3 ms·

I'm curious what makes LadyBird so special compared to other major browsers like Firefox and Chromium?

by flykespice 1y ago

johannes1234321 1y ago
It's not financed by Google.
afandian 1y ago
It's famously impossible to donate money to Firefox (at least for users).
- voxic11 1y ago
  By this you mean that donations can only go to Mozilla and cannot be earmarked for the Firefox browser specifically right?
  - afandian 1y ago
    Yes. You can donate to the foundation but not only do they prevent earmarking, they actively don't use it for browser development. I even mailed them back in June to confirm. They replied: ... > When you donate to the Mozilla Foundation, your contribution goes directly toward advancing our mission to ensure the internet remains open and accessible for all. Our work focuses on issues like online privacy, open-source technologies, worthy AI and a digital world that puts people first. These funds directly support advocacy campaigns (i.e. asking irresponsible tech companies to protect your privacy), Mozilla’s fellowship program, MozFest gatherings, Common Voice, Responsible Computing Challenge, and so much more. > However, it’s important to note that donations to Mozilla Foundation do not support the development of Firefox or any other Mozilla products. > While we are a public-benefit 501(c)(3) organization under US law and the parent organization for the corporate entities that own Firefox, donations do not fund the Firefox browser and revenue is completely generated from within the product itself. ...
- delfinom 1y ago
  Why even donate to a business that keeps paying their CEO more and more while laying off employees?
justusthane 1y ago
It’s one of the very, very few independent browsers built from the ground up and not on top of one the few existing engines (Gecko, Chromium, WebKit), which is extremely important to the health of the open web. Imagine a world where Chromium is the only browser engine. Standards wouldn’t matter and Google could just do whatever they wanted — we’re pretty close to that as it is.
- al_borland 1y ago
  And WebKit was built on top of KHTML. And Chromium (Blink) was built on top of WebKit. That makes Ladybird even more unique. It’s looking to do what even Apple and Google weren’t willing to do.
- tasn 1y ago
  To combat a Chrome hegemony you need strong opposition, not a long-tail of weak opposition. Or in other words: Firefox needs to become more competitive. I (unfortunately) don't think having another 0.1% market cap browser is the solution, at least not for now. Just to clarify: I'm in favor of Cloudflare donating to Ladybird, and I'm in favor of them building it! I just don't think that's the solution to combating Chrome dominance.
  - cosmic_cheese 1y ago
    I don't believe that Firefox can become stronger so long as Mozilla continues to be structured as it is.
  - t-sauer 1y ago
    Especially not if that browser currently ignores the biggest markets (Windows and mobile).
  - bonoboTP 1y ago
    Firefox is also sustained by Google. So you have a choice between Google and Google.
  - shayway 1y ago
    What is Firefox if not weak opposition? Even given a reliable firehose of income from Google they haven't cracked that 0.1% market cap, and I don't see how funneling more resources into a browser that's been floundering for over a decade now will change anything. Ladybird is still a good few years away from being a serious competitor, but nonetheless it is the most viable candidate in the absence of a path for Firefox to become competitive.
riffic 1y ago
it's another browser engine (LibWeb), that seems notable enough on its own doesn't it?
babypuncher 1y ago
Google is evil and Mozilla is incompetent. Ladybird has the potential to be a third option with neither of these attributes.

I'm curious what makes LadyBird so special compared to other major browsers like Firefox and Chromium?

johannes1234321 1y ago

It's not financed by Google.

afandian 1y ago

It's famously impossible to donate money to Firefox (at least for users).

voxic11 1y ago
By this you mean that donations can only go to Mozilla and cannot be earmarked for the Firefox browser specifically right?
- afandian 1y ago
  Yes. You can donate to the foundation but not only do they prevent earmarking, they actively don't use it for browser development. I even mailed them back in June to confirm. They replied: ... > When you donate to the Mozilla Foundation, your contribution goes directly toward advancing our mission to ensure the internet remains open and accessible for all. Our work focuses on issues like online privacy, open-source technologies, worthy AI and a digital world that puts people first. These funds directly support advocacy campaigns (i.e. asking irresponsible tech companies to protect your privacy), Mozilla’s fellowship program, MozFest gatherings, Common Voice, Responsible Computing Challenge, and so much more. > However, it’s important to note that donations to Mozilla Foundation do not support the development of Firefox or any other Mozilla products. > While we are a public-benefit 501(c)(3) organization under US law and the parent organization for the corporate entities that own Firefox, donations do not fund the Firefox browser and revenue is completely generated from within the product itself. ...
delfinom 1y ago
Why even donate to a business that keeps paying their CEO more and more while laying off employees?

justusthane 1y ago

It’s one of the very, very few independent browsers built from the ground up and not on top of one the few existing engines (Gecko, Chromium, WebKit), which is extremely important to the health of the open web. Imagine a world where Chromium is the only browser engine. Standards wouldn’t matter and Google could just do whatever they wanted — we’re pretty close to that as it is.

al_borland 1y ago
And WebKit was built on top of KHTML. And Chromium (Blink) was built on top of WebKit. That makes Ladybird even more unique. It’s looking to do what even Apple and Google weren’t willing to do.
tasn 1y ago
To combat a Chrome hegemony you need strong opposition, not a long-tail of weak opposition. Or in other words: Firefox needs to become more competitive. I (unfortunately) don't think having another 0.1% market cap browser is the solution, at least not for now. Just to clarify: I'm in favor of Cloudflare donating to Ladybird, and I'm in favor of them building it! I just don't think that's the solution to combating Chrome dominance.
- cosmic_cheese 1y ago
  I don't believe that Firefox can become stronger so long as Mozilla continues to be structured as it is.
- t-sauer 1y ago
  Especially not if that browser currently ignores the biggest markets (Windows and mobile).
- bonoboTP 1y ago
  Firefox is also sustained by Google. So you have a choice between Google and Google.
- shayway 1y ago
  What is Firefox if not weak opposition? Even given a reliable firehose of income from Google they haven't cracked that 0.1% market cap, and I don't see how funneling more resources into a browser that's been floundering for over a decade now will change anything. Ladybird is still a good few years away from being a serious competitor, but nonetheless it is the most viable candidate in the absence of a path for Firefox to become competitive.

riffic 1y ago

it's another browser engine (LibWeb), that seems notable enough on its own doesn't it?

babypuncher 1y ago

Google is evil and Mozilla is incompetent. Ladybird has the potential to be a third option with neither of these attributes.