Having used browsers since the first Mozilla one came out in the early nineties and worked on an ordinary dumb VT100 terminal with no graphics, I have had a lot of experience with them in the last 30+ years. Market share is due to the pressure and $$ Google and Microsoft put on other companies since they own the two most widespread operating systems, Android and Windows. You can't get away with not having them even if you don't use them so they become the default so most people don't make the effort to look for anything better for them.

usonian

(12,075 posts)

7. I was using Opera, partly for the chintzy but working VPN (it really isn't a VPN) but

Reply to BOSSHOG (Original post)

Sat Jul 13, 2024, 09:24 PM

Jul 13

Last edited Sun Jul 14, 2024, 01:38 AM - Edit history (1)

With one “update” it lost everything. Preferences, bookmarks, extensions. And I know what the hell I’m doing!

So, I alternate Safari with Firefox. ON THE DESKTOP
Firefox has more exensions (since Apple doesn’t police them)
And Firefox lets me drag URL’s from the URL bar. Safari makes me click to do it, offering the certificate instead, which I have used zero times, ever. I am all about reducing clicks.

Safari Reader is very nice, but I notice that when I ask Firefox to “print” (that is, print to PDF) it does so very cleanly, better than the “Redability” extension.

And better yet, Firefox lets me select “PDF” as my default printer, so I can say “print” and only have to click RETURN to save the page as PDF. Safari won’t let me default to “print to pdf” and all the wonderful safari extensions that did this are kaput.

ONE MORE THING.
Autopager works with Firefox, saving me hundreds of clicks on “next page”. I can’t get anytihing llike it on safari.

Just my two cents’ worth. I use them interchangeably, Both work with ghost text on the desktop, which is the greatest thing since sliced cheese. Look it up. It mirrors your typing in a text box (this one) to a text editor, which NEVER loses its text when the network hiccups and wipes out all your typing when you “resubmit” the page for preview or posting.

YET ANOTHER THING!
Safari "prints a web page" to PDF, consisting of one page only, whereas "Export to PDF" gets the entire web "page" even if it spans many pages. I was not expecting this (Apple is full of F-U surprises)
Preview and perhaps others give you the entire content (like a whole book's worth) gratis, when you print to pdf.

Firefox not only lets you set print-to-pdf as a default printer, but seems to ALWAYS print the entire content, ,amy pages long, unless you specify a range (IIRC)

It's easy to get mixed up when switching back and forth.

HTH

BOSSHOG

(38,659 posts)

9. Thank You Very Much

Reply to usonian (Reply #7)

Sat Jul 13, 2024, 09:31 PM

Jul 13

Have you had any issues with Safari? I have two financial institution sites which say in so much computereeze use something else but allow me to proceed. Is Safari like me, Old and in the Way?

usonian

(12,075 posts)

10. Yes, Safari sometimes elicits real nasty replies. Are you using the latest "hot off the press" version? Two things:

Reply to BOSSHOG (Reply #9)

Sat Jul 13, 2024, 10:09 PM

Jul 13

1. Safari gets only minor updates unless you update the entire operating system. I think this applies to ios and MacOS somewhat equally. And OS updates are 6 GB or more. No problem for me since I got off cellular internet (I was going to take the old imac to the library!) but it is mighty disruptive to do so, and safari will lag in that respect.

2. Some of my problems went away when (on the desktop version) I turned off extensions under Developer menu (You have to select show developer tools somewhere in the config for this to happen). Maybe all of them. I just haven’t had a site bark at me lately, though there are couple of companies that I haven’t accessed in a while.

Biggest pain is that Patelco Credit Union got ransomwared or otherwise taken down, and neither the app nor the web site have any functionality. I seriously had to use the touch-tone transfer system to pay my mastercard. So, there are worse things.

People who run financial sites are pains in the ass. I won’t say more.

SalamanderSleeps

(635 posts)

11. Chrome is the fastest browser but, it gathers a lot of information about you.

Reply to BOSSHOG (Original post)

Sat Jul 13, 2024, 11:36 PM

Jul 13

Brave is based on Chrome but, it does not gather information about you.

Plus, it has a real VPN included.

summer_in_TX

(3,020 posts)

12. I was recently visiting friends in Norway. The son is a major in the Norwegian army.

Reply to BOSSHOG (Original post)

Sat Jul 13, 2024, 11:55 PM

Jul 13

I mentioned I use 5 different web browsers and mentioned Opera was one. He told me it was a security risk now because it is owned by the Chinese.

So when I got home I did some research and decided my 5th browser would be Vivaldi. Deleted Opera on my laptop and phone.

Vivaldi requires some customization on startup but is now working well for me. I use Safari, Firefox, Chrome, and Brave as well. Not everything works well on Safari, but I keep that as default for my personal stuff. I use the others for different nonprofit websites and Google for Nonprofit identities so I'm not having to log in and out constantly.

Brave and Vivaldi both have a lot of security obvious in their setup. Chrome, Brave, and Vivaldi all three are based on Chromium while taking those in different directions.

mitch96

(14,399 posts)

13. I bounce between Safari and Firefox. Had opera but dumped it when I found out about the CCP affiliation.

Reply to BOSSHOG (Original post)

Sun Jul 14, 2024, 12:20 PM

Jul 14

Firefox works better on my old imac..YMMV
m

itzzen

(5 posts)

14. Mozilla Firefox

Reply to BOSSHOG (Original post)

Mon Jul 22, 2024, 04:06 AM

Jul 22

My beloved!

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