Google Chrome or Chromium [SOLVED]

[madtux2006]

Which browser should I install? Google Chrome of Chromium. I'm asking this question because in the Software Manager I can't find Google Chrome browser but only Chromium. From what I have read, Chromium is the open-source version of Google Chrome. There is a .deb file which will install Google Chrome but it won't regular software updates from the Update Manager, so I was thinking of installing Chromium. But is Chromium browser is the same as Chrome? I need Google Chrome because I use the Chrome browser in my Android smart-phone and it comes pre-loaded. Chrome or Chromium - I just want to know the differences between the two besides the face that Chromium is open-source and Chrome proprietary. I want to sync my bookmarks and everything from my Android phone.

[michael louwe]

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You should go with Chrome. For more info ... https://www.howtogeek.com/202825/what%E ... nd-chrome/

[revian]

Which browser should I install? Google Chrome of Chromium. I'm asking this question because in the Software Manager I can't find Google Chrome browser but only Chromium. From what I have read, Chromium is the open-source version of Google Chrome. There is a .deb file which will install Google Chrome but it won't regular software updates from the Update Manager, so I was thinking of installing Chromium. But is Chromium browser is the same as Chrome? I need Google Chrome because I use the Chrome browser in my Android smart-phone and it comes pre-loaded. Chrome or Chromium - I just want to know the differences between the two besides the face that Chromium is open-source and Chrome proprietary. I want to sync my bookmarks and everything from my Android phone.

Chrome - maintained and distributed by Google. This browser is not available from the Mint repos but can be installed via a package provided by Google. When installed, a cron job is also implemented in order to update the browser.

Chromium - an open source web browser distributed by the Chromium Project. This browser is available from the Mint repos and can be updated via the update mechanism provided in Linux Mint.

The two browsers share the majority of code and features, though there are some minor differences in features, logos, and they have different licensing.

[Kyowash]

Well, apparently the Chromium package found in the repos has flash, but I don't know if some proprietary codecs work (to see sites like Netflix). Google Chrome is Chromium plus some features added by Google. Chromium is open source whereas Chrome is not. Chromium is available for 32-bit and 64-bit machines while Chrome is only available for 64-bit machines. I would use Chromium as it is in the repos, but if you miss something from Chrome (they're almost the same thing anyway) then use Chrome.
You also mention you want Chrome because you use it on Android to sync them. If I recall correctly, Chrome and Chromium can be synced together.

[Hoser Rob]

.... There is a .deb file which will install Google Chrome but it won't regular software updates from the Update Manager....

That's mistaken. Chrome installed form a .deb file updates like any other app installed using gdebi etc. It's apps built from source that don't get updates via update manager.

If you have 32 bit hardware you have to install chromium because 32 bit chrome is no longer supported.

Otherwise just dl the deb file from the Google site and right click i to install. It's too much of a PITA getting chromium to do mundane things like, say, watch Netflix.

The FOSS argument for chromium, wihich is the one usually put forth, is bogus nowadays. Everyone's switching to HTML5 from Flash if they haven't already. And HTML5 has DRM built in, which is by definition closed source, so you cannot make a browser useable by the average user that's all FOSS. Even Firefox has it now, and being FOSS was frankly the only asset they had left.

[Moem]

I like Chromium, and I don't watch Netflix anyway, so for me, that argument is bogus ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It does everything that I need it to do. I avoid all things Google, so Chrome is not for me.

[revian]

For those who don't know, you can watch Netflix on the version of Firefox that ships with Mint 18.2 - you only need to toggle on the DRM option in Firefox preferences.

[MintBean]

Revian beat me to it. Ditto for Amazon video.

[revian]

..Ditto for Amazon video.

Oh, nice to know.. thank you. Also hulu.

[Kyowash]

The problem is if you can sync Chromium with Google Chrome for Android, but both use a Google account, so I guess it could work.

[jsb]

I avoid all things Google, so Chrome is not for me.

I think that and things like Netflix are probably the only reasons to prefer one over the other. But since the OP wants to sync with an android phone, there is clearly no desire to avoid google.

Using chromium but logging in to a google account in order to sync may work too, but there doesn't seem to be any reason to do it that way rather than just using chrome.

[Penn]

But is Chromium browser is the same as Chrome?

There is some amount of what seems to be misinformation in this thread but to answer this a bit more direct, no they are not entirely the same. Chrome has some bits of proprietary coding on top of the open source base of Chromium. To some this matters and to others it doesn't. As evidenced by this exchange.

I avoid all things Google, so Chrome is not for me.

I think that and things like Netflix are probably the only reasons to prefer one over the other. But since the OP wants to sync with an android phone, there is clearly no desire to avoid google.

Using chromium but logging in to a google account in order to sync may work too, but there doesn't seem to be any reason to do it that way rather than just using chrome.

Linux is mostly built on free and open source mentality. Moem, if I am correct, sees two flaws in using Chrome. One is the proprietary (closed source) coding itself instead of open source. However what I believe may be more important to her is what is actually in that proprietary portion of that browser. Tracking and data mining. (edit, the word free in "free and open source does not reflect monetary cost but freedom, as in free to use it how you want. I suggest looking into FOSS on your own)

If that second is an issue to you, either Firefox or Chromium may be the answer but even with those, YOU need to turn things OFF. Any thing in either that uses an online service to help you with searches. Every thing (except requesting no tracking) in the privacy section of settings that you can uncheck in the Chrome/Chromium browsers uses Google services and you are tracked to one degree or another. Equivalent settings exist in Firefox.

But - if open source means nothing to you or you like giving your browsing behavior to a data gathering/selling giant like Google then maybe you would agree with jsb.

Granted, until Ubuntu catches up to Debian Stretch by using a Widevine compatible version of Chromium you can't view DRM content. Well, to my understanding you actually can use Chromium Widevine in Ubuntu but I have yet to see confirmation on this board that the excessive work can yield results. Even so, DRM itself is not only closed source but is in place to protect proprietary content. To go truly open source you have to make compromises.

As to incorrect info in this thread - Unless something has changed since I last used Chrome about 2 years ago, when you install the Chrome deb file it adds its own repository to handle updates and that would mean updates would come through update manager. I know the short time I had Chrome installed I did get an update through there.

[madtux2006]

Thank you everyone. Your replies were really helpful. I went ahead and installed Chrome. Before installing I read a number of articles too on Chrome and Chromium. I even asked the Google Assistant on my Android to suggest me whether I should install Chrome or Chromium and it replied, "I'm not sure I'm qualified. The Internet can give you better advice"

The only difference between Chrome and Chromium which matters to me is that Chrome includes some extra codecs which are needed to play proprietary media formats. I'm not a die-hard open-source fan. And I guess most Linux Mint users ain't either because we all tick that box to install third-party software (fluendo mp3 plugin) at the time of installing Mint. Fedora is one distro which is open-source from top to bottom; I had to manually search the net on how to install the codecs necessary to play a simple mp3 song. That is not to say that Fedora is better. There are many other distros which ship with only open-source software but Fedora is the only one I have used. But no matter which distro I use, I always find myself coming back to Mint. Also, Mint is the only distro which I follow closely (irrespective of whichever OS or device I use). I follow Mint on twitter and whenever I see a new post, I read that. Maya introduced me to the world of Linux, so I love Mint.
[Maya is the codename of Linux Mint 13]
Ok, I have gone off-topic. Pardon me.

Thanks Hoser Rob and Penn. I had the misconception that if I install any app via a .deb file then it won't get automatic updates through the Update Manager.

Also, I'd like to add this link here which influenced me to install Chrome http://www.linuxandubuntu.com/home/goog ... s-chromium

The last paragraph of the article says, "Google chrome is faster and handles some processes much better because it chooses the best product regardless of it being proprietary or open-source. Everything in Chromium is aimed at ending up in Google Chrome. Google Chrome adds unto Chromium hence more features and as such is not fully open source. So there you have it, open-source-ness or features, you decide. If you choose to go with Chromium, please note that you should update it yourself at least every few weeks to take advantage of bug fixes and also to stay safe. It’s a dangerous world online."

[minitux]

chrome is update with the system, when You install it also add the repository and when a browser update is released it is available with other system updates.

[jsb]

Linux is mostly built on free and open source mentality. Moem, if I am correct, sees two flaws in using Chrome. One is the proprietary (closed source) coding itself instead of open source. However what I believe may be more important to her is what is actually in that proprietary portion of that browser. Tracking and data mining.

If that second is an issue to you, either Firefox or Chromium may be the answer but even with those, YOU need to turn things OFF. Any thing in either that uses an online service to help you with searches. Every thing (except requesting no tracking) in the privacy section of settings that you can uncheck in the Chrome/Chromium browsers uses Google services and you are tracked to one degree or another. Equivalent settings exist in Firefox.

But - if open source means nothing to you or you like giving your browsing behavior to a data gathering/selling giant like Google then maybe you would agree with jsb.

But would there any difference in tracking, given the OP's stated desire "to sync my bookmarks and everything from my Android phone"?

I was assuming that if you are going to choose settings that allow syncing, that is making the decision that "you like giving your browsing behavior to a data gathering/selling giant like Google", whether using chrome or chromium (or firefox). Or is it that we can't really know what Chrome is tracking, no matter what setting you choose, because it is not FOSS?

[Penn]

But would there any difference in tracking, given the OP's stated desire "to sync my bookmarks and everything from my Android phone"?

I was assuming that if you are going to choose settings that allow syncing, that is making the decision that "you like giving your browsing behavior to a data gathering/selling giant like Google", whether using chrome or chromium (or firefox). Or is it that we can't really know what Chrome is tracking, no matter what setting you choose, because it is not FOSS?

Valid assumption. My reason for pointing out what I did is a matter of informed consent. Some people don't know what Google is really doing so when they use those services and products so they aren't truly informed (which extends beyond just madtux2006 to a person just reading the thread). I have seen people change their minds on how they use their devices once they know. Likewise, some don't know the principles of FOSS and will choose it once they understand what it is.

I do use some Google and other proprietary stuff but I try to limit my usage of each.