Looking for a Firefox replacement... Again.

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joey3155

Looking for a Firefox replacement... Again.

Unread post by joey3155 » 2019-05-06, 16:38

I swear this is becoming a cycle as the years roll on.

Currently stuck with FF 56 cause Quantum breaks alot of my extensions and their Quantum equivalents are just slag due to all of the functionality WebExtensions removes from the new API... That's a code thing I deal with storytelling. So now Mozilla has borked Ublock Origin for me due to a inability to keep up with certification renewal and without the ability to override the check I now no longer have a adblocker due to no fault of my own. Even if I wanted to move to Quantum I have no idea if that would fix the problem and it's going on day 3 with no end in sight to the supposed "glitch". So I was thinking of Pale Moon since I used it before. So I'm wondering how is Pale Moon's HTML5 support?

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Nigaikaze
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Re: Looking for a Firefox replacement... Again.

Unread post by Nigaikaze » 2019-05-06, 17:27

joey3155 wrote:
2019-05-06, 16:38
So I'm wondering how is Pale Moon's HTML5 support?
I personally have never had any trouble with Pale Moon's HTML5 support. However, if you're looking to play DRM content, one caveat is that Pale Moon does not support DRM. If that's a requirement for you, you might want to take a look at Basilisk, which is another browser released by the folks behind Pale Moon.
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doofy
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Re: Looking for a Firefox replacement... Again.

Unread post by doofy » 2019-05-06, 17:36

There's a FF56 fix in this reddit thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/commen ... 602_older/

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yereverluvinuncleber
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Re: Looking for a Firefox replacement... Again.

Unread post by yereverluvinuncleber » 2019-05-06, 22:39

I converted to PM from FF quite a while ago and the conversion is more of a mental one than technical one. I think of PM as just being FF without the unfortunate politix from the equally confused management that causes them to make decisions that piss off the intelligent. Thinking of PM as the real Firefox is the thing to do to take you forward.

There are a few technical problems converting but it is all do-able. Take help from the forum when exporting your bookmarks, most of your extensions will work but some of the developers won't support PM so you may have to run a few extensions that are out of date if you insist on having a particular extension.

Captcha can be hell in PM but it seems to be less so these days. Google maps was a problem for me initially but there was a workaround, there seem to be workarounds for everything, more or less.

I backup my profile daily, weekly too as complete loss of profile seems to be a thing carried over from the FF days, it doesn't happen often but when it does it is a pain. Insure yourself against it.

You'll need Firefox to open those sites that PM struggles with (sites that aren't properly browser agnostic) and some social media sites are optimised for specific browsers so don't expect the best performance across the board. Having said that PM is generally quick and reliable, support is actually available and Moonchild and the nameless others do an amazing job being present on the forum almost 24/7 and coding too. I don't know how they do it. They seem very proficient in their chosen technology.

When you finally convert and run PM in place of FF one word of caution, think before you post on the forum, do your homework and you WILL get help but whatever you do don't piss off the Tobin. Here be Dragons.
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tuxman

Re: Looking for a Firefox replacement... Again.

Unread post by tuxman » 2019-05-06, 22:41

Oy, don't you summon him!

New Tobin Paradigm

Re: Looking for a Firefox replacement... Again.

Unread post by New Tobin Paradigm » 2019-05-06, 22:53

I know all, I see all and I READ all. WHO INVOKES MY NAME?!

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Re: Looking for a Firefox replacement... Again.

Unread post by vannilla » 2019-05-06, 23:21

Pale Moon's support of HTML5 is enough to visit the 99% of the current web that is worth anyone's time.
There is a 0.8% of websites that give problems, but then you change your user agent and suddenly the percentage of sites you can visit without issues becomes 99.8%.
And then there is a 0.2% that was designed with Chrome in mind and likely use some experimental features without having fallbacks, and the only reason it worked on Firefox is because Firefox is Chrome with a different name.
Off-topic:
To be honest if you do your homework before posting here you won't piss Tobin off most of the time...

New Tobin Paradigm

Re: Looking for a Firefox replacement... Again.

Unread post by New Tobin Paradigm » 2019-05-06, 23:59

K. Enough of the don't piss me off shit.. It's pissing me off.

CharmCityCrab

Re: Looking for a Firefox replacement... Again.

Unread post by CharmCityCrab » 2019-05-07, 05:26

joey3155 wrote:
2019-05-06, 16:38
I swear this is becoming a cycle as the years roll on.

Currently stuck with FF 56 cause Quantum breaks alot of my extensions and their Quantum equivalents are just slag due to all of the functionality WebExtensions removes from the new API... That's a code thing I deal with storytelling. So now Mozilla has borked Ublock Origin for me due to a inability to keep up with certification renewal and without the ability to override the check I now no longer have a adblocker due to no fault of my own. Even if I wanted to move to Quantum I have no idea if that would fix the problem and it's going on day 3 with no end in sight to the supposed "glitch".
Mozilla fixed this Sunday night with Firefox version 66.0.4. So, if you're willing to upgrade to that version, UBlock Origin will work for you again (I can personally confirm that it works now on both Windows 10 and Android if you are on the latest version).

Alternately, if you place a high priority on having some continued compatibility with XUL-based extensions, you could switch to Pale Moon, or, for now, Waterfox (Though Waterfox will be moving on in the long run). Pale Moon even has some themes that you can install to make it look more like Firefox if you want it to.

The one thing I don't recommend doing is sticking with Firefox 56, which no longer gets security fixes and is thus putting both your computer and a lot of other people's computers at risk (If you get infected and become an inadvertent participant in a botnet).

I don't mean to lecture you, or anyone. Obviously no one can or should be able to *force* you off old unsupported software. I just don't see the point of sticking with it in this case. If you want to stick with Firefox, jump forward to a supported version number. If you want something kind of similar to your current version of Firefox but not missing years worth of security updates, Pale Moon has you covered.

There are also a ton of other modern browsers- major and minor- that aren't missing years worth of security updates. A browser is really the last thing you want to be years behind on security updates for. Its not like a program that doesn't interact with the Internet or only does so rarely in very limited ways. And they're all free of monetary cost.

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Nigaikaze
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Re: Looking for a Firefox replacement... Again.

Unread post by Nigaikaze » 2019-05-07, 05:36

CharmCityCrab wrote:
2019-05-07, 05:26
Alternately, if you place a high priority on having some continued compatibility with XUL-based extensions, you could switch to Pale Moon, or, for now, Waterfox
Or Basilisk.
Nichi nichi kore ko jitsu = Every day is a good day.

New Tobin Paradigm

Re: Looking for a Firefox replacement... Again.

Unread post by New Tobin Paradigm » 2019-05-07, 12:11

Basilisk will give you a closer Firefox Australis style experience. Plus, webrtc and media drm.

It may be a better fit for you if you are expecting a pre-quantum but more modern feel with less work than what Pale Moon provides. After all, that is why it exists.

Pale Moon is a great general use Browser with the best potental of the two for in-the-box customizability and active extension development while Basilisk has less in-the-box customizability but more compatibility with unaltered Firefox Extensions especially late version Australis-centric and Jetpack/Add-ons SDK ones from the Classic Add-ons Archive.

Off-topic:
Of course if you wanna go off the wall crazy just wait for me to finish my Borealis Navigator which isn't Firefox based at all and will have next to no extensions on launch and make you feel like you are browsing in 2003 or something but no one can be expected to put up with that buuuut.. I am doing it anyway ;)

CHOICES!

Kingpin

Re: Looking for a Firefox replacement... Again.

Unread post by Kingpin » 2019-05-07, 14:28

You've come to the right place then, OP.

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gepus
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Re: Looking for a Firefox replacement... Again.

Unread post by gepus » 2019-05-07, 16:24

New Tobin Paradigm wrote:
2019-05-07, 12:11
Off-topic:
Of course if you wanna go off the wall crazy just wait for me to finish my Borealis Navigator which isn't Firefox based at all and will have next to no extensions on launch and make you feel like you are browsing in 2003 or something ...
Off-topic:
IMHO, no chance to feel like browsing in 2003.
Websites have changed since.
Script heavy sites offering the joy of endless ads and tracking so one can get the best browsing experience we all are striving for. :)

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Isengrim
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Re: Looking for a Firefox replacement... Again.

Unread post by Isengrim » 2019-05-07, 16:34

gepus wrote:
2019-05-07, 16:24
Off-topic:
IMHO, no chance to feel like browsing in 2003.
Websites have changed since.
Script heavy sites offering the joy of endless ads and tracking so one can get the best browsing experience we all are striving for. :)
Off-topic:
Borealis' actual web capabilities are on par with Pale Moon and Basilisk, because it's using the same platform, rendering engine, and JS engine. The application's "chrome" - the menu system, the look and feel, even some of the internal components and preferences are where most of the differences lie. Tobin can correct me if I'm mistaken, but I think that's most of it. ;)
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Re: Looking for a Firefox replacement... Again.

Unread post by Michaell » 2019-05-07, 17:45

gepus wrote:
2019-05-07, 16:24
New Tobin Paradigm wrote:
2019-05-07, 12:11
Off-topic:
Of course if you wanna go off the wall crazy just wait for me to finish my Borealis Navigator which isn't Firefox based at all and will have next to no extensions on launch and make you feel like you are browsing in 2003 or something ...
Off-topic:
IMHO, no chance to feel like browsing in 2003.
Websites have changed since.
Script heavy sites offering the joy of endless ads and tracking so one can get the best browsing experience we all are striving for. :)
Yep, and a browser that "will have next to no extensions" will be unusable for anyone who understands. Even though a lean browser sounds good, keeping extension compatibility is crucial. Unless, extension devs are suddenly going to come out of hiding and develop for this obscure UXP build (not!). Same thing for WF's new hybrid approach - I don't see that getting much dev support either. In fact that sounds worse than the problems to keep them working in the past. We almost never got native original SeaMonkey extensions, just dual support through Fx extensions, or some shoehorn technique to make them work. Everything left that's not Chromium-based seems to be getting way too splintered. I can't tell where it's going to end up but it sounds a lot like "... divided we fall". At this point, about all I am sure of is that alternatives dependent on new Firefox or Chrome/ium are not a viable option; the rest is yet to be determined.
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New Tobin Paradigm

Re: Looking for a Firefox replacement... Again.

Unread post by New Tobin Paradigm » 2019-05-07, 18:12

Off-topic:
Keeping extension compatibility with what exactly? It isn't Firefox based.. It is based on the navigator component of the communicator suite codebase post-port to toolkit.. Basically, it is the browser part of SeaMonkey.. However, it has already been changed quite a bit. Most of the chrome addresses won't match up. Expected structure won't match up. ETC. It isn't SeaMonkey.

Claiming SeaMonkey compatibility would be VERY incorrect cause there is no Composer, No MailNews, No Address Book, etc. Depending on what any given extension does it may or may not be easy to add Borealis Support. ABPrime is already compatible as will most of my other extensions plus some new ones.

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