I’ve used a lot of browsers ever since I had a computer of my own. Everything from the old school browsers like Netscape, all the way to the well known ones like Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Safari.
The one I’ve stuck with the most is Google Chrome (used Firefox before that). I’ve been using it consistently for the past 10 years. There’s definitely a convenience of using the Google sync feature, especially since I use G Suite for my freelance business and for my job as well. However, for the past few years, I’ve noticed how much of a memory hog Chrome has become. Even having a good CPU and RAM (I have 32GB of RAM on my current PC), Chrome feels sluggish and like it’s hogging up my memory. I’m a power user when it comes to using a web browser, I usually have quite a lot of tabs open at the same time and tend to do several things at once, along with the use of specific extensions to help with different things. My way of using the browser certainly doesn’t help the memory issue, but it SHOULD be better (and faster) in terms of performance with the equipment I have.
One thing that held me back from switching to Firefox was the Profile Management. Firefox has one, but it wasn’t as intuitive as the one Chrome had. Plus, I ran into some issues with it when doing a Firefox test run a about two years ago. Another issue I had was that some of the extensions/add-ons I used for Chrome weren’t available (yet) for Firefox.
This past week, I decided to update Firefox and give it another try. Was very delighted to see that all the add-ons I used on Chrome were available for Firefox. And thanks to some friends on Twitter, was able to find an easier way to use multiple instances of the same website (Gmail, Google Drive, etc.), the Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on. While I will need to keep using profiles for things like my job and freelance work, I can use the multi-account containers for more casual use.
I’ve been using Firefox exclusively for a few days and I can definitely feel a difference in performance. The browser runs a lot faster, which was my goal. Everything’s working well so far, so I think I’ve found a keeper. Let’s see how it goes.
Question Time:
What browser do you use? What’s your favorite thing about it?
I totally understand about the memory hog. I ended up looking for ways to manage it myself and installed extensions like OneTab and Great Suspender. I use to use Firefox exclusively but ran into so many issues with it crashing that I switched back to Chrome. Glad to hear that FF is working wonderfully for you.
Yeah, I also tried OneTab and Great Suspender and it didn’t seem to help much. So far, Firefox hasn’t crashed so I’m hoping it behaves.
I’m not entirely sure why I made the switch from Firefox to Chrome. It may have been because Firefox was a memory hog at the time, or because it lacked a reliable ad-blocker add-on. I’m still using Chrome right now because I’m used to its developer tools, and I (currently) don’t have issues with RAM usage.
Honestly though, I think Chrome and Firefox are two of the best browsers ever. :)
Interesting that you found better luck with Chrome! Definitely agree that both are great browsers. I still use Chrome at work since we use G Suite and it’s a lot easier to have everything synced. Being able to use both browsers I can appreciate their pros a lot more. Thank you for stopping by my blog and commenting Louise! :)
Slow browsers are beyond frustrating… I hope Firefox will work out better for you. They’ve been focusing a lot on speed these past few years with their new Firefox Quantum version and I’m personally a big fan of it.
I had never heard of the Multi-Account Containers addon before, but it sounds really interesting! Will have to remember that if I ever decide to get monogamous with a browser. So far I’ve made it easy on myself by simply using Firefox exclusively for work (hi btw! I’m a web developer too 😊 ) and Chrome exclusively for private stuff.