KDE than KDE apps, is there? If you don't like KDE apps in general, such as KMail, Kopete, etc., then don't use KDE. I happen to like the extensive settings and options of Konqueror's interface.

I like the KWin window manager.

http://blog.martin-graesslin.com/blog/2013/11/kwin-a-solution-for-non-kde-based-desktop-environments/

Some people also like Plasma, but there's just something about the looks that doesn't sit well with me, even if I should like it reasonably well in theory.

Quote from: ersi on
I'm sure I am the only one in these forums using Elinks

Nope, I use Elinks and Lynx occasionally. ;) I actually replaced most of my Links 2 use with Netsurf.

Quote from: Josh on
What do Androids use as their default?

By default, most use a basic Blink-based browser or Chrome. Chrome offers sync and remote debugging.

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #13 –
Quote from: Belfrager on

I suppose I could use Opera 12 with the Tor network but I don't know how to do it.


I use Tor once in a blue moon. However, using Opera with Tor is easy.

  • Download and install the Expert Bundle.

  • Start Tor.

  • In Opera's manual proxy configuration enable SOCKS.

  • Proxy server: 127.0.0.1; Port: 9050

  • In Opera's Preference Editor enable "Use Remote SOCKS DNS Lookups"


That's it.
Additional recommendations:
Disable in Opera all Plug-ins (opera:plugins) and disable JavaScript (F12)
Open a new private Tab and close the non private one(s).

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #14 –
I used to use Opera almost exclusively. However, the latest greatest playing around both with the browser and with the users left me cold, so when I got this new laptop Opera didn't get included. Right now I have Internet Exploder because Windows comes with it, and I use the latest update Firefox for just about everything. I don't know enough about any of the other browsers-- and from the sounds of it there's not much point in trying them because everybody is trying to make their offerings as plain-Jane and barely functional as possible.
What would happen if a large asteroid slammed into the Earth?
According to several tests involving a watermelon and a large hammer, it would be really bad!

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #15 –
Quote from: mjmsprt40 on
I use the latest update Firefox for just about everything.

I think Firefox is the best still-developed (mainstream) browser there is, provided you install a few extensions like Tab Mix Plus, NoScript, GreaseMonkey, and Stylish (ymmv). Simply put, Chromium is worse out of the box and its extensions are worse too.

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #16 –
ׂ

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #17 –
I'm not saying!            

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #18 –
I have to vote firefox, mostly because it's the only modern browser that's usable on most of my hardware.

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #19 –
Quote
Opera switched from Presto to Chromium/Blink. It vastly improved on Chromium's speeddial alternative, although not on Opera's own speeddial, and allegedly improved website compatibility. It lost almost all customization ability in the process.


I switched to Opera 19 and find the compatibility is stellar compared to 12.  I find the speed amazing and it rarely crashes.  Yes, I've had to customize it to death with extensions from Chrome and other places but it's still my favourite browser, especially now that it works with almost every site I go to.

Second choice is Firefox but I really find Firefox uses up way too much memory and freezes a lot.

Chrome is useless, never turns off properly and freezes contantly.

IE is there but I never use it.

Don't know the other ones mentioned at all.

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #20 –
Quote from: myminpins on
Yes, I've had to customize it to death with extensions from Chrome

Fair point. I added that to the description.

Quote from: myminpins on
Don't know the other ones mentioned at all.

Elinks and Netsurf are geekie, but both are at least occasionally used by people on this forum (and I'm not just talking about me).

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #21 –
I'm noticing there's a ton of geeks on here who are much more knowledgeable than I am.  (And geek is not a bad word in my vocabulary, btw) I'm trying to stay where I can hold my own because a ton of discussion is way over my head  :)

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #22 –
Quote from: myminpins on

I'm noticing there's a ton of geeks on here who are much more knowledgeable than I am.  (And geek is not a bad word in my vocabulary, btw) I'm trying to stay where I can hold my own because a ton of discussion is way over my head  :)

Ask them. :)
That's what I do. That's the biggest advantage of D&D, you make part of a group of people that no matter how much we discuss, we are always ready to help each others. :)

Imagine that those "geeks" are helping me to make my first steps into Linux. That's great :)
A matter of attitude.

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #23 –
Quote from: Belfrager on

Quote from: myminpins on

I'm noticing there's a ton of geeks on here who are much more knowledgeable than I am.  (And geek is not a bad word in my vocabulary, btw) I'm trying to stay where I can hold my own because a ton of discussion is way over my head  :)

Ask them. :)
That's what I do. That's the biggest advantage of D&D, you make part of a group of people that no matter how much we discuss, we are always ready to help each others. :)

Imagine that those "geeks" are helping me to make my first steps into Linux. That's great :)


Oh, if I have questions, I certainly will.  What I meant was some of the conversations I see, I have no freaking clue what they're going on about so I just move on :)

Re: The best browser of 2013

Reply #24 –
Quote from: ersi on

I agree with the general sentiment that 2013 has been a bad year in terms of browsers (apart from the fact that I rediscovered console browsers after a decade's pause). Then again, I am quite sure 2014 will be even worse. The bottom has not been reached yet.

2014 was not much worse for browser than 2014. It's been interesting to observe the development of Otter. Fifth browser, another somewhat promising project, was started. So I'd conclude that the bottom has still not been reached.

This year Vivaldi came out. It only rides on nostalgia, but doesn't add anything substantial to the browsers market. It doesn't even properly recover what was lost. I will start a new thread when we are past the lowest point.