Ask HN: Are There Any Compelling Reasons To Continue Using Firefox?

[citizenkeys]

I've been using Firefox since pre-1.0. However, two other major browsers use WebKit: Chrome and Safari. WebKit also powers the mobile versions of those two browsers. So it seems that WebKit is now the standard for web development.

Unlike Chrome, however, Firefox is released by a company that has no interest in collecting any personal usage information. The majority of users also still use Firefox so its nice to know that I'm seeing what they'll see while developing. Those are really the only reasons I continue to use Firefox.

So my question is... Is there any compelling reason to continue using Mozilla Firefox as my primary browser?

[madhouse]

FireBug is an excellent tool, that is not available for Chrome yet (at least, not with all its bells and whistles, lasts I checked). That's the single reason I still have Firefox installed.

[johnnytee]

I have found that the Chrome Web Developer Tools can do anything the Firebug can do and usually Chrome does it in a better way in my opinion.

[citizenkeys]

Yeah... I also use the "Web Developer Toolbar" for Firefox. The guy that wrote that released it for Chrome but it doesn't have even half the features as the Firefox version.

[mtrimpe]

And FireBug add-ons, like FlashConsole, make FF indispensable for me.

[blub]

I've used Firefox since the first available versions. Technically, it doesn't matter to me.

What does matter (as you've mentioned) is that Firefox is created by a company whose purpose is to make web browsers. Chrome on the other hand is created by a company whose purpose is making money from advertising. They do that better by datamining...

[nandemo]

Firefox has a bootload of add-ons. I might be wrong but I don't think Chrome's got as many extensions.

[rmccue]

The rendering engine makes no difference at all to me. Whether Gecko or WebKit, both follow the standards closely enough that I know how something will render in one or the other without testing. Combined with reset stylesheets, which iron out little differences in default stylesheets, they're essentially the same.

One thing that's great about Chrome is their rapid development pace. I think Mozilla has realised this is something that they need to change, and they're changing their release cycle to be much quicker (though, IIRC, not Chrome-scale).

Firefox's extensions are what seals the deal for me though. Chrome's extensions are nowhere near powerful enough to do some of the things that Firefox extensions do with ease.

[bendmorris]

I was a faithful Firefox user until there were just too many features Chrome had that either Firefox lacks or I just haven't found. For example:

* Takes up less vertical space - very nice on a netbook.

* You can use one address bar to search any search engine with just the keyboard. I used to have separate address/google and wikipedia bars on Firefox; now everything's combined into one bar.

* Sync lets me keep my bookmarks, etc. up to date on multiple machines/operating systems.

* I've noticed that load times and browsing are significantly faster.

etc.

As a web developer, I loved Firefox for its web development tools, but nowadays I've been able to find all the tools I need for Chrome.

[mooism2]

Isn't Internet Explorer still the dominant web browser, and Firefox still the clear number two? I don't see that WebKit browsers are better supported on the desktop, so I don't see this as a reason to switch.

(I expect WebKit browsers are better supported on mobiles, but --- shock --- I don't have a smartphone, so can't comment on this.)

[wladimir]

For me, it's mainly the wealth of plugins (Firebug, Ghostery, SSL everywhere, and so on) that makes me prefer Firefox.

Also, I agree on the collecting personal information thing. With Chrome, I kind of feel watched by Google. I trust Firefox more with regard to privacy.

I'm satisfied with Firefox, and have been using it for a long time. And after all that time, they still manage to improve continuously. I don't see any compelling reasons to switch to another browser.

[bo_Olean]

I use Firefox for the Add-ons:

Pencil - Awesome tool for wireframing

Firebug - Simple, but powerful. Love the copy as Bookmarklet feature.

ColorZilla - Color Picker

Web Developer - Quick CSS writeup

Pixel Perfect - overlay image over top of the developed HTML, check your design

Fireshot - for screenshot

S3 Firefox - Manage AWS S3

Elasticfox - AWS EC2 Interface

Greasemonkey - User scripts

FireFTP - FTP client

JSONView - JSON Viewer

SQLite Manager

[allenc]

Firefox's ad blocker is still ahead of Chrome's; if I remember correctly the browser's API limits what Chrome's ad blocker can do.

[lolcraft]

Why do you say that? I am using AdBlock Plus in Chromium. It works fine, as far as I notice.

[user24]

ha, really? conflict of interest much?

[mcdaid]

The group your tabs feature in FF4 is very useful. The bookmarks manager is much more advanced than chrome.

[melling]

I'm in the dev channel for both Chrome and Firefox. Each updates automatically, and I take turns using both. Why do you need a compelling reason to use just one? Each has different plugins and both are improving at a rapid pace.

[ilcavero]

for me they are very close now that firefox 4 is more or less as fast, but inertia + the non-dropping down address bar in chrome tilts the scale towards firefox definitively http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Chrome/thread?tid=64bb...

[atomicdog]

It has a nicer interface than Chrome.

[neeleshs]

Firebug is the primary reason for me to use firefox. And, firefox 4 is pretty fast.

[eklovlfjkeos]

You said it yourself: "Firefox is released by a company that has no interest in collecting any personal usage information."

Once everything online is run by Google - including your browser, your search engine, your email, your documents, your cell phone info, etc. - Google's power becomes too big.

[MatthewPhillips]

Please explain in detail what bad things will come of Google knowing that I searched for "bioethanol" a lot yesterday.

[Hipponax]

For me, noscript.