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Not just the browser market, but software in general. Remember when people had a conniption about Chrome auto updating and now literally all software does that

Not just the browser market, but software in general. Remember when people had a conniption about Chrome auto updating and now literally all software does that? Remember when using tabs was kind of a chore and not really worth the effort? Remember when the chrome of a browser would take up 10% of the screen? Remember when browsers had an address bar and a search bar? Remember when installing extensions was a huge, painful process? This whole, "I don't get it," thing is so transparent and juvenile.

staticassertion 7y ago
Oh shit, yeah, Windows software used to not ever autoupdate I forgot about that.
datalist 7y ago
> Remember when people had a conniption about Chrome auto updating and now literally all software does that? Sure. And is that a good thing? From a developer's perspective maybe, from a user's not so much. > Remember when using tabs was kind of a chore and not really worth the effort? No, I dont. Tabs have not fundamentally changed since they were introduced in NetCaptor some twenty years ago. Yes, you can drag and drop them now, but thats basically it. If anything, tabs have de-evolved. Chrome never allowed any customisation and Firefox stopped supporting it (e.g. vertical tabs) when they switched to "Quantum". > Remember when the chrome of a browser would take up 10% of the screen? Remember when browsers had an address bar and a search bar? If that was Google's only achievement ;) > Remember when installing extensions was a huge, painful process? I dont. Installing extensions was never any of that. It was always fairly straightforward in Firefox and has not really changed since the first versions, again some twenty years ago :)
- majewsky 7y ago
  > Chrome never allowed any customisation and Firefox stopped supporting it (e.g. vertical tabs) when they switched to "Quantum". Current Firefox has vertical tabs, with the Tree Style Tab extension (like it always has been). The only UI difference is that TST cannot hide the horizontal tab bar automatically, but it will explain to you on first use how to do that.
  - datalist 7y ago
    True, they kind of managed to semi-port that but it still rather is a crutch. My point was though the claim Chrome fundamentally improved how we use tabs simply is nonfactual.
    - eropple 7y ago
      Chrome made tabs practical through multiprocess browsing. Firefox would happily let a backgrounded tab wedge the entire process and it took many years for them to rectify that.
      - datalist 7y ago
        First, this is an exaggeration in my opinion. Second, this is only peripherally related to tabs and how they are used.
        eropple 7y ago
        It’s presumptive of you to call it an exaggeration and it’s wrong to say it’s “only peripherally related to tabs.” JavaScript-heavy web apps came along well before Firefox could deal with them well. Leaving Google Docs in a background tab while somebody else was editing the same document would faceplant Firefox for years. Making a tab-centric workflow viable with complex applications by isolating them in their own process space and minimizing their impact on the UI process was revolutionary. Firefox is awesome now. We can celebrate that without rewriting the past.
        tekknik 7y ago
        So using a Google product on a non Google browser while they’re trying to gain marketshare for said browser didn’t work well (and presumably would push you towards using said browser)? Color me surprised.
        eropple 7y ago
earenndil 7y ago
> Remember when browsers had an address bar and a search bar? Firefox still has that as an option. I use it.
- tekknik 7y ago
  Firefox also could be configured to only show one bar and split based off of it being a url or not. I remember configuring mine that way right around Chrome launch.
hyperdimension 7y ago
> Remember when browsers had an address bar and a search bar? Well, my pet theory is that this is the same as Facebook's internet.org program: just how Facebook wants to (and benefits) to train the "global" (sub)conscious that Facebook essentially is the Internet, Google stands to profit from everyone confusing/conflating Google search results with the Internet. Why give people an address bar when they can (slightly) misspell their destination and go through Google instead? Maybe, if they're lucky, over time, every network request will go through Google. I've also noticed this in how Google mandates the placement of the Google search widget on the home screen on Android devices. Place "the Internet" front-and-center on everyone's favourite screen, and people naturally "fall in."

staticassertion 7y ago

Oh shit, yeah, Windows software used to not ever autoupdate I forgot about that.

datalist 7y ago

> Remember when people had a conniption about Chrome auto updating and now literally all software does that? Sure. And is that a good thing? From a developer's perspective maybe, from a user's not so much. > Remember when using tabs was kind of a chore and not really worth the effort? No, I dont. Tabs have not fundamentally changed since they were introduced in NetCaptor some twenty years ago. Yes, you can drag and drop them now, but thats basically it. If anything, tabs have de-evolved. Chrome never allowed any customisation and Firefox stopped supporting it (e.g. vertical tabs) when they switched to "Quantum". > Remember when the chrome of a browser would take up 10% of the screen? Remember when browsers had an address bar and a search bar? If that was Google's only achievement ;) > Remember when installing extensions was a huge, painful process? I dont. Installing extensions was never any of that. It was always fairly straightforward in Firefox and has not really changed since the first versions, again some twenty years ago :)

majewsky 7y ago
> Chrome never allowed any customisation and Firefox stopped supporting it (e.g. vertical tabs) when they switched to "Quantum". Current Firefox has vertical tabs, with the Tree Style Tab extension (like it always has been). The only UI difference is that TST cannot hide the horizontal tab bar automatically, but it will explain to you on first use how to do that.
- datalist 7y ago
  True, they kind of managed to semi-port that but it still rather is a crutch. My point was though the claim Chrome fundamentally improved how we use tabs simply is nonfactual.
  - eropple 7y ago
    Chrome made tabs practical through multiprocess browsing. Firefox would happily let a backgrounded tab wedge the entire process and it took many years for them to rectify that.
    - datalist 7y ago
      First, this is an exaggeration in my opinion. Second, this is only peripherally related to tabs and how they are used.
      - eropple 7y ago
        It’s presumptive of you to call it an exaggeration and it’s wrong to say it’s “only peripherally related to tabs.” JavaScript-heavy web apps came along well before Firefox could deal with them well. Leaving Google Docs in a background tab while somebody else was editing the same document would faceplant Firefox for years. Making a tab-centric workflow viable with complex applications by isolating them in their own process space and minimizing their impact on the UI process was revolutionary. Firefox is awesome now. We can celebrate that without rewriting the past.
        tekknik 7y ago
        So using a Google product on a non Google browser while they’re trying to gain marketshare for said browser didn’t work well (and presumably would push you towards using said browser)? Color me surprised.
        eropple 7y ago

earenndil 7y ago

> Remember when browsers had an address bar and a search bar? Firefox still has that as an option. I use it.

tekknik 7y ago
Firefox also could be configured to only show one bar and split based off of it being a url or not. I remember configuring mine that way right around Chrome launch.

hyperdimension 7y ago

> Remember when browsers had an address bar and a search bar? Well, my pet theory is that this is the same as Facebook's internet.org program: just how Facebook wants to (and benefits) to train the "global" (sub)conscious that Facebook essentially is the Internet, Google stands to profit from everyone confusing/conflating Google search results with the Internet. Why give people an address bar when they can (slightly) misspell their destination and go through Google instead? Maybe, if they're lucky, over time, every network request will go through Google. I've also noticed this in how Google mandates the placement of the Google search widget on the home screen on Android devices. Place "the Internet" front-and-center on everyone's favourite screen, and people naturally "fall in."