Best browser for Linux?

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MALsPa
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Re: Best browser for Linux?

Post by MALsPa »

linuxviolin wrote: Yes but Chromium is not exactly equal to Chrome.
True, but is there any advantage to using Iron instead of Chromium? Doesn't seem like it to me, but I haven't tried Iron yet.
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Re: Best browser for Linux?

Post by linuxviolin »

MALsPa wrote:is there any advantage to using Iron instead of Chromium? Doesn't seem like it to me, but I haven't tried Iron yet.
Well, maybe not but you could read http://www.srware.net/en/software_srwar ... s_iron.php It is not Chrome but it seems to have some little differences with Chromium too. (e.g. user agent, adblock...)
K.I.S.S. ===> "Keep It Simple, Stupid"
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JonM33

Re: Best browser for Linux?

Post by JonM33 »

linuxviolin wrote:
MALsPa wrote:is there any advantage to using Iron instead of Chromium? Doesn't seem like it to me, but I haven't tried Iron yet.
Well, maybe not but you could read http://www.srware.net/en/software_srwar ... s_iron.php It is not Chrome but it seems to have some little differences with Chromium too. (e.g. user agent, adblock...)
They are comparing Chrome to Iron there, not Chromium to Iron.
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Re: Best browser for Linux?

Post by linuxviolin »

MALsPa wrote:Dang, almost there. I got the Google sponsored links in Google searches blocked, using a .css with this code:

Code: Select all

/* Top sponsored links */
#tads { display: none !important; }

/* Side sponsored links */
#mbEnd { display: none !important; }

div.c {display: none !important}
Unfortunately, it doesn't block the sponsored links in Gmail. Still searching.
Have you tried the .css file (fanboy-adblocklist-elements-v3.css) from the page given by JonM33, http://www.fanboy.co.nz/adblock/opera/? It is called Optimised Element Filter (To be used with the urlfilter.ini file with Stat/Tracking sites) It seems working well...
K.I.S.S. ===> "Keep It Simple, Stupid"
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." (Leonardo da Vinci)
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." (Albert Einstein)
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Re: Best browser for Linux?

Post by MALsPa »

linuxviolin wrote:Have you tried the .css file (fanboy-adblocklist-elements-v3.css) from the page given by JonM33, http://www.fanboy.co.nz/adblock/opera/? It is called Optimised Element Filter (To be used with the urlfilter.ini file with Stat/Tracking sites) It seems working well...
No, I just used the main list from up at the top, nothing else. Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try as soon as I can. Right now playing around with a fresh Mint 9 installation! Talk about late! My first new Mint since Elyssa.
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Re: Best browser for Linux?

Post by MALsPa »

linuxviolin wrote:Have you tried the .css file (fanboy-adblocklist-elements-v3.css) from the page given by JonM33, http://www.fanboy.co.nz/adblock/opera/? It is called Optimised Element Filter (To be used with the urlfilter.ini file with Stat/Tracking sites) It seems working well...
linuxviolin, thank you! I got that Optimized Element Filter and the sponsored links in Gmail are blocked!
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Re: Best browser for Linux?

Post by GoustiFruit »

MALsPa wrote:
JonM33 wrote:http://www.fanboy.co.nz/adblock/opera/

Right click on the urlfilter.ini and save it to ~/.opera/

After that, close the browser and restart it.
Thanks, JonM33. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'd found a urlfilter.ini and have been using it. It worked fairly well, but I switched to one you recommended above now.
Well, if you had read my post better, you would have seen the exact same link and you would have tried the same urlfilter.ini at first !
<Humor>Now I understand why some can't get their mind around Opera: one give them clear instructions on how to do things, and they are still able to do differently and complain...</Humor>
It's probably a psychological thing: unconsciously you don't want to switch from Firefox, so your brain makes it so that you sabotage every attempt to use Opera or any other alternative...
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Re: Best browser for Linux?

Post by MALsPa »

GoustiFruit wrote:Well, if you had read my post better, you would have seen the exact same link and you would have tried the same urlfilter.ini at first !
<Humor>Now I understand why some can't get their mind around Opera: one give them clear instructions on how to do things, and they are still able to do differently and complain...</Humor>
It's probably a psychological thing: unconsciously you don't want to switch from Firefox, so your brain makes it so that you sabotage every attempt to use Opera or any other alternative...
Pardon me, I did try a different urlfilter.ini at first, my mistake. I had no way of knowing which one would be better. You didn't mention using the Optimized Element Filter along with the urlfilter.ini, and I missed the info on the fanboy page. linuxviolin mentioned it, and the Optimized Element Filter is what ultimately did the trick (blocking the sponsored links in Gmail).

I don't think it has anything to do with the psychological thing that you mentioned because there was no psychological barrier for me when I tried Chromium and Google Chrome and all of the other web browsers I've tested out. I've tried Opera a couple of times prior to this, but never warmed up to it like I did with other browsers.

The truth is that setting up ad-blocking in Firefox and Google Chrome and Chromium takes just a few minutes. Even the first time I used Chrome and Chromium, it took just a few minutes. In Opera, it took a long time to figure out what was going on, to go and find the correct urlfilter.ini and the .css file to go along with it, to create the corresponding files on my system, and to configure Opera to use them. It'll take a lot less time for me in the future, but no way is it as simple as installing and setting up something like Adblock Plus or Adthwart.
JonM33

Re: Best browser for Linux?

Post by JonM33 »

MALsPa wrote:Pardon me, I did try a different urlfilter.ini at first, my mistake. I had no way of knowing which one would be better. You didn't mention using the Optimized Element Filter along with the urlfilter.ini, and I missed the info on the fanboy page. linuxviolin mentioned it, and the Optimized Element Filter is what ultimately did the trick (blocking the sponsored links in Gmail).

I don't think it has anything to do with the psychological thing that you mentioned because there was no psychological barrier for me when I tried Chromium and Google Chrome and all of the other web browsers I've tested out. I've tried Opera a couple of times prior to this, but never warmed up to it like I did with other browsers.

The truth is that setting up ad-blocking in Firefox and Google Chrome and Chromium takes just a few minutes. Even the first time I used Chrome and Chromium, it took just a few minutes. In Opera, it took a long time to figure out what was going on, to go and find the correct urlfilter.ini and the .css file to go along with it, to create the corresponding files on my system, and to configure Opera to use them. It'll take a lot less time for me in the future, but no way is it as simple as installing and setting up something like Adblock Plus or Adthwart.
The first thing I did in Opera was search Google for "adblock opera". The 4th link down is "Fanboy's Adblock List for Opera". I clicked there and saw easy instructions on saving that urlfilter.ini file. Did just that and was done. It took roughly 30 seconds on my part. :wink:

The guy points out on all versions of Windows, OSX and even Linux on where to save it. Not sure if he couldn't have been more helpful than that. Maybe some pictures to go with it? Some people don't follow instructions well and need a visual guide.
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Re: Best browser for Linux?

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Fair enough, JonM33. It took me awhile to understand what to do. The instructions are right there.

Of course, you have to do a web search to find out about it in the first place, unless you get some help from the forums or someplace. The info isn't provided by Opera, is it? If so, I missed that, too. If someone tells you to go to the fanboy page and use the urlfilter.ini, you might not know off-hand that if you want Gmail's sponsored links blocked you'll need to also use the Optimized Element Filter. I didn't. You might spend some time going down dead ends trying to find something that will work, like I did. You might already have a bad attitude about it because there isn't a simple extension to add that will take care of it for you. I did, I admit.

I probably didn't pay enough attention to detail and follow the instructions well enough, as you assert. I think I generally do a decent job of following instructions, considering that I use Linux, and all that I do with it.

Whatever, Opera's a good web browser. Interesting that its usage share is between 2% to 2.5% in the studies I've seen so far. By far, most people use IE or Firefox, and even Chrome's numbers blow away Opera's. You can decide for yourself why that is, but in my opinion, the answer is simple: Because Opera isn't as good.
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Re: Best browser for Linux?

Post by linuxviolin »

OK guys. I tried Chrome now since few days and I have some problems with it and the memory after some time of use. I had several times my desktop almost freezed. Everything was working in slow motion: the mouse that worked by a-shots, intermittently, for example, when I could click on a menu to close Chrome or another app or the Task Manager, nothing happened then or 3 minutes later etc. The task manager show an use of 90 % and even one time 98% of memory and an use of the swap partition of 30 to 40%! When I finally get to close Chrome or when he finally frees some memory, it returns to normal and I can close it, before it starts again to eat memory, without problem...

This is arrived with 12 or 13 tabs in a window (and with 14 extensions. Well, Chrome misses several things to be completely right. Opera has everything built-in, nothing to add! There is even an option to put back the menu bar, great! :D) In Firefox, with the same number of tabs in a window, I had also sometimes some slowdowns like that or freeze of Firefox but just it, nothing that slowed or blocked the whole desktop like Chrome. In Opera, always with the same number of tabs in a window, I never had this problem. Some crashes sometimes but it opens again after with all tabs always there.

Here you can see some tests on the different browsers on Windows and on Ubuntu. If you read the page "10 – Benchmark Results: Memory Usage" you'll see Chrome has big problems with the memory usage (but it's good in the memory management, it seems) This confirms my some problems with Chrome...

So, even if Chrome is not a bad browser, at the contrary,I am afraid that Opera is much better, at least for now. :!:

P.S.= In the tests of the site, Opera is also the winner, on Windows and Linux

P.S.2=
MALsPa wrote:the answer is simple: Because Opera isn't as good.
Wrong! Opera is one of the better browsers, if not the best... but it is less known than the other, yes, but hey, between Mozilla, Microsoft and Google, er, it's not easy to find its way to the public. :wink: And it's Norvegian, this is a welcome breath of fresh air of the American products, right? :lol:
Last edited by linuxviolin on Wed Jul 21, 2010 2:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
K.I.S.S. ===> "Keep It Simple, Stupid"
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Re: Best browser for Linux?

Post by MALsPa »

linuxviolin wrote:Opera is one of the better browsers, if not the best
I understand that's your opinion, and I understand it's an opinion shared by a lot of other people.

I use, and have used, quite a few different web browsers. I just don't like Opera as much as some of the others. The lack of add-ons is a big factor for me. The fact that it isn't an open source browser is also a factor, but not necessarily a major one.

I appreciate all of the points of view expressed in this thread. My approach is always to try something out for myself and see what I think instead of going by what other people say about it. Bottom line is that Opera isn't as good a fit for me as Firefox, Google Chrome, or Chromium. Other folks feel differently, and that's cool.
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Re: Best browser for Linux?

Post by linuxviolin »

MALsPa wrote:
linuxviolin wrote:Opera is one of the better browsers, if not the best
I understand that's your opinion, and I understand it's an opinion shared by a lot of other people.

I use, and have used, quite a few different web browsers. I just don't like Opera as much as some of the others. The lack of add-ons is a big factor for me. The fact that it isn't an open source browser is also a factor, but not necessarily a major one.

I appreciate all of the points of view expressed in this thread. My approach is always to try something out for myself and see what I think instead of going by what other people say about it. Bottom line is that Opera isn't as good a fit for me as Firefox, Google Chrome, or Chromium. Other folks feel differently, and that's cool.
:D :mrgreen:

EDIT: P.S.= To complete my last post, I just had again the problem of memory, 98% used plus 10% of swap, and also 100% use of the processor! Incredible, the whole desktop almost blocked because Chrome! I have never seen this with Opera for instance. After I have closed Chrome, immediately everything comes back to the norm: CPU use between 5 and 10%, memory 28%... and with Opera in use! So, as such, it is difficult to use it. I'm sorry for its fans. :mrgreen:
K.I.S.S. ===> "Keep It Simple, Stupid"
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." (Leonardo da Vinci)
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." (Albert Einstein)
JonM33

Re: Best browser for Linux?

Post by JonM33 »

MALsPa wrote:Fair enough, JonM33. It took me awhile to understand what to do. The instructions are right there.

Of course, you have to do a web search to find out about it in the first place, unless you get some help from the forums or someplace. The info isn't provided by Opera, is it? If so, I missed that, too. If someone tells you to go to the fanboy page and use the urlfilter.ini, you might not know off-hand that if you want Gmail's sponsored links blocked you'll need to also use the Optimized Element Filter. I didn't. You might spend some time going down dead ends trying to find something that will work, like I did. You might already have a bad attitude about it because there isn't a simple extension to add that will take care of it for you. I did, I admit.

I probably didn't pay enough attention to detail and follow the instructions well enough, as you assert. I think I generally do a decent job of following instructions, considering that I use Linux, and all that I do with it.

Whatever, Opera's a good web browser. Interesting that its usage share is between 2% to 2.5% in the studies I've seen so far. By far, most people use IE or Firefox, and even Chrome's numbers blow away Opera's. You can decide for yourself why that is, but in my opinion, the answer is simple: Because Opera isn't as good.
Well, adblock info isn't provided by Mozilla for Firefox either. Although, going to Google and doing a search will point you to the Mozilla extension page where you can click and install it. Then after a restart of the program you get prompted for which list you want to use. It's no different and not automatic for either browser.

Regarding market share, if your logic is that 2% means something isn't good then why are you using Linux? Linux owns 1.3% of market share according to this link. Does it suck? No, not at all.

Market share: IE is a given due to being installed on Windows by default. Firefox has been gaining popularity since it came out and it's a better option than IE. Also, word of mouth spreads for people to switch. Chrome has the power of Google advertising behind it. Safari is the primary browser of Mac OSX by default.

Maybe if Opera had all of those advantages it too would have significant market share?
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Re: Best browser for Linux?

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linuxviolin wrote:I just had again the problem of memory, 98% used plus 10% of swap, and also 100% use of the processor! Incredible, the whole desktop almost blocked because Chrome! I have never seen this with Opera for instance. After I have closed Chrome, immediately everything comes back to the norm: CPU use between 5 and 10%, memory 28%... and with Opera in use! So, as such, it is difficult to use it. I'm sorry for its fans. :mrgreen:
Fortunately, I haven't encountered those problems. Nice to know we Chrome fans have your sympathy, though! :lol:

JonM33 wrote:Regarding market share, if your logic is that 2% means something isn't good then why are you using Linux? Linux owns 1.3% of market share according to this link. Does it suck? No, not at all.
Man, comparing Linux' lack of popularity and Opera's lack of popularity is comparing apples to oranges. The respective reasons for it are completely different. I kinda figured you'd say something like that, though.

JonM33 wrote:Market share: IE is a given due to being installed on Windows by default. Firefox has been gaining popularity since it came out and it's a better option than IE. Also, word of mouth spreads for people to switch. Chrome has the power of Google advertising behind it. Safari is the primary browser of Mac OSX by default.

Maybe if Opera had all of those advantages it too would have significant market share?
Maybe so. Or maybe if Opera had extensions, it too would have significant market share. Or maybe it would be more popular if it was an open source browser. Who knows? Who cares? I'd certainly like it more if it had extensions, but it doesn't.

Opera's been out for a much longer time than Firefox, but has it ever had the market share that Firefox now enjoys? Or even anything close to it? Maybe it has -- I really don't know.
markcynt

Re: Best browser for Linux?

Post by markcynt »

JonM33 wrote:Maybe if Opera had all of those advantages it too would have significant market share?
Opera is at the bottom and will stay there

Opera IMO will never gain market share with their closed source philosophy.

Opera is locked down more than a Mac is.

If they let more people contribute they would rapidly gain market share IMO.

Add-ons (lack of) are what keep me from using Opera

Even Chrome/Chromium is getting to be on par with FF and probably will surpass it

Opera will never even come close

It's a fine web browser, very fast, but speed isn't everything
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Re: Best browser for Linux?

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Opera is now free and for everybody but yes it is closed source and it's probably one of the things that block its development in the public, at least the Linux public. About add-ons, the majority of everything you need is already build-in, even ad-blocking, so what add-ons? You have even Opera Link and Opera Unite. and you can read your mails and rss news in it... But it has not Microsoft, Mozilla, Google or Apple behind it and it is not American! :lol:

And even in Firefox it is not advisable to use many add-ons, if some. This "problem" with add-ons is just silly.

Chrome has really a problem for now with its use of the memory. I have had this problem and other too (see for instance the link given in one of my last posts) Maybe if you have many RAM this is not a problem, I tested it on an "a little old" computer with 1 GB of RAM and 1.5 GB of swap and after some time of use it becomes impracticable (see my precedent posts)

But everyone choose the browser that suits him/her, and that's just fine. The discussion in this topic could be endless... :roll:
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markcynt

Re: Best browser for Linux?

Post by markcynt »

linuxviolin wrote: About add-ons, the majority of everything you need is already build-in, even ad-blocking, so what add-ons?
Everything I want is not built-in, not available.
linuxviolin wrote:This "problem" with add-ons is just silly.
To you maybe, but it's what keeps me using FF and leaning toward Chromium.
linuxviolin wrote:The discussion in this topic could be endless... :roll:
Yes it could be.
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Re: Best browser for Linux?

Post by MALsPa »

linuxviolin wrote:This "problem" with add-ons is just silly.
To you it's silly. To other people it's a big deal. Doesn't it seem obvious to you that while the things that come built-in on Opera might be enough for you, they aren't enough for other people? Or should everyone be satisfied with what you're satisfied with?

And as I mentioned before, some of us really don't care for widgets. Bleh. :lol:
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Re: Best browser for Linux?

Post by AndrewH »

Each tab in Chrome (and Chromium) is its own self-contained process. That is, if you're running 15 tabs, you're essentially running 15 separate browsers. Sounds ridiculous at first, till you realise this makes the browser extremely stable: one unstable tab doesn't crash the entire browser, just that single tab. Obviously Chrome is going to use more memory running multiple tabs than a browser that doesn't manage tabs in this manner.
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