5 ms·

Almost every other comment that have been posted so far are complaining that FF tabs are not independent processes. Let me express my contrarian opinion. For my

by srean 12y ago

Almost every other comment that have been posted so far are complaining that FF tabs are not independent processes. Let me express my contrarian opinion. For my use case FF is just excellent and has served me well, I have absolutely no complains now. There was a time when FF leaked, and held a lot of memory, that time has since passed, at least seams so. I regularly keep several hundreds of tabs open for months on end on my PCs one a 32 bit m/c another a 64 bit both with about a Gig of RAM (one a shade below 1 Gig). Trying to do the same with Chrome has been a torture. I have used Chrome, its pretty good, but am very happy with FF. Some people get allergic reactions when I mention keeping so many tabs open, I have commented about it here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2936369#up_2936784 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2936369#up_2936784 A few others have a snark ready, "buy some RAM", I perhaps could, but I would rather use my RAM for other purposes than clogging it with a browser (cat pictures), window manager eye candy etc. In addition, this low RAM environment has turned out to be a good filter, software written without much attention to detail or resource efficiency just doesnt run well, and thats perfectly fine with me. I like hanging out with better ones.

hosay123 12y ago
As a Firefox stalwart, my only sustained complaint about it is that the plug-in architecture is pretty crappy, but that's mostly a minor complaint so long as you avoid installing anything but very well understood and mature plug-ins. Chrome doesn't do all that much better here, since although its plugin architecture doesn't suffer quite so badly reliability-wise, plugins can still violate your privacy pretty much arbitrarily (modulo the relevant appstore blacklisting it, which is a pretty impotent reactive measure, as we've seen). Firefox memory usage has always been, and I suppose will likely to continue to be far ahead of Chrome, since the desktop implementation is now largely identical to that used in Firefox OS.
ishansharma 12y ago
My experience with multiple tabs has been same. In my exeprience (and I read somewhere as well), Chrome shows up UI faster, then responds after 2-3 seconds. Firefox is respnsive from start. Multiple tab management with Panorama is much better (Chrome has a few similar extensions but don't work that well!) and I like the scrolling interfacce of multiple tabs rather than Chrome's approach of compressing everything! Recently, Chrome has crashed more for me than Firefox and some of the extensions and features on Firefox are miles ahead.
1ris 12y ago
Have to agree: For me firefox performance is much better. I currently have 413 tabs open, use a 3 year old lenovo laptop, everything works flawless and is responsive, unlike chrome.
- drunkcatsdgaf 12y ago
  what tab addon do you use?
  - augustl 12y ago
    Not op, but I just use the built-in one. On OS X, press CMD+shift+e and you'll get a overview of tab groups, you can create new groups, etc. I have a "main" group (the default one) and one group per pet project, subject, etc. I tend to use these instead of bookmarks, since they stay around even if the browser crashes.
    - forgotpasswd3x 12y ago
      Tab Groups are great. Its one of my favorite Firefox features.
  - 1ris 12y ago
    Vimperator
    - oftenwrong 12y ago
      Vimperator is the top reason why I use firefox.
- pera 12y ago
  413 tabs?? why?
  - 1ris 12y ago
    Why not? That's the way I use the web. If i need it at some point the next week I don't close it.
higherpurpose 12y ago
I want the independent processes for security reasons, not memory reasons. Firefox continues to be the most hackable browser because it's lacking that, and also a terrible choice for Tor, as long as it doesn't get it.
frooxie 12y ago
I also keep several hundreds of tabs open for months on end. I use Firefox and have simply accepted that it will crash about four times per day, requiring me to wait a few minutes while it restarts and reloads the tabs.
- schwap 12y ago
  You can set Firefox to only reload tabs on access.
  - frooxie 12y ago
    I think that's the way my browser is set up, but there's still a huge spike in internet connections whenever I restart it. Maybe Firefox doesn't load every tab, but still loads one page per open browser window, and it feels slow because I sometimes have 30-40 windows open?
icantthinkofone 12y ago
In fact, the infamous memory leak Firefox was 'famous' for was fixed in version 2.5 which tells me that anyone who still complains of memory leaks in Firefox is one who you do not want to listen to for advice. EDIT: I may have the version number wrong, it's been a long time, and, yes, the "leak" was a combination of things and not just one thing but my point is the same.
- JoeAltmaier 12y ago
  The leak points to a slack development/release process (is there one?). Its expected to check for leaks, crashes before releasing a point build. That this dog got out points to a systemic problem. Was that fixed by 2.5? Or was just the leak fixed.
- Pacabel 12y ago
  What makes you so sure that there was ever only one memory leak? What makes you so sure that one or more new ones haven't been introduced since then? I've seen and heard a lot of reports from many different Firefox users about Firefox using an unreasonably large amount of memory, even when using fresh installations of the most recent version, and when engaging in very reasonable browsing patterns. As a software developer faced with a large and frequent volume of reports of such a nature, the only responsible thing to do is to assume that there is truly a problem. This should be assumed even if the developers themselves may be having trouble reproducing the problem. Denying that the problem exists is usually the most counterproductive thing that can be done, because the problem likely does actually exist, and it doesn't get fixed. By the way, I don't believe that there ever was a Firefox 2.5 release. Perhaps you mean Firefox 3.5?
  - icantthinkofone 12y ago
    Users have been reporting memory leaks in Firefox up to and including last week. Users should not be used a source of what a memory leak is cause 80% of users do not know what a memory leak truly is much less be technically competent to recognize and report one. I often make the error of saying the fix was in version 2.5 but perhaps it was in v1.5 or v2.0. It doesn't matter. They were fixed long ago is my point.
sergimansilla 12y ago
Some time ago I made a very (very) light-weight extension for myself that works well for situations in which I have hundreds of tabs opened. It closes them all and stores the linked titles in a simple HTML page (thus searchable), ordered by tab session. It is inspired by OneTab and it is open-source. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tab-grenade/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tab-grenade/
- momerath 12y ago
  Thank you! I looked pretty hard for a OneTab-like extension for FF about a year ago, and couldn't find one. It's the one thing I really miss about Chrome; making my own was on my TODO list.
yati 12y ago
I have been a long time FF user and can only echo your experience. But sometimes, on (badly written) JavaScript heavy pages, the entire browser locks up instead of just the rogue tab. I've tried enabling electrolysis[1] on my nightly, but it isn't quite there yet. Firefox may not be perfect, but it really is the only option for me, and it's getting better thanks to the amazing community behind it. [1]: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Electrolysis https://wiki.mozilla.org/Electrolysis
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
Hurricane2K5 12y ago
PRODUCTIVITY of 100 TABS? Why not show us how productive you are with hundreds of tabs open in FF? Or for that matter any other browser?
- forgotpasswd3x 12y ago
  It's really easy with an extension like [Tree Style Tab](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tree-style-tab/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tree-style-ta...), or by using Tab Groups.
  - Hurricane2K5 12y ago
    Now why would I need to use this tree style tab versus just setting bookmarks? Plus, show me how productive you are with hundreds of tabs EVEN with the tree style tab versus say just using bookmarks? With bookmarks I can save it, export it, move to another computer. But lets go back, how productive can one be with hundreds of tabs open even with a tree style versus bookmarks?
    - forgotpasswd3x 12y ago
      How exactly do I quantify my productivity? I like the workflow better. It works better for me, and apparently it works better for the parent poster. What's it to you?
CrystalCuckoo 12y ago
I had a similar experience with Chrome (or rather, Chromium) on my netbook. It consumed so much memory with normal usage that I had to switch to Midori[1] so I could do other things while browsing. [1] http://midori-browser.org/ http://midori-browser.org/

by srean 12y ago

hosay123 12y ago

As a Firefox stalwart, my only sustained complaint about it is that the plug-in architecture is pretty crappy, but that's mostly a minor complaint so long as you avoid installing anything but very well understood and mature plug-ins. Chrome doesn't do all that much better here, since although its plugin architecture doesn't suffer quite so badly reliability-wise, plugins can still violate your privacy pretty much arbitrarily (modulo the relevant appstore blacklisting it, which is a pretty impotent reactive measure, as we've seen). Firefox memory usage has always been, and I suppose will likely to continue to be far ahead of Chrome, since the desktop implementation is now largely identical to that used in Firefox OS.

ishansharma 12y ago

My experience with multiple tabs has been same. In my exeprience (and I read somewhere as well), Chrome shows up UI faster, then responds after 2-3 seconds. Firefox is respnsive from start. Multiple tab management with Panorama is much better (Chrome has a few similar extensions but don't work that well!) and I like the scrolling interfacce of multiple tabs rather than Chrome's approach of compressing everything! Recently, Chrome has crashed more for me than Firefox and some of the extensions and features on Firefox are miles ahead.

1ris 12y ago

Have to agree: For me firefox performance is much better. I currently have 413 tabs open, use a 3 year old lenovo laptop, everything works flawless and is responsive, unlike chrome.

drunkcatsdgaf 12y ago
what tab addon do you use?
- augustl 12y ago
  Not op, but I just use the built-in one. On OS X, press CMD+shift+e and you'll get a overview of tab groups, you can create new groups, etc. I have a "main" group (the default one) and one group per pet project, subject, etc. I tend to use these instead of bookmarks, since they stay around even if the browser crashes.
  - forgotpasswd3x 12y ago
    Tab Groups are great. Its one of my favorite Firefox features.
- 1ris 12y ago
  Vimperator
  - oftenwrong 12y ago
    Vimperator is the top reason why I use firefox.
pera 12y ago
413 tabs?? why?
- 1ris 12y ago
  Why not? That's the way I use the web. If i need it at some point the next week I don't close it.

higherpurpose 12y ago

I want the independent processes for security reasons, not memory reasons. Firefox continues to be the most hackable browser because it's lacking that, and also a terrible choice for Tor, as long as it doesn't get it.

frooxie 12y ago

I also keep several hundreds of tabs open for months on end. I use Firefox and have simply accepted that it will crash about four times per day, requiring me to wait a few minutes while it restarts and reloads the tabs.

schwap 12y ago
You can set Firefox to only reload tabs on access.
- frooxie 12y ago
  I think that's the way my browser is set up, but there's still a huge spike in internet connections whenever I restart it. Maybe Firefox doesn't load every tab, but still loads one page per open browser window, and it feels slow because I sometimes have 30-40 windows open?

icantthinkofone 12y ago

In fact, the infamous memory leak Firefox was 'famous' for was fixed in version 2.5 which tells me that anyone who still complains of memory leaks in Firefox is one who you do not want to listen to for advice. EDIT: I may have the version number wrong, it's been a long time, and, yes, the "leak" was a combination of things and not just one thing but my point is the same.

JoeAltmaier 12y ago
The leak points to a slack development/release process (is there one?). Its expected to check for leaks, crashes before releasing a point build. That this dog got out points to a systemic problem. Was that fixed by 2.5? Or was just the leak fixed.
Pacabel 12y ago
What makes you so sure that there was ever only one memory leak? What makes you so sure that one or more new ones haven't been introduced since then? I've seen and heard a lot of reports from many different Firefox users about Firefox using an unreasonably large amount of memory, even when using fresh installations of the most recent version, and when engaging in very reasonable browsing patterns. As a software developer faced with a large and frequent volume of reports of such a nature, the only responsible thing to do is to assume that there is truly a problem. This should be assumed even if the developers themselves may be having trouble reproducing the problem. Denying that the problem exists is usually the most counterproductive thing that can be done, because the problem likely does actually exist, and it doesn't get fixed. By the way, I don't believe that there ever was a Firefox 2.5 release. Perhaps you mean Firefox 3.5?
- icantthinkofone 12y ago
  Users have been reporting memory leaks in Firefox up to and including last week. Users should not be used a source of what a memory leak is cause 80% of users do not know what a memory leak truly is much less be technically competent to recognize and report one. I often make the error of saying the fix was in version 2.5 but perhaps it was in v1.5 or v2.0. It doesn't matter. They were fixed long ago is my point.

sergimansilla 12y ago

Some time ago I made a very (very) light-weight extension for myself that works well for situations in which I have hundreds of tabs opened. It closes them all and stores the linked titles in a simple HTML page (thus searchable), ordered by tab session. It is inspired by OneTab and it is open-source. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tab-grenade/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tab-grenade/

momerath 12y ago
Thank you! I looked pretty hard for a OneTab-like extension for FF about a year ago, and couldn't find one. It's the one thing I really miss about Chrome; making my own was on my TODO list.

yati 12y ago

I have been a long time FF user and can only echo your experience. But sometimes, on (badly written) JavaScript heavy pages, the entire browser locks up instead of just the rogue tab. I've tried enabling electrolysis[1] on my nightly, but it isn't quite there yet. Firefox may not be perfect, but it really is the only option for me, and it's getting better thanks to the amazing community behind it. [1]: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Electrolysis https://wiki.mozilla.org/Electrolysis

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

Hurricane2K5 12y ago

PRODUCTIVITY of 100 TABS? Why not show us how productive you are with hundreds of tabs open in FF? Or for that matter any other browser?

forgotpasswd3x 12y ago
It's really easy with an extension like [Tree Style Tab](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tree-style-tab/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tree-style-ta...), or by using Tab Groups.
- Hurricane2K5 12y ago
  Now why would I need to use this tree style tab versus just setting bookmarks? Plus, show me how productive you are with hundreds of tabs EVEN with the tree style tab versus say just using bookmarks? With bookmarks I can save it, export it, move to another computer. But lets go back, how productive can one be with hundreds of tabs open even with a tree style versus bookmarks?
  - forgotpasswd3x 12y ago
    How exactly do I quantify my productivity? I like the workflow better. It works better for me, and apparently it works better for the parent poster. What's it to you?

CrystalCuckoo 12y ago

I had a similar experience with Chrome (or rather, Chromium) on my netbook. It consumed so much memory with normal usage that I had to switch to Midori[1] so I could do other things while browsing. [1] http://midori-browser.org/ http://midori-browser.org/