4 ms·

DuckDuckGo and Firefox as a Replacement for Google and Chrome

25 points by techbq 7y ago

Starkus 7y ago
I've been on Firefox on and off for most of my life. Was using Chrome predominately until last year, and went to Firefox. Firefox is great - I find it to be an absolute 100% quality replacement to Chrome. DDG has a few shortcomings, and is doable to replace Google but it is not as good. I also feel DDG is like an 'uncensored' engine, Google has so many censors and manipulations on their queries, anyone anti-censorship/manipulation should not use Googles search engine I'm currently using Google though, so shit, I'm a hypocrite
- FillardMillmore 7y ago
  Despite the censoring/manipulation in the results, it does seem to return the most relevant results for a search query more often than something like DDG.
- geoelectric 7y ago
  Biggest dig I have on Firefox is that Dark Reader runs pretty poorly on it compared to Chrome, particularly on complex Google-owned websites like Gmail, and I can't go back to white-background-by-default anymore. It'd also be nice if Apple actually allowed third party browsers as first-class citizens, because not having content-blocking support in iOS Firefox makes it a non-starter. Otherwise, Quantum-based Firefox is objectively a better browser IMO. I like the extension store better, and in general it seems to work more smoothly for me. If my company weren't stuck on Google Apps where Chrome's blurring of login is actually useful, I'd use Firefox all the time. As it is, I use it as my "personal login" browser everywhere other than my phone and tablet. (ObDisclaimer: I used to work for Mozilla half a decade ago, but I definitely would not have praised the pre-Quantum version the same way. It had fallen way behind the curve.)
cheschire 7y ago
I recently made the leap to bing. Been on a combination of FF and TOR Browser for the last two years. I'm pretty much done with Google. I think the breaking point for me was when I would visit non-google sites and get a pop-up asking if I wanted to use my google account by name to login. Probably a weird point to get stuck on, but that was mine.
- jjeaff 7y ago
  I have seen that. Though, I hope I am correct in assuming it is in an iframe and thus in-accessible to the hosting site due to browser CORS restrictions.
foopod 7y ago
I moved to DDG a month or so ago. One thing I miss is the contextualization of my results. Google knew so much about me, it new that if I was searching for a cafe that it should search my local area. DDG doesn't know me and so for roughly a fifth of the searches I do, I need to add more detail to the search to get the results I need.
- JadoJodo 7y ago
  That has been my experience as well. That being said, do you prefer your search provider knowing by default? Or "opting in" to provide the additional information? Personally, I prefer the former but I understand the latter.
badrabbit 7y ago
Too many sites and services work badly with FF. The Chrome incompatibility monopoly is a huge issue.
midnitewarrior 7y ago
Brave + DDG works well for me. All of the compatibility of Chrome, but with none of the tracking.

25 points by techbq 7y ago

I've been on Firefox on and off for most of my life. Was using Chrome predominately until last year, and went to Firefox. Firefox is great - I find it to be an absolute 100% quality replacement to Chrome. DDG has a few shortcomings, and is doable to replace Google but it is not as good. I also feel DDG is like an 'uncensored' engine, Google has so many censors and manipulations on their queries, anyone anti-censorship/manipulation should not use Googles search engine I'm currently using Google though, so shit, I'm a hypocrite

FillardMillmore 7y ago
Despite the censoring/manipulation in the results, it does seem to return the most relevant results for a search query more often than something like DDG.
geoelectric 7y ago
Biggest dig I have on Firefox is that Dark Reader runs pretty poorly on it compared to Chrome, particularly on complex Google-owned websites like Gmail, and I can't go back to white-background-by-default anymore. It'd also be nice if Apple actually allowed third party browsers as first-class citizens, because not having content-blocking support in iOS Firefox makes it a non-starter. Otherwise, Quantum-based Firefox is objectively a better browser IMO. I like the extension store better, and in general it seems to work more smoothly for me. If my company weren't stuck on Google Apps where Chrome's blurring of login is actually useful, I'd use Firefox all the time. As it is, I use it as my "personal login" browser everywhere other than my phone and tablet. (ObDisclaimer: I used to work for Mozilla half a decade ago, but I definitely would not have praised the pre-Quantum version the same way. It had fallen way behind the curve.)

cheschire 7y ago

I recently made the leap to bing. Been on a combination of FF and TOR Browser for the last two years. I'm pretty much done with Google. I think the breaking point for me was when I would visit non-google sites and get a pop-up asking if I wanted to use my google account by name to login. Probably a weird point to get stuck on, but that was mine.

jjeaff 7y ago
I have seen that. Though, I hope I am correct in assuming it is in an iframe and thus in-accessible to the hosting site due to browser CORS restrictions.

foopod 7y ago

I moved to DDG a month or so ago. One thing I miss is the contextualization of my results. Google knew so much about me, it new that if I was searching for a cafe that it should search my local area. DDG doesn't know me and so for roughly a fifth of the searches I do, I need to add more detail to the search to get the results I need.

JadoJodo 7y ago
That has been my experience as well. That being said, do you prefer your search provider knowing by default? Or "opting in" to provide the additional information? Personally, I prefer the former but I understand the latter.

badrabbit 7y ago

Too many sites and services work badly with FF. The Chrome incompatibility monopoly is a huge issue.

midnitewarrior 7y ago

Brave + DDG works well for me. All of the compatibility of Chrome, but with none of the tracking.