Browser suggestions? (for specific tasks)

[Slickone]

Looking for suggestions from people who've tried most of the browsers out there. I'm looking for the best browser for each of two situations (so two different browsers, likely). This includes lesser used browsers, not just the popular ones. ie. Pale Moon, Basilisk, Waterfox, Sea Monkey, Maxthon, Vivaldi. I will not install Chrome or Edge however.

1. Which browser would be best if I only want a separate browser install to use for Gmail (to more quickly access a separate Google account)? Looking for fast startup time, and fast rendering of Gmail's bloated UI.

2. Which browser would handle having several youtube (or others) video stream tabs open and me switching back and forth between them? Looking for fast switching, and the browser not getting to slow to make it difficult to access UI features (full sceen, etc.).

 

[mrjimphelps]

I use Firefox for most browsing. I use Opera as my secondary browser. Basically I use whichever one works best for whichever website I am visiting.

If your computer doesn't have much memory, it won't matter which browser you are using; the browser can do only so much. Make sure you have at least 8 GB of memory, if your computer will let you install that much.

 

[michael diemer]

You might consider Chromium. Not the same thing as Chrome, but similar. My understanding is that Chromium is the open-source project that Chrome is based on. Theoretically, it doesn't track you, at least as much as Chromium, but I have seen conflicting opinions on this. But it is fast and efficient, if that is what you are looking for. If tracking is an issue (and it should be for everyone), I would do some research. There may be ways to insure it would not track you (Chromium, that is). I doubt that you can make Chrome not track you; it's what it does, like Google. It's how they make money. Since Chromium is open-source, it doesn't try to make money, other than donations, of course.

 

[Slickone]

You might consider Chromium. Not the same thing as Chrome, but similar. My understanding is that Chromium is the open-source project that Chrome is based on. Theoretically, it doesn't track you, at least as much as Chromium, but I have seen conflicting opinions on this. But it is fast and efficient, if that is what you are looking for. If tracking is an issue (and it should be for everyone), I would do some research. There may be ways to insure it would not track you (Chromium, that is). I doubt that you can make Chrome not track you; it's what it does, like Google. It's how they make money. Since Chromium is open-source, it doesn't try to make money, other than donations, of course.

Thanks for the tip. Do you know if Chromium installs anything else that always runs, even when the browser isn't running? Chrome did when I tried it a few years ago.

 

[file3456]

Yo do know you can use SMTP with Gmail and Thunderbird? You don't need to use their asinine web interface. You might have to go into Gmail's settings and disable less secure Apps though.

 

[michael diemer]

Thanks for the tip. Do you know if Chromium installs anything else that always runs, even when the browser isn't running? Chrome did when I tried it a few years ago.

I don't. But one thing you can do with Chromium is to not use the Chrome Store. That may be opening a door. Just keep it simple, don't download alternate themes etc.

 

[Slickone]

I don't. But one thing you can do with Chromium is to not use the Chrome Store. That may be opening a door. Just keep it simple, don't download alternate themes etc.

FYI, this has some good info on Chromium (vs Chrome), and says Chromium does not include the background auto-update task (good IMO), or all the telemetry junk that Chrome has. It also doesn't include the H.264 support the Chrome has, which I think youtube, etc uses, so I'm not sure how that'll work out.