4 ms·

Why? Does Chromium support Tree Style Tabs despite using WebExtensions? If that's the case, why would that not be possible for Firefox? Or would you switch to m

by sveme 10y ago

Why? Does Chromium support Tree Style Tabs despite using WebExtensions? If that's the case, why would that not be possible for Firefox? Or would you switch to make a statement?

Spivak 10y ago
It wouldn't really be to make a statement. Chromium is a better browser but because of the powerful add-ons Firefox's overall experience is better. Take that away and there's no real reason to stay with Firefox unless you like their license and Mozilla as a company.
- eveningcoffee 10y ago
  There is still one major reason to stay with Firefox - it is not Chrome.
  - nine_k 10y ago
    Chromium isn't, either. But the extension flexibility was one of the major points for me. I'll have to pin Firefox to 56.x in my package manager.
    - ecnahc515 10y ago
      That's a pretty terrible idea. Your web browser is probably the most important piece of software to keep up to date, besides the OS for security reasons.
      - nine_k 10y ago
        Agreed. I need time to consider alternatives.
      - kuschku 10y ago
        For me, I have no alternative but to pin Firefox. No browser on Linux can handle different DPI per screen. For Firefox, there's an addon implementing that today, but it won't work with WebExtensions. So I have to use today's Firefox - or I can't use any browser. Well, there's also the third option of using a magnifying glass to read websites.
- oblio 10y ago
  The question is, why is Chromium the better browser? Firefox 57 will have sandboxing and per-tab processes (most likely) plus a better extension system than Chrome's. Firefox 57 should be at least equivalent to Chromium.
  - icebraining 10y ago
    How will the extension system of FF 57 be better than Chrome's?
    - oblio 10y ago
      Can Chrome do this: https://testpilot.firefox.com/experiments/tab-center/ https://testpilot.firefox.com/experiments/tab-center/?
      - temgo 10y ago
        That add-on won't run on ff57, either.
        kibwen 10y ago
        Mozilla's test pilot projects there serve to prototype proposed extension APIs. It's there to inform the design of what hooks are needed to make such an addon possible, so that it will still be possible in a world with only WebExtensions.
        icebraining 10y ago
        Are the APIs required to make TabCenter as a WebExtension guaranteed to work on FF 57? If not, temgo is still right, no? At least an argument could be made that the elimination of XUL should only happen when the current experiments can actually be implemented using the new model.
      - icebraining 10y ago
        That doesn't use the new model. This is the WebExtension version of TabCenter: https://github.com/bwinton/TabCenter/tree/webext https://github.com/bwinton/TabCenter/tree/webext
darkengine 10y ago
Because Chromium runs far better in my experience, especially on Linux, and especially where graphics and WebGL are concerned. If all I can use are WebExtensions, I may as well use Chromium for the speed.
- beerbaron23 10y ago
  You really should use Firefox if you are a heavy WebGL user, Firefox is 3 times as fast as Chrome now on Unity3D, an it's the complete opposite, Chrome is more snappy with Java and Firefox with animations/Graphics. Here is my latest benchmark as solid proof: https://www.dropbox.com/s/58doo8csebp9l62/Bench.pdf?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/58doo8csebp9l62/Bench.pdf?dl=0
  - darkengine 10y ago
    In my experience on Linux, the difference is night and day, and not in Firefox's favor. Really basic demos struggle to get 30fps while Chromium handles them at the refresh rate of my display no problem. Firefox WebGL works much better on Windows for me; never tried it on OS X. It's probably a Linux-specific issue, but I rarely use Firefox on anything else.
    - beerbaron23 10y ago
      Linux is another beast, on my Ubuntu box Firefox gives similar performance to OSX. But on my Debian stable box Chromium plays a lot better with it and the Firefox build feels like it has a gremlin in it haha.
    - beerbaron23 10y ago
      Also if you want to get to the root of the problem, when you install Firefox 51.0.1 in the URL bar type "about:support" It will list HW acceleration info. You want to make sure electrolysis is running, in the line "Multiprocess Windows: 1/1 (Enabled by user)" should be enabled by default, if it says 0/1 it not active and you will have to manually turn it on. You can also see if the WebGL renderer is loading properly. On my Debian box it says WebGL2 creation failed (drivers), which would explain my poor performance on that box. It's worth a shot since Firefox's WebGL rendering is 4x faster then other browsers, it's worth your time taking a quick check.

by sveme 10y ago

Why? Does Chromium support Tree Style Tabs despite using WebExtensions? If that's the case, why would that not be possible for Firefox? Or would you switch to make a statement?

Spivak 10y ago

It wouldn't really be to make a statement. Chromium is a better browser but because of the powerful add-ons Firefox's overall experience is better. Take that away and there's no real reason to stay with Firefox unless you like their license and Mozilla as a company.

eveningcoffee 10y ago
There is still one major reason to stay with Firefox - it is not Chrome.
- nine_k 10y ago
  Chromium isn't, either. But the extension flexibility was one of the major points for me. I'll have to pin Firefox to 56.x in my package manager.
  - ecnahc515 10y ago
    That's a pretty terrible idea. Your web browser is probably the most important piece of software to keep up to date, besides the OS for security reasons.
    - nine_k 10y ago
      Agreed. I need time to consider alternatives.
    - kuschku 10y ago
      For me, I have no alternative but to pin Firefox. No browser on Linux can handle different DPI per screen. For Firefox, there's an addon implementing that today, but it won't work with WebExtensions. So I have to use today's Firefox - or I can't use any browser. Well, there's also the third option of using a magnifying glass to read websites.
oblio 10y ago
The question is, why is Chromium the better browser? Firefox 57 will have sandboxing and per-tab processes (most likely) plus a better extension system than Chrome's. Firefox 57 should be at least equivalent to Chromium.
- icebraining 10y ago
  How will the extension system of FF 57 be better than Chrome's?
  - oblio 10y ago
    Can Chrome do this: https://testpilot.firefox.com/experiments/tab-center/ https://testpilot.firefox.com/experiments/tab-center/?
    - temgo 10y ago
      That add-on won't run on ff57, either.
      - kibwen 10y ago
        Mozilla's test pilot projects there serve to prototype proposed extension APIs. It's there to inform the design of what hooks are needed to make such an addon possible, so that it will still be possible in a world with only WebExtensions.
        icebraining 10y ago
        Are the APIs required to make TabCenter as a WebExtension guaranteed to work on FF 57? If not, temgo is still right, no? At least an argument could be made that the elimination of XUL should only happen when the current experiments can actually be implemented using the new model.
    - icebraining 10y ago
      That doesn't use the new model. This is the WebExtension version of TabCenter: https://github.com/bwinton/TabCenter/tree/webext https://github.com/bwinton/TabCenter/tree/webext

darkengine 10y ago

Because Chromium runs far better in my experience, especially on Linux, and especially where graphics and WebGL are concerned. If all I can use are WebExtensions, I may as well use Chromium for the speed.

beerbaron23 10y ago
You really should use Firefox if you are a heavy WebGL user, Firefox is 3 times as fast as Chrome now on Unity3D, an it's the complete opposite, Chrome is more snappy with Java and Firefox with animations/Graphics. Here is my latest benchmark as solid proof: https://www.dropbox.com/s/58doo8csebp9l62/Bench.pdf?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/58doo8csebp9l62/Bench.pdf?dl=0
- darkengine 10y ago
  In my experience on Linux, the difference is night and day, and not in Firefox's favor. Really basic demos struggle to get 30fps while Chromium handles them at the refresh rate of my display no problem. Firefox WebGL works much better on Windows for me; never tried it on OS X. It's probably a Linux-specific issue, but I rarely use Firefox on anything else.
  - beerbaron23 10y ago
    Linux is another beast, on my Ubuntu box Firefox gives similar performance to OSX. But on my Debian stable box Chromium plays a lot better with it and the Firefox build feels like it has a gremlin in it haha.
  - beerbaron23 10y ago
    Also if you want to get to the root of the problem, when you install Firefox 51.0.1 in the URL bar type "about:support" It will list HW acceleration info. You want to make sure electrolysis is running, in the line "Multiprocess Windows: 1/1 (Enabled by user)" should be enabled by default, if it says 0/1 it not active and you will have to manually turn it on. You can also see if the WebGL renderer is loading properly. On my Debian box it says WebGL2 creation failed (drivers), which would explain my poor performance on that box. It's worth a shot since Firefox's WebGL rendering is 4x faster then other browsers, it's worth your time taking a quick check.