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Linux Mint introduces its own take on the Chromium web browser

24 points by CrankyBear 6y ago

blitblitblit 6y ago
You can paint lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig. Wish there were other browser engines besides the Chromium monopoly.
- CrankyBear 6y ago
  Actually, except for Firefox, everything pretty much is Chromium under the hood these days.
  - ThePowerOfFuet 6y ago
    Did... did you forget about mobile? iOS is WebKit, as is the default browser on the Mac.
  - G4E 6y ago
    The vast majority of game console are also webkit ! (With its fair share of exploits to be honest)
    - fomine3 6y ago
      Gaming consoles with WebKit: Switch, PS4, iPhone/iPad (if you count), PS5(not confirmed but should be) Gaming consoles with Blink: Many Android devices (including phones/tablets if you count, and console-like devices like Oculus Quest), Xbox Series X/S (Maybe? Fun to see.)
- sneak 6y ago
  Why? What is the benefit to having more? I just wish there were other browser applications based on Chrome/Chromium. The rendering engine having been written by Google doesn’t inherently bother me, but the lame browser app does. It’s missing features that I want, keeps removing features that I use, and constantly adds features I will never use.
  - Barrin92 6y ago
    i'm in the same boat. I want differentiated products on an open source engine, which is what Chrom(e)ium mostly is. Multiple engines seems to me like having half a dozen types of roads only 20% of cars can drive on. I want open infrastructure, not fractured infrastructure.
  - csb6 6y ago
    Google effectively controls the engine's development, and additionally effectively controls the web standardization process (de facto or de jure). This is bad for obvious reasons. It would be neat if there was another browser not effectively run by Google. Being open-source is nice, but who writes the commits? Who controls the direction? Mostly Googlers. Sure, others contribute, but the project is obviously steered by Google. Having most of the user experience/stack of the Web controlled by one company is called a monoculture and it isn't good.
    - sneak 6y ago
      > This is bad for obvious reasons. Those reasons are not obvious to me.
      - Alekhine 6y ago
        Google is incentivised to twist the web to their benefit, not everybody's. Any profit driven entity is. That's why a Google browser monoculture is bad. Do you understand?
        sneak 6y ago
        No, because browser is open source and can be forked or modified by anyone should Google do something that threatens the web. AMP, for example, has nothing to do with their control of Chrome.
- type0 6y ago
  Ubuntu is the pig wearing lipstick, Mint has evolved into the wild boar that still has some lipstick. Use Debian if you are allergic to that sort of nonsense.
  - Alekhine 6y ago
    Can you elaborate on that? I personally think Mint is a fine distro, which made the sane decision to abandon snaps when Ubuntu was pushing it.
everybodyknows 6y ago
>"To guarantee reactivity and timely updates we had to automate the process of detecting, packaging and compiling new versions of Chromium. This is an application which can require more than 6 hours per build on a fast computer. As a user of Vivaldi, this makes me wonder how well it is keeping up with security fixes. Users of Brave may have same question ... Anyone know a simple, quick way to test for timeliness?
fractalf 6y ago
Linux Mint is so good I have a hard time understanding why anyone would use Ubunty. I've used so many distros over the years, but I always end up with Mint in the end. Canonical's horrible choise regarding the snap drama is just another reason to stay clear of it.
- SomeoneFromCA 6y ago
  I personally like Gnome 3, I really do. Mint does not come with one. So, although I am not a big fan of the UI theme of Pop_OS (I find it kinda childish) , I decided to switch to it. The only concern I have so far, is if I can trust System76 or not.
- kd913 6y ago
  They have had a lot of security issues from serving hacked ISOs to withholding kernel updates. https://lwn.net/Articles/676664/ https://lwn.net/Articles/676664/ Yea I am much happier on Ubuntu and snaps with the backing of a much larger corporation with a security team. Ubuntu is a staple that competes with RedHat and is used commercially in a lot of places. No idea for Mint, but it has far less support.
  - Fej 6y ago
    Has there been any movement on this front since 2016? I've also heard of these security issues with Mint, since around that time, but it's been four years and I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt that it's possible they've improved in that timespan, one way or another.
    - kd913 6y ago
      Fundamentally Mint doesn't have a security team so who knows and who is checking? They are talking here about a expensive build server for making chromium. Compare that with Ubuntu which has a full blown security team with salaries. The resource difference here is massive. Anyone looking for anything will be looking at Ubuntu rather than Mint. Mainly because it's the base for everything else and actually has commercial worth. If you trust them, go ahead but I'm sticking with Ubuntu.

24 points by CrankyBear 6y ago

You can paint lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig. Wish there were other browser engines besides the Chromium monopoly.

CrankyBear 6y ago
Actually, except for Firefox, everything pretty much is Chromium under the hood these days.
- ThePowerOfFuet 6y ago
  Did... did you forget about mobile? iOS is WebKit, as is the default browser on the Mac.
- G4E 6y ago
  The vast majority of game console are also webkit ! (With its fair share of exploits to be honest)
  - fomine3 6y ago
    Gaming consoles with WebKit: Switch, PS4, iPhone/iPad (if you count), PS5(not confirmed but should be) Gaming consoles with Blink: Many Android devices (including phones/tablets if you count, and console-like devices like Oculus Quest), Xbox Series X/S (Maybe? Fun to see.)
sneak 6y ago
Why? What is the benefit to having more? I just wish there were other browser applications based on Chrome/Chromium. The rendering engine having been written by Google doesn’t inherently bother me, but the lame browser app does. It’s missing features that I want, keeps removing features that I use, and constantly adds features I will never use.
- Barrin92 6y ago
  i'm in the same boat. I want differentiated products on an open source engine, which is what Chrom(e)ium mostly is. Multiple engines seems to me like having half a dozen types of roads only 20% of cars can drive on. I want open infrastructure, not fractured infrastructure.
- csb6 6y ago
  Google effectively controls the engine's development, and additionally effectively controls the web standardization process (de facto or de jure). This is bad for obvious reasons. It would be neat if there was another browser not effectively run by Google. Being open-source is nice, but who writes the commits? Who controls the direction? Mostly Googlers. Sure, others contribute, but the project is obviously steered by Google. Having most of the user experience/stack of the Web controlled by one company is called a monoculture and it isn't good.
  - sneak 6y ago
    > This is bad for obvious reasons. Those reasons are not obvious to me.
    - Alekhine 6y ago
      Google is incentivised to twist the web to their benefit, not everybody's. Any profit driven entity is. That's why a Google browser monoculture is bad. Do you understand?
      - sneak 6y ago
        No, because browser is open source and can be forked or modified by anyone should Google do something that threatens the web. AMP, for example, has nothing to do with their control of Chrome.
type0 6y ago
Ubuntu is the pig wearing lipstick, Mint has evolved into the wild boar that still has some lipstick. Use Debian if you are allergic to that sort of nonsense.
- Alekhine 6y ago
  Can you elaborate on that? I personally think Mint is a fine distro, which made the sane decision to abandon snaps when Ubuntu was pushing it.

everybodyknows 6y ago

>"To guarantee reactivity and timely updates we had to automate the process of detecting, packaging and compiling new versions of Chromium. This is an application which can require more than 6 hours per build on a fast computer. As a user of Vivaldi, this makes me wonder how well it is keeping up with security fixes. Users of Brave may have same question ... Anyone know a simple, quick way to test for timeliness?

fractalf 6y ago

Linux Mint is so good I have a hard time understanding why anyone would use Ubunty. I've used so many distros over the years, but I always end up with Mint in the end. Canonical's horrible choise regarding the snap drama is just another reason to stay clear of it.

SomeoneFromCA 6y ago
I personally like Gnome 3, I really do. Mint does not come with one. So, although I am not a big fan of the UI theme of Pop_OS (I find it kinda childish) , I decided to switch to it. The only concern I have so far, is if I can trust System76 or not.
kd913 6y ago
They have had a lot of security issues from serving hacked ISOs to withholding kernel updates. https://lwn.net/Articles/676664/ https://lwn.net/Articles/676664/ Yea I am much happier on Ubuntu and snaps with the backing of a much larger corporation with a security team. Ubuntu is a staple that competes with RedHat and is used commercially in a lot of places. No idea for Mint, but it has far less support.
- Fej 6y ago
  Has there been any movement on this front since 2016? I've also heard of these security issues with Mint, since around that time, but it's been four years and I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt that it's possible they've improved in that timespan, one way or another.
  - kd913 6y ago
    Fundamentally Mint doesn't have a security team so who knows and who is checking? They are talking here about a expensive build server for making chromium. Compare that with Ubuntu which has a full blown security team with salaries. The resource difference here is massive. Anyone looking for anything will be looking at Ubuntu rather than Mint. Mainly because it's the base for everything else and actually has commercial worth. If you trust them, go ahead but I'm sticking with Ubuntu.