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Mårten Björklund 🇸🇪

@ploum It's sad to see the downfall of Mozilla Firefox.

However, there is light on the horizon, Vivaldi is mature enough and resembles what Mozilla used to be.

vivaldi.com/company/

15 comments
AlexTECPlayz

@martenbjorklund @ploum The problem with Vivaldi is that it's still running on Chromium, so no, it doesn't resemble Mozilla, because it does nothing to the monopoly that Chromium has over browsers. Neither does Arc, Brave, etc.

Mårten Björklund 🇸🇪

@alextecplayz @ploum Yea, that's just it, it's not only about the tech anymore, the organization behind the project matters even more, as this entire thread displays.

I was there when Netscape Navigator started working on Gecko in 1997 and I'm ditching it now.

AlexTECPlayz

@martenbjorklund @ploum Yes, but again, Vivaldi (as a company) does nothing to move away from depending on Google. We need both, if we want a truly viable alternative to this monopoly.

Mårten Björklund 🇸🇪

@alextecplayz @ploum True, right now.

Chromium is released under the BSD-license and is decoupled from Google.

Here is the code if you want to see for yourself: source.chromium.org/chromium

AlexTECPlayz

@martenbjorklund @ploum Chromium is NOT decoupled from Google, despite the "Chromium Projects" umbrella, Chromium is not an independent entity from Google, plus the bulk of the commits are made by Google employees.

The same applies to Gecko and Firefox. They're both controlled and overseen by Mozilla Corporation, a subsidiary of Mozilla Foundation. Donations to the Foundation do not go towards Firefox or Gecko.

This solves nothing. While Chromium is very good when it comes to security, privacy (capabilities), performance compared to Gecko and WebKit, we can't solve the monopoly issue by promoting or developing more Chromium browsers.

Servo and Verso are coming along well, so they might be a viable alternative in like 5 years or so, but will Gecko and Firefox survive that long without being thoroughly infested and enshittified due to Mozilla's stupid decisions?

@martenbjorklund @ploum Chromium is NOT decoupled from Google, despite the "Chromium Projects" umbrella, Chromium is not an independent entity from Google, plus the bulk of the commits are made by Google employees.

The same applies to Gecko and Firefox. They're both controlled and overseen by Mozilla Corporation, a subsidiary of Mozilla Foundation. Donations to the Foundation do not go towards Firefox or Gecko.

Mårten Björklund 🇸🇪

@alextecplayz @ploum You are correct, what I meant is that it is decoupled from Google services.

But again, that's not the point, the point is that the organisation behind a software project is MUCH MUCH more important than the tech right now.

🔗 David Sommerseth

@martenbjorklund @alextecplayz @ploum

If you want an ungoogled Chromium ... this is the closest you get these days ...

ungoogled-software.github.io/

Some might find @Vivaldi a viable alternative as well - but not sure how deep they go into the code to decouple Google.

Uraael

@alextecplayz@techhub.social @martenbjorklund@mastodon.nu @ploum@mamot.fr

So here's the problem, the catch-22 Vivaldi, and Opera before them, have been in since their creation.

* Everyone keeps finding a reason NOT to support them.
* Without the support, they stay small.
* At that size they cannot afford to look at making a whole new browser engine.
* Which becomes a reason NOT to support them.
* Without the support, they stay small...

...and so on.

In terms of Morals and Ethics they are and always have been what everyone hoped Mozilla were. They've been at the forefront of battling to keep the web open every chance they get, with Microsoft during the IE6 days and yes with Google during the Chrome days. They've even been bullied into spoofing themselves as Chrome to keep their browser functional. But they respect Privacy. They respect and champion open web standards. They publicly came out against AI.

If we don't rally behind someone that's going to do that for us we risk losing them too.

Imagine a world where Vivaldi had 30% browser share or more. Imagine what they could accomplish FOR US with that strength.

But we don't get there if everyone is always "Ew, Chromium".

@alextecplayz@techhub.social @martenbjorklund@mastodon.nu @ploum@mamot.fr

So here's the problem, the catch-22 Vivaldi, and Opera before them, have been in since their creation.

* Everyone keeps finding a reason NOT to support them.
* Without the support, they stay small.
* At that size they cannot afford to look at making a whole new browser engine.
* Which becomes a reason NOT to support them.
* Without the support, they stay small...

...and so on.

In terms of Morals and Ethics they are and always...

0xC0DEC0DE07E8

@martenbjorklund it’s still Chromium under the hood. If all browsers run on Google’s rendering, then de facto Google decides what the web looks like. There need to be alternatives with market share to push back.
This is ignoring the very real ways their search dominance gave rise to the SEO trash we now deal with.
@ploum

ʙwɑnɑ нoɴoʟʊʟʊ ✅

@martenbjorklund Vivaldi is yet another Blink-/Chromium-based browser. If Firefox dies, it will take Gecko with it, so the only up-to-date browser engine will be under Google's control, and I don't see a replacement for that on the horizon. Also, Vivaldi is only freeware, even though it has open source parts, it is proprietary. Doesn't sound like an alternative to me. 😕

@ploum

Mårten Björklund 🇸🇪

@bwana @ploum Once again, the organization behind a software project matters more than the tech, right now.

If we support the people with the right intentions and they grow, hopefully they can do more about the tech.

ʙwɑnɑ нoɴoʟʊʟʊ ✅

@martenbjorklund Right, the organization behind a software project matters, and the organization behind Blink is Google.
The web used to be an ecosystem, at least for a while, but it's close to being a monoculture now, under the control of a single entity.

What could Vivaldi do to wrestle control over Blink out of Google's hands?

@ploum

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