Browser Usage

[Trail Images]

I was curious what web browser photographers find best. I've used Firefox since it was first released and the old MS I.E. was going away. My main issue is that Firefox thru the years with updates the "color management" settings have fallen out and required going back into "about:config" to reestablish the settings. The later releases that issue seemed to have been fixed and settings remained from one update to another. However, most recently after reviewing the settings as being correct when reviewing my recently posted images they all seemed to be over saturated as uploaded sRGB images. I made a couple recommended changes and they seemed better. However, not the same as what I see with Chrome & Edge as being closer to what I see in Photoshop as a converted from Adobe RGB working space to sRGB.
Not looking for any miracle solutions for Firefox as for many years it worked very well for reviewing and critiquing images on line. However, if it is not a solid browser for photographic usage anymore I wanted to see what others are using. Thank you for your polling input.

 

[markjwyatt]

Chrome works best across all my current activities. In the past Firefox was better, but no longer. I am sure this could change in the future, as I am seeing some issues in some areas (mainly work related).

 

[gone]

I've been happy w/ my Brave browser for years. Firefox just got more and more bloated, and Chrome eats up my memory w/ it's idiotic software reporter tool.

Brave has a built-in ad block that works great, and the browser is lightweight compared to Firefox or Chrome. I never let it update, and am not even sure if there in an update, but it wouldn't matter. That's my cardinal rule: never let anything update, ever. My @!*&#!! phone updated, and now almost nothing on it works right.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I've been happy w/ my Brave browser for years. Firefox just got more and more bloated, and Chrome eats up my memory w/ it's idiotic software reporter tool.

Brave has a built-in ad block that works great, and the browser is lightweight compared to Firefox or Chrome. I never let it update, and am not even sure if there in an update, but it wouldn't matter. That's my cardinal rule: never let anything update, ever. My @!*&#!! phone updated, and now almost nothing on it works right.

Updates are needed to stop vulnerabilities and protect the user from hackers. It is wise to keep all software up to date.

 

[Trail Images]

Thank you each for your poll inputs......
Seems like no overwhelming browser preference per se. After making the latest changes to Firefox it does seem a bit better. But I'll need to bounce between it and Chrome for awhile to make sure I've worked things out with regard to color management issues.......

 

[JerseyDoug]

Any reason for not including Safari on the list? I use it for everything but streaming Youtube TV, which Apple doesn't support. I use Firefox for that.

 

[gone]

I've been hearing that I should be updating my browser for many years. There's no real evidence for it, it's just a belief. The truth is that none of my browsers, or the wife's, have been updated for nearly 20 years. None of our computers have anti virus on them either. You don't need security patches or anti virus on OS that hardly anyone uses anymore.

These are all Win 7 or XP machines that haven't been updated for two decades. The one Linux machine that we both loved committed suicide.......during an update.

 

[Patrick Robert James]

Safari is my main one. Lots of adblockers added to it though. I don't use Chrome. Terrible tracking with that. Might as well just have Google pull up a chair next to you. Lol.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I've been hearing that I should be updating my browser for many years. There's no real evidence for it, it's just a belief. The truth is that none of my browsers, or the wife's, have been updated for nearly 20 years. None of our computers have anti virus on them either. You don't need security patches or anti virus on OS that hardly anyone uses anymore.

These are all Win 7 or XP machines that haven't been updated for two decades. The one Linux machine that we both loved committed suicide.......during an update.

Do you have any inkling why software is updated? And your degree in Computer Science came from where?

 

[Sirius Glass]

I use FireFox with Adblocker Plus for FireFox, Privacy Badger and DuckDuckGo to block out the tracking.

 

[Trail Images]

Safari is my main one. Lots of adblockers added to it though. I don't use Chrome. Terrible tracking with that. Might as well just have Google pull up a chair next to you. Lol.

I'd not heard or seen anyone using Safari on a PC. I use it on my iPhone all the time. I will be cautious about Chrome as it does have pop ups asking things already.
My only real issue with Firefox to date was the failing of color management over the years. I made some changes once again and think I might have it looking on line now the same as Chrome & Edge. I'd noticed Firefox was showing my sRGB images on a post & critique site as "juiced" up from what I saw in Photoshop, Chrome & Edge. Again, I think I might have it fixed after doing a about:config changes to a couple color management perimeters.
This article is good for testing any browser for color management issues. Browser Color Management & Testing

 

[Eric Rose]

I use Brave which uses the chrome backend but has better privacy.

 

[Trail Images]

I use Brave which uses the chrome backend but has better privacy.

Thank you, Eric. I'll take a look see at that one too......

 

[grat]

I've been hearing that I should be updating my browser for many years. There's no real evidence for it, it's just a belief. The truth is that none of my browsers, or the wife's, have been updated for nearly 20 years. None of our computers have anti virus on them either. You don't need security patches or anti virus on OS that hardly anyone uses anymore.

These are all Win 7 or XP machines that haven't been updated for two decades. The one Linux machine that we both loved committed suicide.......during an update.

Right, because all code is created perfectly the first try. You say you haven't updated for two decades-- but Windows XP came out in 2003, and if you're not running at least XP SP2, you're insane. Windows 7 came out in 2009, and Brave only came out in 2019 (and is my browser of choice).

I suspect your linux system died because you haven't updated your hardware in 20+ years either.

There are reasons to not update software, or operating systems-- but as a blanket policy, it's asinine.

Further, with the major changes to SSL/TLS, and the deprecation of many security protocols as no longer being secure, it's just about impossible that you're using the modern web with XP and a 20 year old browser.

I'm starting to suspect you're just winding people up.

 

[runswithsizzers]

I'd not heard or seen anyone using Safari on a PC. I use it on my iPhone all the time.
[...]

According to <this webpage> "Apple discontinued Windows support for its flagship browser back in 2012."

In spite of that, when I search for "most popular browser" or "most widely used browser" Safari almost always comes in as second, third, or fourth place. If you were able to limit the results to Windows users, only, no doubt the ratings would be much different.

 

[markjwyatt]

I use Dissenter once in a while also. It is billed as a free speech browser.

 

[Trail Images]

WOW, lots of choices and also a variety of good and bad I suspect. To be honest I'd not even heard of a couple the browsers listed. I know Firefox became fairly popular when the earlier MS I.E. was going away. Although Firefox was a pain after each update with the lost color management items for the most part they'd fixed that until just recently and all of a sudden it began over saturation issues once again.
Anyway, hard to say which of them will remain steady enough to hold their list of given users.