Things That Work: Firefox

I’ve used a number of different browsers over the years. In fact, I’ve used more browsers than I realized, once I started compiling idea for this post.

When I first started using computers, my primary browser was Internet Explorer. I don’t recall exactly what year this was, but it was prior to the advent of Firefox and Chrome. And for years, that’s what I used. I vaguely recall using Netscape Navigator, actually, at one point, but I don’t think it ever stuck.

In the early to mid-2000s, I found out about Firefox, and switched to it as my primary browser. My reasoning, as I recall, was better support of web standards. At the time I was playing around with designing websites, and it just worked better.

Around 2005, I got my first Mac, which introduced me to Safari. I used it some, but I’ve always had weird issues with Safari, even to this day, and so it’s always a backup option, not my primary. I stuck with Firefox during that time (I think). Until…

The year I graduated from college was the year that Google Chrome came out, and I pretty quickly switched to using that full time. In fact, I would go on to use Chrome, or a Chrome-based browser, until about 3 years ago. I was heavy into the Google ecosystem, and overall I liked the performance.

Sometime during 2017 I gave Firefox another chance. I don’t recall exactly what made me try it, honestly. It may have been a podcast I was listening to. Or perhaps I was looking at ways to move away from the Google suite of products. In any case, slightly before Firefox 57 (Quantum), I switched back to Firefox, and haven’t really looked back since.

So why am I on Firefox? Is it the amazing performance? Not really. Firefox is good, but Chrome is often still faster. Is it the most beautiful browser? By no means. It’s good, but still not as good as Chrome, or one of the Chrome derivatives. My main reasons for using Firefox are two-fold: it’s a FOSS product (that actually works), and the extension ecosystem is amazing.

A few months ago I created a page on this site that listed all of the extensions I use, and why I use them. Of all of those, my absolute favorite is Multi-Account Containers. The ability to be logged into the same website with different accounts, and to keep history/tracking separate, has proven useful time and time again.

Anyhow. There’s a short trip down memory lane for me, and a very brief explanation of why I use Firefox.

I’m publishing this as part of 100 Days To Offload (Day 58/100). You can join in yourself by visiting https://100DaysToOffload.com.