

Ask HN: Will you be switching to Chrome? - cadalac

I think I'll be switching to Chrome. I always thought IE and Firefox could be slimmed down. What are your thoughts?
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spydez
Not until Chrome gets extensions/addons. I absolutely cannot live without ad
blocking, better tab management, NoScript and my check-multiple-gmail-accounts
addons.

~~~
mixmax
I always found it somewhat contradictory and hypocritical that the very people
that live off ad-based websites (webbased entrepreneurs and founders) are so
highly correlated with the group of people that absolutely cannot live without
adblocking software - thereby robbing the siteowners of their income model.

Note: spydez - this isn't in any way meant as a personal attack, it just
seemed like the right place to put my opinion on the matter.

~~~
spydez
No offense take. I'm not an entrepreneur. ;)

But if I ever do come up with an awesome idea, I'm determined I'll create it
and make money off of it without putting up adverts. I _hate_ adverts with a
burning passion and I'm not about to force them down my potential users
throats.

~~~
drawkbox
Advertising is one of the only ways to monetize free visitor aspects and
paths. Advertising is one of the last American innovative markets. As soon as
you start trying to bring any type of content that that is free, I am sure you
will change your ways.

Blocking ads is like anti-bacterial soap. It makes your immunity to these
things much lower if that is why you are so bothered by ads. Block ads on
sites that you don't frequent, but ones that you do, throw some pennies in the
hat.

~~~
mattmaroon
There are lots of ways to monetize free sites. See Kayak or TicketStumbler.
There's also the freemium service.

The reality of ad blocking software (which is spreading quickly and won't stop
until it's as ubiquitous as popup blocking is now) is that you'll have to find
a better, more integrated business model at some point.

~~~
dhimes
My hunch is that ad blocking is a huge threat to Google. So if they can
control the browser space...

I still don't know why IE doesn't ship with ad blockers. Would it hurt them?
Perhaps in the short run. But in the long run, it would do far more damage to
G.

~~~
anewaccountname
anti-trust

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qhoxie
Perhaps when there is a stable linux client.

~~~
dhimes
agreed

~~~
unintelligible
yup

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lux
No real choice but Firefox as my main browser since my main web activity is
development. Chrome, Safari, IE all can't compete with Firebug, YSlow, etc for
web development, so for expediency I have to develop in Firefox first and test
in the others afterwards. I think that's a big part of what makes Firefox such
a compelling browser, it's developer heaven compared to the others.

It looks like Opera is starting to recognize this too, which should help
increase support for their browser eventually too.

~~~
wenbert
I agree with what you have said about Firebug. I absolutely cannot live
without it. The Inspect feature of Firebug is priceless especially when
working with the DOM. It's easy to use and it is in the same window. I do not
have to switch windows to look at the html source.

For now, I just use Chrome for my "24/7" tabs like feeds and online email. I
never have to close them and it loads at "notepad-like" speed :)

~~~
lux
I've actually been using Fluid (<http://fluidapp.com>) for all my 24/7 stuff
-- gmail, basecamp, github, hacker news ;) It really already does what
Chrome's detachable websites feature kind of does, only better (for now at
least, I'll give it time :).

~~~
wenbert
thanks for this ^__^

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rg
Switched yesterday. I transferred 8 tabs from FF3 and 8 tabs from IE (formerly
ran both, for different sites), and started using Chrome exclusively. So far,
100% perfection, 100% stability. All the financial sites, news sites, Amazon,
..., everything works perfectly. Great performance. Very slick developer tools
built-in.

~~~
Flemlord
Ditto. However, I switched from FireFox and I'm starting to miss FoxMarks. (I
have four computers that I switch between.)

~~~
maximilian
1\. Work Computer 2\. Home Computer 3\. Home laptop 4\. ???

~~~
Flemlord
4\. Home theater PC.

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blender
Haven't tried it yet since I use Linux at work and Mac at home.

If nothing else I think Chrome sets the bar higher for the incumbents -
process isolation in a browser is a nice innovation.

Cheers

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fiaz
Chrome will not interest me until there is some ad-blocking available. Yes, it
is superior to anything else out there, but my killer app for the web is still
being able to surf the web sans irritating advertising.

~~~
volida
why is ad-blocking so important?? please someone explain me...

~~~
iamah
popups and intrusive flash

~~~
william42
Google has a popup blocker, I'm thinking something like Flashblock is probably
next.

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cooldude127
need a mac version first. then i'll see.

~~~
zitterbewegung
Seconded. They say that they are working on a mac version.

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alex_c
I'm kind of using both right now. I like Chrome, I might gradually migrate to
it... it reminds me of Opera's sleekness.

The biggest irritations so far are the lack of "View Selection Source", and of
course, no Firebug (though the built-in element inspector in Chrome is very
impressive, but I haven't played enough with it to be convinced it can do
everything Firebug can).

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baha_man
'I always thought IE and Firefox could be slimmed down'

Have you tried Opera? I use Windows and FreeBSD, so as Chrome isn't availble
on FreeBSD yet I'll probably run Chrome on Windows and Opera on FreeBSD.

~~~
litewulf
The main problem I have with Opera is that my first user experience was one of
abject confusion ;)

The UI is really cluttered in terms of all the different bars and buttons that
I didn't quite know what to do with.

Chrome just feels nice. There are some tabs, theres an address bar, and there
is a back/forward and reload. I think there are other features too, I just
don't see them ;)

~~~
baha_man
I get rid of everything except the address bar. Previously I didn't even have
that showing most of the time, as there was a keyboard shortcut to hide and
show it (which has since been removed).

Once you've taken away all the clutter, Firefox, Opera, and Chrome all look
quite similar (you can't remove much from IE7). Chrome is still the fastest by
a huge margin, which is why I'll probably start using it on Windows.

~~~
litewulf
Yah, as a first time user though, I wasn't sure how to get stuff back after I
hid it unfortunately.

I got used to it after awhile though, so I guess it was okay.

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cdr
I have used Opera for years because of its speed compared to Firefox.

However, every Opera 9.5X release has had at least one major, show-stopping
problem for me. I'm pretty sick of it, so as soon as Chrome gets AdBlock, I'll
seriously consider switching.

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dmpayton
I use Mac at work and Linux at home, so I'm SOL for the time being. Chrome
looks nice, though, and I'll probably end up switching when they port to the
platforms I use.

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ibsulon
I'm currently using it, but I'm switching back to firefox on single core
machines -- the multiple process method doesn't work too well on an older
machine.

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Protophore
Chrome certainly looks very promising. However it is still lacking many
features. Until they get it all put together I doubt that I will be switching.

I've also read that IE8 has some nice features that Chrome does not have or
doesn't do as well. I'd prefer to avoid IE8, but you never know, maybe MS got
something right this time around??

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shawndrost
I'm using it as my primary browser, but I'm seeing several errors (or at least
inconsistencies). Sometimes, paste+undo when composing in gmail gets me the
sad tab. Three downloads have resulted in all of chrome (not just one tab)
crashing and burning. Alt-d (which acts as ctrl-l in ff and ie) works properly
but boops at me; I feel scolded and when I'm feeling emotionally fragile it's
really hurtful. Webkit's developer functionality does most of what I need
firebug for, although I haven't used it extensively. The speed, clean ui, and
novelty are keeping me happy for the time being, although I do wish they had a
handy feedback system so I could bitch right back when alt-d bitches at me.

~~~
s3graham
I use alt-d too, but I didn't notice any weirdness. A "default beep" you mean
by "boop"? Control Panel -> Sounds -> Scheme: No Sounds. :)

I filed irritation bugs via the "Page menu"->Report bug or broken website...,
but I don't know if they go anywhere useful.

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froo
Not right now, the Chrome on my machine is constantly crashing :(

I'd like too though.

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s3graham
Nope, not yet at least. I don't honestly find FF "fat" and requiring
slimming/speeding up. Of course, faster JS is a good thing, maybe I'll switch
when some app more or less needs the performance to be usable.

It's also too obsessed with tabs, which I find dumb (I already have a taskbar
in my OS, thanks), and a few UI bugs are stopping me.

I'd prefer to have Flashblock/Adblock Plus too.

[edit] Oh, and from a tech point of view separate "process" pages I find
interesting, but I'm not sure that it's solving a problem I currently have.

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pavelludiq
If it sucks less than firefox, when the linux version comes out. Im to lazy to
reboot to windows to try it out right now, and i usually switch a few weeks
after something new comes out.

~~~
william42
It is definitely faster and has a nice interface to boot.

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icco
I won't be switching, at least not yet. I think as a technical innovation,
Chrome is amazing. But in terms of user friendly features (who doesn't prompt
to close a window with tabs?) it has a long way to go. Google has a history of
this write strong powerful utilities and make them shiny later. I have nothing
wrong with this, as long as they realize they are doing it. It is the Unix way
after all, and we all know the Unix way is the right way :p

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sjs382
I wont be switching. Firefox is perfect for my use case and has features I
want/need.

Portable Firefox: I use workstations at three different locations during the
course of my day. Using Portable Firefox to keep my settings, bookmarks and
saved passwords consistent on each machine is a MUST for me.

Adblock: Not necessary, but definitely nice to have.

So yeah, while my use case is pretty specific, Firefox fits it to a T.

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qaexl
I'm using it as soon as I get a Linux version, stable or not. If the core is
solid, then crashes will be confined to tabs. Of the three extensions I use,
one is already built into Chrome (incognito mode), one is a proxy extension,
and one is NoScript. I use NoScript to keep my browser from crashing all the
time, but hey, if it has the process isolation, then I'm not going to worry
about it.

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spencerfry
I won't be switching as long as the new FF coming out is faster than Chrome
(as they say it is). It also has to come out on the Mac first. ;)

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bd
Not yet. I wanted, but it's still too beta:

    
    
      - I got hard crash, real BSOD, not just browser
      - constant disk trashing (comes from "Phishing and malware protection" feature)
      - Flash is actually much slower than FF/Opera/Explorer
      - no way for me to import Firefox bookmarks (it doesn't appear in menu)
      - don't try "about:%"

~~~
maxtilford
Could someone try "about:%" and let me know what happens? I would, but I'm on
a linux box.

~~~
s3graham
It crashes when you type the %.

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STHayden
yep... I set it as my default. Now FF is just for development until Chrome has
extensions and firebug comes over.

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vaksel
yeah until they get ad block I'm not switching, that is the killer feature for
me and a lot of people.

~~~
nagoff
++adblock - I'm using it for feed-reading and that's about it until adblock
arrives, which might take a while given google's main revenue stream :(

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mattjung
I might use it for Google Apps. For those, Crome is and probably alway will be
the fastest browser and for those they got all my private data already. I
hesitate to allow them to store my complete browse and search history. I kind
of beginning to feel watched by Google.

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misterbwong
Once they include a way to password protect stored logins, I'll probably use
it more heavily.

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utnick
Not until Chrome has been out for a while and has proven its security and
stability.

Firefox has gone through many years of trial by fire and I am reasonably sure
that I am not going to get pwned by browsing to a malicious site with firefox.

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iuguy
Don't see a reason to switch from FF and IE.

For lightweight browsing, K-Meleon or Epiphany do the job fine.

For lighterweight browsing, Dillo, lynx, w3m.

I don't see the problem Chrome is trying to solve.

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ardit33
I want but it is not ready yet.

I love the "incognito mode", but while playing youpr0n flash movies it will
freeze once and a while, and especially if you scrolled up and down.

Not industrial grade yet. :P

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dejb
I think I already have. It's not really intentional. I just keep using it.
Wish it had some of the extensions I'm used to though. I'm just keeping a FF
window open as well at the moment.

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abijlani
I use gmail and google docs quite a bit and chrome they work a lot faster. But
for the rest of my browsing needs it's Firefox all the way. I stopped using IE
longtime ago.

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ashleyw
Not sure yet, I need a Mac version and extensions (with a very active
community building cool stuff) before I switch (or try even, don't have a
Windows machine!)

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cmars232
No. The competition will be good for all though. I'm anticipating a similar
performance boost in Firefox.

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kalid
Yes -- I'm already using chrome for my everyday browsing. The speed is just
too good to ignore.

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pragmatic
Yes. I've already done so on all 3 computers. I'll see how long it lasts. So
far so good.

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timae
Yes, already made the switch on my work laptop (PC). Waiting for a mac version
for home.

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Sunny90
Touchpad scrolling doesnt work. So I have uninstalled it. Shall be using Opera
n FF

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rw
PPC GNU/Linux please.

~~~
SwellJoe
Are PPC machines still even available on the desktop? I know IBM is still
selling servers, but obviously a browser isn't much use on an 8 node node
Power6 server. Seems like maybe PPC isn't a platform worth targeting new
desktop software to...though, since it's open source, as long as its endian-
sane, it ought to just be a recompile away, once it works on Linux.

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iamah
I would, but there are FF extensions I can't go without.

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timtrueman
Delicious support would really help make up my mind...

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pkrumins
I will be moving to chrome when it gets extensions!

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kevinl
I have switched to Chrome mostly.

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jamongkad
Need an Ubuntu version.

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stcredzero
Yes

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william42
Already have.

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DanielBMarkham
I'm writing apps for people with browsers. Right now that means I have IE and
FF on my machine.

If Chrome gets a big following, I'll download it. But I don't have a
particular problem that I need fixing. If the JS performance is as slick as
they say, then perhaps a killer web site will come along and cause me to
download and use Chrome more. So far, that ain't happening.

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drhowarddrfine
I don't really need the addons I use in Firefox except the developer tools,
but I use FreeBSD and Linux so Chrome isn't available, unfortunately.

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Allocator2008
Chrome is a good app. I played around with it yesterday. Sad that they are
doing it "open source". They should license it, then they could get the
revenue they need to be a serious competitor to IE. As it is, nor matter how
good technically Chrome is, it will be a curiousity. Without revenue from
licensing you can't play with the big boys. "Open source"/free software sounds
good in a college sociology paper, but sucks as a business model. It's like
flying a 4-engine aeroplane with two engines off. It's stupid. But on the
technical side, it is good, and so I'll probably use it. I just feel bad for
google's shareholders. They could really be doing a lot better off.

~~~
mixmax
What Google is doing is commoditizing the browser in order to make the web
more accessible - and most importantly more like an operating system by
including a (supposedly) superior javascript engine that makes it possible to
create real apps in a browser window.

The financial interest of Google is not to make money on the browser, but to
change the game and move as many apps on to the Internet and away from the
computer as possible. This is where their strength lies, and they know it.

In my opinion this is a genius and bold move to which Microsoft basically has
no countermoves. If they play along and get better javascript performance in
IE apps move to the web, if they don't IE will fall behind firefox and chrome.
Either way Google wins.

They don't care about making money on the browser. They care about moving
everything into the(ir) cloud.

