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Edge is not free. I wouldn't seriously consider using a non-free application for something as essential as everyday web browsing. You can't really have usable

Edge is not free. I wouldn't seriously consider using a non-free application for something as essential as everyday web browsing. You can't really have usable vertical tabs in Chromium via plugins either, unless you're content with wasting a lot of horizontal space for an ugly sidebar and vertical space for uselessly duplicated tab bar. Firefox is the only actual choice I'm aware about.

prange 4y ago
> I wouldn't seriously consider using a non-free application for something as essential as everyday web browsing. Why? Are you considering forking Firefox?
- prange 4y ago
  For clarification - if you either contribute code or money to Firefox, you are clearly supporting the existence of a free browser. I don’t see how just using it does. So if you aren’t contributing to it you may as well use the browser with the best feature set for your use case.
  - ipaddr 4y ago
    Marketshare is important, default search engine revenue is based on usage.
    - prange 4y ago
      It’s not really ‘free’ if it has to produce ad revenue.
      - seba_dos1 4y ago
        It is irrelevant to it being free.
        prange 4y ago
        No it isn’t. The direction of development is controlled by the need for funding.
        seba_dos1 4y ago
        The direction of development is irrelevant to it being free.
        prange 4y ago
        If it is controlled by corporate interests, it is not free.
        seba_dos1 4y ago
        Being controlled by corporate interests is completely orthogonal to being free. A lot of Free Software is being controlled by corporate interests and there's nothing wrong with it.
  - sfink 4y ago
    Using Firefox definitely supports the existence of a free browser. Loss of market share is the #1 threat to the continued existence of a free browser. Beyond the obvious (if a tree falls in a forest, crushing the last copy of the code for a browser that has zero users, then was it a browser at all?): lower market share => nobody testing against the free browser or fixing site breakage => quirks (bugs, underdefined specifications, nonstandard features) of other browsers becoming required for a functional Web => free browser is no longer a browser of the actual Web.
    - prange 4y ago
      I agree that submitting bug reports or patches is an important contribution. I don’t see how that relates to market share, since regular users won’t do that.

prange 4y ago

> I wouldn't seriously consider using a non-free application for something as essential as everyday web browsing. Why? Are you considering forking Firefox?

prange 4y ago
For clarification - if you either contribute code or money to Firefox, you are clearly supporting the existence of a free browser. I don’t see how just using it does. So if you aren’t contributing to it you may as well use the browser with the best feature set for your use case.
- ipaddr 4y ago
  Marketshare is important, default search engine revenue is based on usage.
  - prange 4y ago
    It’s not really ‘free’ if it has to produce ad revenue.
    - seba_dos1 4y ago
      It is irrelevant to it being free.
      - prange 4y ago
        No it isn’t. The direction of development is controlled by the need for funding.
        seba_dos1 4y ago
        The direction of development is irrelevant to it being free.
        prange 4y ago
        If it is controlled by corporate interests, it is not free.
        seba_dos1 4y ago
        Being controlled by corporate interests is completely orthogonal to being free. A lot of Free Software is being controlled by corporate interests and there's nothing wrong with it.
- sfink 4y ago
  Using Firefox definitely supports the existence of a free browser. Loss of market share is the #1 threat to the continued existence of a free browser. Beyond the obvious (if a tree falls in a forest, crushing the last copy of the code for a browser that has zero users, then was it a browser at all?): lower market share => nobody testing against the free browser or fixing site breakage => quirks (bugs, underdefined specifications, nonstandard features) of other browsers becoming required for a functional Web => free browser is no longer a browser of the actual Web.
  - prange 4y ago
    I agree that submitting bug reports or patches is an important contribution. I don’t see how that relates to market share, since regular users won’t do that.