Firefox and Chrome = Apples and Oranges, Well Not Really.

Ok for the browser comparison I chose Mozilla’s Firefox and Google’s Chrome web browsers. Firefox is an open-source product whereas Chrome is a closed source browser based on Chromium. Sooo…which is better? Well, according to an article from the website, Lifehacker, the answer to that question depends a lot on the type of Operating System and it’s easiest to separate the answer for Windows and Mac users. Regardless, the gist of the article claims that Chrome beats out Firefox in most browser performance tests. But most browsers actually perform really well these days, so the fact that Chrome beat out Firefox doesn't mean it’s extremely slow—it just means that compared to Chrome, it's not the fastest.

Ok so what’s the deal then? Why do I (for example) keep going back to Firefox, even though a) I’m using Safari to type this post..hehe.. and b) I’ve used Chrome and still prefer Firefox? Well, I think my main reason for preferring Firefox over Chrome over Safari, is because of all the free extension support it gets! I swear, Firefox has a great extension community when compared to all other browsers. Extensions add functionality to the browser and enhance the user interface in a way that is not directly related to the viewable content of Web pages...it's the stuff that gives us bookmark toolbars, Pinterest browser pins, etc.

I think the real difference is if a person is used to Firefox’s obscure extensions, chances are they may not be able to find replacements for everything in Chrome. But if they only use a few of them, then the transition to Chrome would probably be a little easier!

Once again I feel like the customization and community support that open source products have make them win over users and gain wide acceptance. I’ve used Internet Explorer (mostly at work), Safari, Thunderbird, Netscape, and Firefox and I still prefer the latter! Hands down.