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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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No web browser offers a good out of the box experience. (self.linux)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by the_crab_man to c/[email protected]

83 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I feel like there is no web browser with a sane default configuration that I can recommend to other people. All browsers are preconfigured in a way that harms the privacy of their users or include services that no one wants such as Pocket and BAT.

Here are my problems with some popular browsers.

Mozilla Firefox: Pocket integration, no ad-blocking without extensions.
Brave: Everything related to crypto. Also its start page is horrible.
Chromium: No ad-blocking without extensions and soon Manifest v3 will cripple all content blockers.

Now, these suboptimal defaults wouldn't be such a big problem if the configuration files were easy to backup and restore and respected the XDG base directory specification.

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[+] the_crab_man -14 points 1 year ago (3 children)

And I'd have to do that manually for every computer on which I install the browser. I can't just tell someone to install a browser and use it as is, there are always several additional steps required after install to have a decent experience. This is especially a problem for people who are not tech savvy.

[–] deong 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Or just use their built in sync and sign in one time, and all your addons will be installed and enabled for you.

If your argument boils down to "none of the browsers are exactly pre-configured for me, one of the 7 billion not special people on the planet", I’m not sure there’s a productive conversation to be had here.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Use NixOS, nix package manager or home manager, declaratively add all the extensions and config you want, boom same browser every time

People who are not tech savvy can handle installing a browser extension manually the one or two times they have to set one up

[–] Qvest 5 points 1 year ago

You can backup your profile folder. See here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/back-and-restore-information-firefox-profiles