Help me get a new browser!



  • So today I've (re-)discovered that browser compatibility is a joke and that any given time, enterprise aside, only the most popular browser (+IE) is going to work correctly on all popular sites.
    For example, in this msdn form (requires login), the large textbox can be used in IE and Chrome, but not in firefox, my current browser (with Classic Theme Restorer).

    It seems it's time to switch browsers. (It's not like firefox is going anywhere good in the future, either).

    Now, I'm pretty easy to please and can deal with most of Chrome's differences to (Classic Theme) firefox such as the full-page history and - maybe - the lack of easy-access zero-vertical-space bookmarks.
    But I just can't deal with the lack of a statusbar (and it being replaced by an ultra-annoying in-content-area popup).

    In firefox, this would be easy to fix via downloading an extension to replace the popup with a statusbar, but in Chrome, for whatever reason, extensions cannot touch the UI so we're in a bit of a pickle.

    But I'm assuming that since Chrome is open-source, there are countless forks of it that both keep it up-to-date (!), are just as easy to use (install, update, etc.) as the main browser, and allow tweaking Chrome's interface in countless ways (though I'll accept countable).

    So, TDTRWTF community, please recommend me your favorite fork of Chrome that allows using a statusbar. Bonus points for allowing to customize the toolbar (adding a bookmarks dropdown) and maybe even change history to be on the left of the browser content like in firefox.



  • @CreatedToDislikeThis said:

    But I just can't deal with the lack of a statusbar (and it being replaced by an ultra-annoying in-content-area popup).

    Wow, really? That's the deal breaker?

    What exactly do you need the status bar for?



  • Same as anyone else - to see where some link points.
    I just can't deal with Chrome's pop-up bar that does the same.

    I might be fine with a fork that removes the pop-up bar but doesn't restore the status bar. I never tried.



  • @CreatedToDislikeThis said:

    Same as anyone else - to see where some link points.

    If that's all you need (none of the stuff on the right), then Chrome's solution is IMO better than Firefox's.

    I'd love to dig deeper into the psychological issues that compel you to seek comfort in Firefox's static, dependable status bar (parental abandonment?), but since this is the Help thread, I'll bow out and leave someone else to suggest an actual answer.


  • BINNED

    I just don't think you'll find it, unless you go a weird route of something like Otter (which is a clone of old Opera 12), but that's in development and there are not many people working on it so it's going slow.

    Also, Vivaldi, maybe? Not sure if it has that option. NB: it's written in Node and hammers your RAM and CPU like there's no tomorrow.


  • Banned

    I'd go with Opera. At this point, it's basically a (much diverged) fork of Chrome, but it works somewhat better, uses less resources and you are actually in control of what appears on start page. I don't remember the newest version (at work the updater doesn't work), but in 22, it shows the URL at the bottom, though it's not a status bar, but a sort-of-tooltip. It's usually on the left, but sometimes on the right (I think it should be on right if it covers mouse pointer, but it doesn't quite work like it).

    BTW, there is an extension for Opera that makes all extensions for Chrome work too.



  • @CreatedToDislikeThis said:

    But I'm assuming that since Chrome is open-source, there are countless forks of it that both keep it up-to-date (!), are just as easy to use (install, update, etc.) as the main browser, and allow tweaking Chrome's interface in countless ways

    You've assumed wrong. You've fallen for the myth of open source. A browser is (now) a very complex program and there are few people who want to take on the task of creating and maintaining a true fork (not just a re-compile of the source code with a few minor tweaks).



  • @CreatedToDislikeThis said:

    But I just can't deal with the lack of a statusbar

    Chrome has a status bar.

    @CreatedToDislikeThis said:

    (and it being replaced by an ultra-annoying in-content-area popup).

    ... and you already knew that, but decided to post that it didn't have one? Huh.


    Let me ask you a counter-question: why is having a status bar so important? What function does ancient Firefox's status bar perform that Chrome's pop-up version does not?



  • @CreatedToDislikeThis said:

    Same as anyone else - to see where some link points.

    Ok; Chrome's status bar does that.

    @CreatedToDislikeThis said:

    I just can't deal with Chrome's pop-up bar that does the same.

    Can't deal with it because... ... ... ?

    Fill in the blanks. You have me compelled now.



  • @Gaska said:

    it shows the URL at the bottom, though it's not a status bar, but a sort-of-tooltip. It's usually on the left, but sometimes on the right

    That's the default action for Firefox as well, and it's the "ultra-annoying in-content-area popup" he was referring to.

    Personally I don't think it takes much getting used to. The bigger nuisance is that it sometimes doesn't seem to want to appear unless I mouse off and over the link again, but that could just be the page's Javascriptery fucking around with the href and no fault of the browser.


  • BINNED

    @Gaska said:

    I'd go with Opera. At this point, it's basically a (much diverged) fork of Chrome, but it works somewhat better, uses less resources and you are actually in control of what appears on start page.

    Also, two most important features Chrome seems to be lacking:

    AKA: If I accidentally close it with 50 tabs open, don't render my computer unusable for 5 minutes while everything loads in the background, and then play 17 YouTube videos simultaneously. AKA: I'm a web dev, show me my fucking GET strings!

  • area_deu

    I also like the "new" Opera. It's basically Chrome minus all the Google bullshit and plus a few goodies rescued from the old Opera.



  • @Onyx said:

    You just sold me on Opera.


  • BINNED

    @ChrisH said:

    a few goodies rescued from the old Opera.

    Honestly, if they would just bring the tab stacking back I'd be happy. I got my gestures, I got my speed dial, I got my custom search shortcuts, Violent Monkey and Stylish cover site customization features, sync works well, Android version is not bad so I can use it fully, it's just that damned tab stacking I miss so much!


  • Banned

    @Onyx said:

    custom search shortcuts

    Oh man I hate these. Incredibly annoying when searching some phrase that starts with a single-letter word (happens a lot in Polish - especially with "w" -> Wikipedia and "a" -> Allegro). And there's no way to disable it!


  • area_deu

    Do single-letter search phrases really yield useful search engine results?

    I love those shortcuts. Typing w en:Culture Appropriation or z Condoms Extra-large and hitting enter just rocks usability-wise.


  • Banned

    @ChrisH said:

    Do single-letter search phrases really yield useful search engine results?

    Phrases starting with a single-letter word.


  • area_deu

    Yeah, but does that word make any difference?



  • No website that doesn't load in Firefox is worth visiting


  • Banned

    @ChrisH said:

    Yeah, but does that word make any difference?

    Weird to start every sentence with second word. You think?

    @fbmac said:

    No website that doesn't load in Firefox is worth visiting

    Neither are websites that do.



  • @Onyx said:

    show me my fucking GET strings!

    GET / HTTP/1.1


  • :belt_onion:

    @Onyx said:


    AKA: I'm a web dev, show me my fucking GET strings!

    It does that by default? I think?

    It doesn't on the mobile version but it's mobile so that's different.

    @Onyx said:


    AKA: If I accidentally close it with 50 tabs open, don't render my computer unusable for 5 minutes while everything loads in the background, and then play 17 YouTube videos simultaneously.

    It may not be an improvement but Chrome won't open your closed tabs automatically unless it crashed (or more accurately, unless it closed unexpectedly)


  • BINNED

    @sloosecannon said:

    It does that by default? I think?

    I think you have to click the bar, no?

    @sloosecannon said:

    It may not be an improvement but Chrome won't open your closed tabs automatically unless it crashed (or more accurately, unless it closed unexpectedly)

    But I want it to recover my session!

    Oh, right, another neat thing we lost with 12 - session manager.


  • :belt_onion:

    @Onyx said:

    I think you have to click the bar, no?

    Nope.

    @Onyx said:

    But I want it to recover my session!

    Oh, right, another neat thing we lost with 12 - session manager.


    You can do that too, it's here:

    But it won't reopen them when you launch the browser (probably for precisely that reason - to prevent 10,000 tabs from opening at the same time)

    It would be nice if I could choose tabs within the list though - I've wanted that ability a lot



  • @Onyx said:

    AKA: If I accidentally close it with 50 tabs open, don't render my computer unusable for 5 minutes while everything loads in the background, and then play 17 YouTube videos simultaneously.

    Just use Bookmarks. "Keeping track of a page I want to look at later but don't want to look at right now" has been a solved problem since like 1997.


  • :belt_onion:

    If I did that, I'd end up with 10,000 bookmarks.



  • @sloosecannon said:

    But it won't reopen them when you launch the browser

    There's a setting for it:


  • BINNED

    @sloosecannon said:

    It would be nice if I could choose tabs within the list though - I've wanted that ability a lot

    Yes, that's exactly what session manager did: at any time you could save your current tabs to a session. Also, current session was always saved on exit.


  • :belt_onion:

    @hungrier said:

    @sloosecannon said:
    But it won't reopen them when you launch the browser

    There's a setting for it:

    Huh.

    Figured.

    Personally I'd still keep it off - I only reopen things when I want to reopen them...

    @Onyx said:

    Yes, that's exactly what session manager did: at any time you could save your current tabs to a session. Also, current session was always saved on exit.

    Ah - I know you can get plugins for that if you really want to, but we're probably just comparing vanilla browsers.



  • Wait. Why would you not want your browser to preserve tabs?????
    We aren't in the dark ages anymore!



  • @sloosecannon said:

    If I did that, I'd end up with 10,000 bookmarks.

    This might shock you, but it's possible to delete bookmarks.


  • :belt_onion:

    @blakeyrat said:

    @sloosecannon said:
    If I did that, I'd end up with 10,000 bookmarks.

    This might shock you, but it's possible to delete bookmarks.

    So you're suggesting I use the bookmarks for temporary session storage?

    @aliceif said:

    Wait. Why would you not want your browser to preserve tabs?????We aren't in the dark ages anymore!

    Because I don't want 10,000 tabs to open when I just want to google something.

    They're there in the "recent" menu if I need them. Which I usually won't.



  • @sloosecannon said:

    So you're suggesting I use the bookmarks for temporary session storage?

    No.

    I'm suggesting that if you see a page you want to revisit later, you bookmark it. And when you do see it later, you remove the bookmark.

    That has absolutely nothing to do with session storage.


  • :belt_onion:

    My average browser session has 50 or so "I want to see this later" tabs.

    Are you suggesting I should bookmark all of them instead?



  • Do what the fuck you want. Jesus. Why are you grilling me?

    I'm just saying the problem you have is a solved problem. You're just not using the solution provided.


  • :belt_onion:

    And I'm saying that solution is a solution for a different problem. Why are you telling me I should use the wrong solution?

    Also, it is a solved problem. By default. In Chrome. Using "recent tabs"



  • @sloosecannon said:

    Why are you telling me I should use the wrong solution?

    I've changed my message, now I'm telling you you should go fuck a goat and leave me alone.


  • :belt_onion:

    OK
    body is invalid, try to be a little more descriptive


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @blakeyrat said:

    I'm just saying the problem you have is a solved problem. You're just not using the solution provided.

    Quoted for funny, but this reminded me of something I read yesterday. Note the bolded bit.

    The other change, while relatively minor, is yet another step backward for usability in GNOME. The file copy dialog has been moved to a tiny icon at the top right of the file browser window. An indicator circle animates large file copy operations, and clicking the icon reveals more details and a dropdown that looks roughly like the file copy dialog you'd see in most other applications. It works quite well enough if you know it's there. Otherwise, well, good luck finding any feedback on what your machine is doing when you drag and drop files.

    If you're backing up, say, your photo folder with many gigabytes of data to an external drive, you might accidentally copy it three or perhaps even four times before you realize it. Despite the total absence of feedback, something is in fact happening. Don't ask me how I found out, just know that you will not suffer the same because now you know—look for the tiny icon. At least GNOME is getting closer to its goal of making the command line look downright discoverable.


  • BINNED

    Nice work hiding those p0rn linkes!


  • :belt_onion:

    Thanks :)



  • @blakeyrat said:

    Why are you grilling me?

    Cooking Rats and Mice



  • @blakeyrat said:

    Can't deal with it because... ... ... ?

    Fill in the blanks. You have me compelled now.

    Because I end up noticing it whenever it pops up or pops down, especially if it clashes with the color scheme of the site around it.
    A statusbar exists outside the content area and so doesn't clash with its colors, and I end up only noticing it if I'm specifically looking for it.

    But I'm really more concerned with the lack of a Chrome/Opera fork that allows you and extensions to customize the UI at will.



  • @Onyx said:

    and then play 17 YouTube videos simultaneously.

    They fixed this on the YouTube side of things. It now waits for you to focus the tab before it starts playing the video.

    @aliceif said:

    Wait. Why would you not want your browser to preserve tabs?????

    Because it's annoying to some people? Besides, you can pin tabs if you want them to be opened again later and then unpin them when you are done. I always have https://calendar.google.com/ pinned.



  • If you want session management, nice looking fonts, engrish, weird tabs, opera-ish navigation things, and no flash, I'd suggest Sleipnir. Otherwise, I'd suggest trying it at least. It's... fun? I've been using it for months, and it still appears to work.


  • Dupa

    @Gaska said:

    se that starts with a single-letter word (happens a lot in Polish - especially with "w" -> Wikipedia and "a" -> Allegro).

    Honestly, doesn't happen to me. I understand your need to search full sentences, but if you went verbless, you'd be far better off, both generally and with that shite.



  • You know what else can be done?
    He could just slap a g (or whatever weird polish search engine he might use) in front.


  • Notification Spam Recipient

    @sloosecannon said:

    bookmarks for temporary session storage?

    I do!
    Now I have three whole sessions from seven years ago pointing to sites that may not exist.


  • Dupa

    @aliceif said:

    ver weird polish search engine he might use

    There aren't any, anymore. We have culturally appropriated Google before it even was in Polish.



  • This must be how Blakey feels in his threads.


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