Might be worth pointing out: http://code.google.com/p/chromium/wi...VsGoogleChrome

If the code is basically the same with the exception of the proprietary plug-ins and logo, then I'd call it the same browser.

Think about if you'd want to see as options:

• Gentoo chromium
• Gentoo chromium-bin
• Debian chromium
• Fedora chromium

Seems a little ridiculous unless you're looking at a bug only occurring on one or two distributions. Different people compiled and tested each package, but it's the same browser.

Yes true, but they are being run by 2 different teams. I believe the Chrome team is either the same one that is working on Chrome OS, or is atleast working very closely with them. And Chromium is open sourced and used as the testing ground for some things. I do believe that the Chromium team is under the pay roll of Google. But Chrome is Closed Source and Patented, and that means something MUST be different about it other wise there would be no reason to have it closed while an exact duplicate is open and able to be copied and sold as something else.

I am not a programmer and Don't even know how to look at the code of a program much less compare it and see what's different and what's the same. But Google is smart and would not make something that is patent encumbered be identical to something that is Open Sourced, Especially if it's their own product!! lol But just my thoughts. I have to admit I like the Chrome icon much better, pretty colors look better on the old eyes.

@ goanna300

Hey Goanna300 (aka Steve) What are your thoughts? given you excitement and glee of the debate, I imagine you have a very interesting and intriguing take on this topic.

Well, Clem, nobody much has said anything about Google doing stuff to open source which I would have expected to have provoked outcry.
The pervading silence intrigues me. Like the Emperor's New Clothes.
From Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium_(engine)
"In September 2008, Google released a large portion of Chrome's source code, including its V8 JavaScript engine, as an open source project entitled Chromium.[2][3] This move enabled third-party developers to study the underlying source code and to help convert the browser to the Mac OS X and Linux operating systems. Google also expressed hope that other browsers would adopt V8 to improve web application performance.[4] The Google-authored portion of Chromium is released under the permissive BSD license,[5] which allows portions to be incorporated into both open source and closed source software programs."
Sponsorship of open-source software is commonplace. Oracle sponsors Open Office, Canonical/Ubuntu, etc.
I prefer PostgreSql to Oracle because it's Open Source. With browsers, when I see the words "user tracking" I head for the hills
FWIW
Steve

chrome is the fatest i think!!
chrome

I kept hearing that Firefox was slower than Chrome and Opera so I decided to test it. I built Chromium and also installed Opera. They both start faster than Firefox, but the page loading in Firefox 4 beta 9 is much faster than in the other two. Opera has even got into some sort of a loop in a web page I was visiting, not loading at all. Not a very good impression.

Edit: Just wanted to add that the no script and adblock implementations are very imperfect ouside of Firefox and that's a deal breaker for me.

Firefox is slower than Chrome by a second or two on my machine. But 99% of human history consists of hunting, gathering, and living in caves, so I can live with that.

Has anyone tried this to speed up firefox?
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php...ox_using_tmpfs

I'm doing it on my ARCH install and have noticed a speedup
I wonder how to verify a speedup though?

Bleachbit also helps keep firefox clean too

OH, not mentioned in the Poll but Swiftfox runs about 25mb less ram than firefox on my install also...
http://getswiftfox.com/

I also avoid user-tracking as much as I can. I use uzbl with privoxy... and occasional cookie cleaning with a sed/grep script. It appears that there's a big enough difference between Chromium and Chrome that it would warrant separate votes (just add them together if you want a general statistic). After all... one's open source, and one's not.

As to whether we should have separate votes for Firefox and Iceweasel... Find me one human who does not actually work on iceweasel that would install it on a non-debian system. Seems to me it's not an issue of features (user-tracknig vs. no proprietary convenience plugins), but of licensing (Debian must be pure of all things closed and restricted and those things which are hidden from view, thus say the devs of Debian). I'd imagine that Ubuntu chose Firefox over iceweasel because the familiar branding should make it easier for Windows users to switch over to linux ("hey, it's good ol' Firefox!").

Though I poke fun at Debian, it's still a personal favorite distibution of mine, and I appreciate what they do on the legal front when they make a totally open distribution that can either be kept pure or mixed with proprietary things for convenience. If we get a crackdown from corporate interests, it's my humble opinion that Debian would be able to plead innocence to infringement. Till then, though, I think many people will prefer branding and mp3's and Skype and realize that you gotta pick your battles.


A little sidenote... I used to think of Microsoft as the big evil empire. I was using gmail when it was invite-only. Now I look at Google and see that they have the potential to overpower Microsoft, as long as they maintain their stronghold in the internet.

Thanks, Google, for pushing open-source to new heights. Please don't turn my emails/chats/search/web history over to the government...

Here here

Firefox does run on OS X, but I don't like it, so would never vote for it. And I couldn't vote for any of the others, 'cos I've never heard of / used them before

AFAIK, Opera browser also gets its own kind of user *profiling* whenever you use it to search via ..Google. (citation needed)
I wonder how come so many of us who are generally so careful with their personal details can then turn to various kinds of marketing platform when it comes to our main forms of communication?
The financial incentives of profiling are innocuous enough. (Getting ads & email targeted at what you are interested in anyway).
But the risks of being stalked or having your identity stolen are reason enough to take precautions.
When installing software we've all got to try to remember to read the user agreement carefully when we click through. After all, we were warned.

I say Chrome - I was a firefox guy but once I tried chrome I never went back....but I like simple, elegant and reliable - plus I like it on my mac

What exactly are you trying to say? Also before spreading rumours perhaps you could find that citation to back it up.

P.S. I am an Opera employee

I think what I am saying is vary clear.

Adding "AFAIK' and asking for a citation is not called "spreading rumours"?

My source was an article on browser security - and Opera definitely got a mention on this point. Could it be Google needing to, say [implement a means to profile google/gmail users who use Opera's Turbo proxy?] (like me).

I've looked through some of the paper magazines I read too quickly over my last weeks on the road and no, sorry, cannot find the original article - yet.

As long-term Opera user I need a special reason to resort to any other browser. Upon reading this article I decided to keep doing what I do until I find out more about this.

So it looks like I've started my search right here, on the biggest Linux website of all. What's more, I have managed to find an Opera employee!

As such you seem to be saying that if there were any truth in my question then you would know.
But what are you saying yourself? Should we keep everything quiet for the sake of Opera's reputation? Should we never we appeal to others for answers for our questions?

To be continued...

Firefox is my pick of the litter. But I would like to vote internet explorer because its my favorite.

Laugh out loud Internet Explorer is the junkiest browser I've ever used. So I would never use it and its junk. Great joke though

chrome