4 ms·

what ll it take to convert 80% of the world wide web users from chrome to firefox. can we write a super duper complicated migrator of sorts that literally insta

what ll it take to convert 80% of the world wide web users from chrome to firefox. can we write a super duper complicated migrator of sorts that literally installs firefox on behalf of the user, migrates all their data, migrates all extensions from chrome to firefox, even suggests alternative extensions for the ones that are not available and market the hell out of this migrator across x, bluesky, reddit etc?, One click migration from chrome to firefox, 0 tinkering

toomuchtodo 2y ago
The largest web properties pushing Firefox to users, or perhaps social media campaigns. It's an outreach effort, the technical details are already solved. Make the Google/Chrome brand toxic. https://blog.mozilla.org/en/privacy-security/how-to-switch-from-chrome-to-firefox/ https://blog.mozilla.org/en/privacy-security/how-to-switch-f...
- joshuaissac 2y ago
  This is how Internet Explorer (via Windows), Chrome (via Google Search and YouTube) and Safari (via iOS) gained significant market share. Through another platform or service that they owned, that they could use to promote their browser. But large Web properties do not gain anything by promoting Firefox. Many are ad-supported, so getting rid of uBlock Origin is a good thing for them. Only having to test on Google Chrome (and maybe Safari) is cheaper for them. There has to be something in it for them to promote Firefox or an alternative browser.
jonwinstanley 2y ago
Opening FF with my existing 3 windows and 100 open tabs would be all it took :-)
maxglute 2y ago
I'm just hoping for AI coding to get competent enough in next few years to throw in deprecated chrome extensions code and get it converted to firefox.
- fpg69 2y ago
  [dead]
- OkayPhysicist 2y ago
  The vast majority of Chrome extensions work on Firefox. Up until Manifest V2 being deprecated, the reverse was true, too.
  - maxglute 2y ago
    Yes but Chrome has many niche extensions that prevents me from migrating, I've tried since the manifest v2 news.
    - OkayPhysicist 2y ago
      I don't mean "the same plugin published on extension stores", I mean "copy the extension files from Chrome to Firefox" compatibility. They're both WebEx standard, and the API compatibility between the two is huge. If there's a Chrome extension that you don't find published for Firefox, there is a solid chance the author just didn't bother publishing it on the Firefox Addons repo.
rendang 2y ago
What's keeping me from moving away from Chrome is the password storage & autofilling. Is Firefox's password manager just as good?
- toomuchtodo 2y ago
  https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/manage-your-logins-firefox-password-manager https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/manage-your-logins-fire...
- OkayPhysicist 2y ago
  Yup. Sync across all devices, auto fill works a exactly as expected, and it's a couple click process to port over all your saved info from Chrome.
- SirMaster 2y ago
  Why not use an agnostic one like LastPass or one of the others?
  - rendang 2y ago
    Having the passwords available automatically when logging in to gmail on a new device feels simpler and easier since I'd be doing that anyway, as opposed to needing to DL a new app
freefaler 2y ago
To migrate, the average user will need to see the problem first. Most people wouldn't care enough about it even if they magically could press a button and migrate. In the attention economy the browser and the mobile OS (and soon your LLM/Perplexity agent) are the most important points to control the aggregate user data. So it's a lost battle. For a sub 0.01% of the nerds there would be alternatives for the non-DRM content, but this wouldn't change the big picture. It's like the junk food business. Yes it's bad for people, but it's so addictive...
st0nkz 2y ago
[dead]

toomuchtodo 2y ago

The largest web properties pushing Firefox to users, or perhaps social media campaigns. It's an outreach effort, the technical details are already solved. Make the Google/Chrome brand toxic. https://blog.mozilla.org/en/privacy-security/how-to-switch-from-chrome-to-firefox/ https://blog.mozilla.org/en/privacy-security/how-to-switch-f...

joshuaissac 2y ago
This is how Internet Explorer (via Windows), Chrome (via Google Search and YouTube) and Safari (via iOS) gained significant market share. Through another platform or service that they owned, that they could use to promote their browser. But large Web properties do not gain anything by promoting Firefox. Many are ad-supported, so getting rid of uBlock Origin is a good thing for them. Only having to test on Google Chrome (and maybe Safari) is cheaper for them. There has to be something in it for them to promote Firefox or an alternative browser.

jonwinstanley 2y ago

Opening FF with my existing 3 windows and 100 open tabs would be all it took :-)

maxglute 2y ago

I'm just hoping for AI coding to get competent enough in next few years to throw in deprecated chrome extensions code and get it converted to firefox.

fpg69 2y ago
[dead]
OkayPhysicist 2y ago
The vast majority of Chrome extensions work on Firefox. Up until Manifest V2 being deprecated, the reverse was true, too.
- maxglute 2y ago
  Yes but Chrome has many niche extensions that prevents me from migrating, I've tried since the manifest v2 news.
  - OkayPhysicist 2y ago
    I don't mean "the same plugin published on extension stores", I mean "copy the extension files from Chrome to Firefox" compatibility. They're both WebEx standard, and the API compatibility between the two is huge. If there's a Chrome extension that you don't find published for Firefox, there is a solid chance the author just didn't bother publishing it on the Firefox Addons repo.

rendang 2y ago

What's keeping me from moving away from Chrome is the password storage & autofilling. Is Firefox's password manager just as good?

toomuchtodo 2y ago
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/manage-your-logins-firefox-password-manager https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/manage-your-logins-fire...
OkayPhysicist 2y ago
Yup. Sync across all devices, auto fill works a exactly as expected, and it's a couple click process to port over all your saved info from Chrome.
SirMaster 2y ago
Why not use an agnostic one like LastPass or one of the others?
- rendang 2y ago
  Having the passwords available automatically when logging in to gmail on a new device feels simpler and easier since I'd be doing that anyway, as opposed to needing to DL a new app

freefaler 2y ago

To migrate, the average user will need to see the problem first. Most people wouldn't care enough about it even if they magically could press a button and migrate. In the attention economy the browser and the mobile OS (and soon your LLM/Perplexity agent) are the most important points to control the aggregate user data. So it's a lost battle. For a sub 0.01% of the nerds there would be alternatives for the non-DRM content, but this wouldn't change the big picture. It's like the junk food business. Yes it's bad for people, but it's so addictive...

st0nkz 2y ago

[dead]