5 ms·

Microsoft and Google allow alternative browser engines. Apple does not.

by gamblor956 6y ago

dreamcompiler 6y ago
On IOS. On a Mac you can run any browser engine you want.
- leeoniya 6y ago
  i wonder when the other shoe will drop. maybe as part of the ARM and iOS/macOS consolidation. things are much more likely to go the iOS route given it's already ARM.
  - the_other 6y ago
    Apple will lose their entire Mac audience if this happens. Slowly, but surely.
  - alwillis 6y ago
    i wonder when the other shoe will drop. maybe as part of the ARM and iOS/macOS consolidation. There’s no other shoe. There's no known technical reason why all the major browsers shouldn't be available natively when ARM Macs start shipping in a few months.
    - perryizgr8 6y ago
      There's no technical reason for iOS to not support alternative browsers from the start. It's not about technical reasons.
      - alwillis 6y ago
        There's no technical reason for iOS to not support alternative browsers from the start. Why would Apple allow other browser engines that are slower, less power efficient and don't respect user’s privacy at least as much as Webkit to run natively on iOS? Apple continues to add features to block ads from tracking users across the web and to lessen the impact of fingerprinting by trackers. Certainly Google has no interest in adhering to these principles if it were able to run natively on iOS—they're the only major browser on macOS that allows unchecked fingerprinting and ad tracking.
        seabrookmx 6y ago
        > Why would Apple allow There's your problem. Apple doesn't own the device.. I do. Apple can "recommend" I use Safari all they want (not unlike MS does with Edge) but if I own the device I should have the right to run any software I want. Full stop.
        ncmncm 6y ago
        That is what you think. It is not what Apple thinks. Which do you suppose wins more often?
      - rvense 6y ago
        Exactly. I don't care about the size of the screen. It's my damn computer, I should be allowed to put whatever software I want on it.
dlivingston 6y ago
Only within iOS. The average person downloading Firefox for iPhone doesn’t know (or care) if it’s built on WebKit or Gecko.
amenod 6y ago
They both fight with every dirty dark UX pattern they can get away with. Not much difference in practice. If anything, at the moment Apple is doing more for the web diversity than anyone else. They have a non-negligeable market share and can force Google to abandon at least the most outrageous plans for Chrome. Not that they are angels, of course... It's a pity that Mozilla failed to find a better revenue source that would include keeping Firefox alive.
malnourish 6y ago
Can you use alternative browsers on Chromebooks (sans rooting)?
- seabrookmx 6y ago
  Technically, yes. Crostini is a WSL-like VM layer that allows you to run arbitrary Linux apps, including Firefox and Epiphany on ChromeOS. Practically speaking though, this is all command-line heavy and developer centric. Your typical Chromebook user can't/won't. I'm actually grappling with this issue right now.. I'm a long time Firefox user and picked up a Lenovo Duet ChromeOS device to serve as a replacement for my cheap Android tablet. Turns out.. I really like the form factor and am using it a lot (typing on it right now!). But the Firefox Android apps are a pretty terrible experience and since I don't plan on using this for dev, I don't want to jump through all the crostini hoops. So here I am, using Chrome..

Microsoft and Google allow alternative browser engines. Apple does not.

dreamcompiler 6y ago

On IOS. On a Mac you can run any browser engine you want.

leeoniya 6y ago
i wonder when the other shoe will drop. maybe as part of the ARM and iOS/macOS consolidation. things are much more likely to go the iOS route given it's already ARM.
- the_other 6y ago
  Apple will lose their entire Mac audience if this happens. Slowly, but surely.
- alwillis 6y ago
  i wonder when the other shoe will drop. maybe as part of the ARM and iOS/macOS consolidation. There’s no other shoe. There's no known technical reason why all the major browsers shouldn't be available natively when ARM Macs start shipping in a few months.
  - perryizgr8 6y ago
    There's no technical reason for iOS to not support alternative browsers from the start. It's not about technical reasons.
    - alwillis 6y ago
      There's no technical reason for iOS to not support alternative browsers from the start. Why would Apple allow other browser engines that are slower, less power efficient and don't respect user’s privacy at least as much as Webkit to run natively on iOS? Apple continues to add features to block ads from tracking users across the web and to lessen the impact of fingerprinting by trackers. Certainly Google has no interest in adhering to these principles if it were able to run natively on iOS—they're the only major browser on macOS that allows unchecked fingerprinting and ad tracking.
      - seabrookmx 6y ago
        > Why would Apple allow There's your problem. Apple doesn't own the device.. I do. Apple can "recommend" I use Safari all they want (not unlike MS does with Edge) but if I own the device I should have the right to run any software I want. Full stop.
        ncmncm 6y ago
        That is what you think. It is not what Apple thinks. Which do you suppose wins more often?
    - rvense 6y ago
      Exactly. I don't care about the size of the screen. It's my damn computer, I should be allowed to put whatever software I want on it.

dlivingston 6y ago

Only within iOS. The average person downloading Firefox for iPhone doesn’t know (or care) if it’s built on WebKit or Gecko.

amenod 6y ago

They both fight with every dirty dark UX pattern they can get away with. Not much difference in practice. If anything, at the moment Apple is doing more for the web diversity than anyone else. They have a non-negligeable market share and can force Google to abandon at least the most outrageous plans for Chrome. Not that they are angels, of course... It's a pity that Mozilla failed to find a better revenue source that would include keeping Firefox alive.

malnourish 6y ago

Can you use alternative browsers on Chromebooks (sans rooting)?

seabrookmx 6y ago
Technically, yes. Crostini is a WSL-like VM layer that allows you to run arbitrary Linux apps, including Firefox and Epiphany on ChromeOS. Practically speaking though, this is all command-line heavy and developer centric. Your typical Chromebook user can't/won't. I'm actually grappling with this issue right now.. I'm a long time Firefox user and picked up a Lenovo Duet ChromeOS device to serve as a replacement for my cheap Android tablet. Turns out.. I really like the form factor and am using it a lot (typing on it right now!). But the Firefox Android apps are a pretty terrible experience and since I don't plan on using this for dev, I don't want to jump through all the crostini hoops. So here I am, using Chrome..