Why are people so emotional about browsers?
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A Former User last edited by
@traveltales Yes, very astonishing, really. I‘ve tried Edge by the way. I like some features of it very much, especially its implementation of PWA, which is totally lacking in Opera.
Otherwise I found it rather crowded with its Microsoft features and its not too decent effort to make you use it as default.
If you don’t bother these things, you‘ll be ok with it. I myself find Opera more appealing, and although with ads too, not that much aggressive.
Anyway, if you're lucky with your actual browser, there‘s no need to change, let alone with others telling yo to do so. And you might wish to try out others whenever you like. -
DarthGTB last edited by
@traveltales honestly, Edge has come a long way. It works pretty well and is reliable. Only real reason I didn't switch to it is the lack of a decent Speed Dial extension. There are many extensions out there but none fit my needs, or are way too complex to operate, while Opera, Yandex and Vivaldi native solutions work best.
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TravelTales last edited by
@A Former User said in Why are people so emotional about browsers?:
Yes, very astonishing, really. I‘ve tried Edge by the way. I like some features of it very much, especially its implementation of PWA, which is totally lacking in Opera.
Otherwise I found it rather crowded with its Microsoft features and its not too decent effort to make you use it as default.
If you don’t bother these things, you‘ll be ok with it. I myself find Opera more appealing, and although with ads too, not that much aggressive.
Anyway, if you're lucky with your actual browser, there‘s no need to change, let alone with others telling yo to do so. And you might wish to try out others whenever you like.You make a good point that it can feel a bit crowded with Microsoft stuff. I'll probably stick with Chrome for now since most sites seem to work best with it, but I appreciate you taking the time to discuss the different options. Might have to revisit Opera at some point to check out those PWAs.
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TravelTales last edited by
@darthgtb said in Why are people so emotional about browsers?:
@traveltales honestly, Edge has come a long way. It works pretty well and is reliable. Only real reason I didn't switch to it is the lack of a decent Speed Dial extension. There are many extensions out there but none fit my needs, or are way too complex to operate, while Opera, Yandex and Vivaldi native solutions work best.
That's good to know about Edge's speed dial situation. native implementations definitely tend to be simpler. Might have to give it another look sometime once they've had a chance to build out more features. For now Chrome's working okay for my needs. Thanks for the input!
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canadagoose4everreturns last edited by@traveltales All of these chromium browsers are pretty much the same with a little difference in window dressing. You can load extensions from the Chrome store and build whatever it is that you say you "need" so I'm at a loss why the hesitation to use a particular browser. You can have multiple browsers so why not download the ones in which you're interested and run with each one individually for a week to get a feel for the browser you're most comfortable with and then go with it. The browser is simply a program to get you to where you want to go for business or pleasure. Most users do not want something as customizable as Vivaldi simply because they can't be bothered playing around with the browser. Vivaldi is essentially a "geeky" browser and that is why its numbers will always be one-digit. Opera should never have changed to Opera One and because of its association with China (unfair but nevertheless true) it will always remain far behind the others. Your viable choices are: Google Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Brave (with Safari on the Mac) on Windows. And that's the long and short of it.
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Phil15world988 last edited by@canadagoose4everreturns I love Opera one I don't mind it and I like Opera GX and Opera AI browser I just hope Opera AI browser will replace Chrome and YouTube I'm praying my message will approve I'm just praying for it
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A Former User last edited by
Let's face it: Opera is the only OS, rsp platform independent browser with recognizable market-share. (As Firefox comes with a lot of Linux distros, it's not really platform independent but the go-for browser there)
See the numbers then, for desktop worldwide:
The metrics also give 6,23% for the US and 5,06% for Europe. I suppose that Brave or Vivaldi hover around .5 and .1 %. So nothing to count on. Opera in some statistics is even above Firefox already, making it the 4th most used browser in the world.
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blackbird71 last edited byGiven that browsers are essentially just "tools" used to accomplish a goal - browsing on the web - it follows that some (but not all) users will place unique and great emphasis on how that 'tool' feels and works for them. Over time, those tool users develop certain workflows that a particular tool seems to match best, so brand-loyalty arises. When that product's updates come, especially those impacting a particular area of the tool's operation, users whose workflow has long integrated that area's functionality will often react either quite positively or negatively... hence the controversy that so often intrudes into the forums.
Users that don't care about particular functionality issues normally just use the tool provided as built-in on their computer or download whatever their friends tend to use, as long as it's easy and "just works" (ie: Explorer/Edge, Chrome and their vast usage numbers over the years).
In any case, users should employ whatever browser best suits their wants/needs and not be afraid to try other brands - especially to find out if there's better ways the user's particular browsing style and demands can be implemented. Personally, being of a technical nature, I want certain adjustability controls and have certain levels of privacy that I demand, so I tend to favor a particular brand of browser - but I have 6 others currently installed which I use from time to time, if only to stay abreast of unique developments.
All that said, you'll nevertheless find some users who, just like football fans, are rabid in their likes and dislikes of particular ones... which usually defies all logic to an outside observer.
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canadagoose4everreturns last edited by
@blackbird71 Well said, Blackbird. Very succinct and informative.
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A Former User last edited by
I always appreciate people telling me, what browser they like and why. I might wish to try them by myself.
But I don't like these kind of remarks about why it is an absolute this or that particular one. It's as if they weren't as convinced of the one they would promote, as they want to appear.
I'm using Opera at the moment, that's ok. But I also like Firefox for being Open Source, DuckDuckGo for privacy and Chrome/Safari for simply working out of the box. I used to use Vivaldi but it became to overwhelmingly complex for me. Opera for me is on the middleground for me with a clean interface, the features I use and with some decent privacy tools. -
canadagoose4everreturns last edited by leocg
@celticcross Good morning, Celticcross.
Everything I say is simply my opinion and not necessarily factual. It "seems to me" that we can easily become mislead by others commenting online. If you were to take the sum total of all the commenters here and on Vivaldi's forum (etc), and then compare that number with the billions of people online who never bother with forums or asking questions about browsers, I'm certain you'd discover that the number is exceedingly small. As I've mentioned many times now, most people who go online simply don't care about the browser they're using. My wife has a MacBook and a Surface and she uses Edge on her Surface and Safari on her Mac and that's the sum total of it. If I ask her why she doesn't try Brave or Opera or whatever, her eyes would glaze over (I'm being facetious here) and she'd ask me why bother when Safari and Edge work perfectly fine. She simply doesn't care. The sum total of what Blackbird said could be summed up in this: try several and find which browser(s) works best for what you need and then go with it (them). I think a better title for this thread would be: Why are "some" people so emotional about browsers. There are fanboys... evangelists... promoters... of certain browsers but as to why, that's a mystery to me. Really... who actually cares that much? I'll use my wife (since she's sitting right across from me right now on her MacBook) as an example. What is she doing? Shopping! She cares about shopping... not browsers. Safari gets her to where she wants to go - shopping for whatever (oh my aching wallet... haha). I'm only here out of boredom and for nostalgia's sake, having been a part-time Opera user from 2000 onward until the exodus of Jon and many of his loyal developers. Do I care enough to download Opera now and run with it? After checking out Opera One, I see no reason to switch. Currently I have Edge and Brave on my Surface and Safari on my MacBook and that's really it. Hey, just go with what floats your boat. You seem, from your posts, like a great guy who is genuinely interested in technology. Watch some YT videos and do a little research to set your mind at ease as to whlch browser will best fit your needs. -
canadagoose4everreturns last edited by
@canadagoose4everreturns I must be really bored but for what it's worth (not much, I suppose), let me expand before a certain somebody taps me to accompany her to the store(s). I'll use a few examples: shavers, toothbrushes and news channels. I have a bunch of electric shavers (two Norelcos, two Brauns and a Panasonic). Why so many? Well, some claim that they each cut a little differently and therefore you need to find the one that best adapts to your facial hair. Is this true? I don't really know or care that much. I have five shavers because I like shavers and I use them indiscriminately as the spirit moves me in the morning. Ha! But I'm on a shavers forum where men DO become quite emotional over their particular shaver brand to which they are loyal. Strange. I have two electric toothbrushes (Oral b io and a Sonicare) and the same can be said for those... loyal followers some of whom go on YT and diss the other brand for some strange reason. Does one actually clean better than the other? I don't know... I sort of doubt it. Why have two? I like them so I use one in the a.m. and one in the p.m. but in truth, I've no idea if one does a better job. Stick with me. News channels and/or podcasts is a bit more difficult given the undisputed fact that almost all news these days (and perhaps always) is little more than shilling for a particular ideological point of view and/or party. So... I navigate towards the news that meets my preconceived ideas of truth (and that is a tall order and one my dear wife often questions). So... what is truth? This is a question as old as the Bible (asked by a notorious governor long ago of a certain Someone who would change history forever). Indeed... in all of these examples (including the best browsers etc etc)... what is truth? I'm going to be a bit enigmatic here: truth is in a Person and not in these "things" including best browsers etc. And now... those searching eyes have discovered me at my computer and are rapidly approaching. I'm in trouble.
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A Former User last edited by A Former User
@canadagoose4everreturns That’s why I prefer Opera at the moment.
It looks great, making other browsers look dated. Its sidebar is superb. I can‘t live without Speed Dials and Rocker Gestures. The screenshot feature is so sophisticated. And Workspaces are really handy.
Flow is a fantastic feature as are pinboards and the Integration of KI is very welcome.
That it runs very fast and isn‘t hogging memory comes as an extra plus.
And last but not least in contrast to many others, I also like how it syncs.
I‘m always disappointed when I give other browsers a try, therefore. But if one catches up, why not giving it a try? -
Darkusnoid last edited by@kipperchau Ubuntu and firefox have done this and yet they are blind to this
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newworldman last edited by
@blackbird71 said in Why are people so emotional about browsers?:
In any case, users should employ whatever browser best suits their wants/needs and not be afraid to try other brands - especially to find out if there's better ways the user's particular browsing style and demands can be implemented. Personally, being of a technical nature, I want certain adjustability controls and have certain levels of privacy that I demand, so I tend to favor a particular brand of browser - but I have 6 others currently installed which I use from time to time, if only to stay abreast of unique developments.
That's pretty much me. But I don't slag off other users' preferences. Each to their own. Market share is irrelevant unless it means the tiny vendors will go out of business. In the meantime, I choose based on what suits me.
