I’ve been reading a lot recently about people making the “switch” to Google Chrome. I just moved to a Mac for everyday use and I understand why Safari is great now. I also understand why Chrome is great, because I’ve had it installed on my Vista machine since it came out, and recently I’ve been using it more and more. I get it, Chrome is light and fast, Safari is light and fast. WebKit is snappy, Chrome’s engine(s) are snappy.
But… I am sticking with Mozilla and Firefox as my primary browser on both the Mac and the PC. Here’s why:
- Firefox has been 10 years in the making and it’s clear the company is dedicated to producing a world-class web browser.
- I believe in the Mozilla Foundation and the Mozilla Manifesto. I think they are doing the right thing and they are a company whose values I share for the web and the future.
- I like the talent that Mozilla has attracted and many of the developers who work on Firefox are amazing individuals.
- Firefox is open-source and always will be. It’s developed by the people and for the people. Anyone can see what they are up to and extend the power of Firefox by contributing and making it better.
- Firefox is an international effort supported and developed by thousands of people worldwide.
- Extensions – Firefox has a massive add-on atmosphere and many of the extensions are top notch. I can’t live without at least three or four popular Firefox extensions.
- Mozilla has stated that their purpose for Firefox is to make the web a better place to be. The browser is our access to the growing and expanding Internet, and the goal is to make that access the best it can possibly be.
- Firefox 3.1 will contain performance enhancements that will meet or beat the JavaScript engines of both Chrome and Safari.
- Mozilla’s dedication to security, the openness of the web, and its add-on platform help me trust the company and their goals.
As far as the downside to Chrome and Safari, they don’t have many of the features that Firefox has. Chrome is a stripped down browser with speed and simplicity as its only hallmarks. Only time will tell if Chrome can build to the level of browser that Firefox currently is. Bottom line here, sure Chrome is awesome, but Firefox is better overall and I don’t see any compelling reason to completely switch to Chrome or Safari. Firefox will get more performance enhancements soon and in the future. In fact, I’m thankful for Chrome because it has heated up the browser wars which is pushing Mozilla even further. This is good for competition. It’s the same reason why I’m thankful for AMD.
Conclusion? Firefox is a better all around browser compared to Safari and Chrome, and Firefox 3.1 will provide the same performance as Chrome/Safari. So at that point, why switch?? Firefox gives you everything you need and could want in a web browser. Also, we don’t truly know the intentions Google has for Chrome. Also, Chrome is build on Gecko and WebKit so it’s really a mix of existing open-source platforms. Mozilla pioneered Gecko and they have made it so much better in the last ten years. They’ve rebuilt it, stripped away the excess and inefficient code. They’ve made Gecko a force to be reckoned with, and we’ll see that early next year. Gecko also has the best adherance to web standards as far as I know with Acid 2 and Acid 3. Firefox 3.1 beats Chrome and Safari in SunSpider tests too.
For all of these reasons and more, I’ll be sticking with Firefox as my primary web browser. Sure, I’ll be using Chrome and Safari frequently, but I don’t see switching to them anytime soon. Mozilla is a company I belive in.
(NOTE: You’ll notice I didn’t mention Internet Explorer or Opera… that’s because in my opinion they are useless browsers. Opera doesn’t have ANY compelling features and is just a non-issue. Internet Explorer sucks and everyone knows that.)
