Author Topic: A new "fork" of the Mozilla project: Waterfox.  (Read 3458 times)

elagache

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A new "fork" of the Mozilla project: Waterfox.
« on: March 24, 2017, 10:00:29 PM »
Dear WeatherCat addicts of "Mozilla" flavor of web browsing products,

While geeks seems to hunger for constant change, many of us get set in our ways and like our software to look and work the same as we've gotten used to.  I've been using "Mozilla" products since it was Mosaic!  The downside of this is that browsers like Firefox are getting big and slow.  Fortunately the Mozilla community has gone back to the drawing board and created a 64-clean version of Firebox with a design goal of speed: Waterfox:

https://www.waterfoxproject.org/

When I launched it, it was just like Firefox.  Bookmarks, plug-ins, even layout was identical to the Firefox I had just used before to download Waterfox.  I've been using it for a few hours and it keeps it promise of speed.  It is much faster than Firefox and is easier on your CPU as well.

So if you are a Firefox addict and have the blues because it has gotten so big and slow, give Waterfox a try.  I think you'll like it!  :)

Cheers, Edouard

P.S. I couldn't find any explanation for the name.  Perhaps it is just a random bash of two words that are catchy.

xairbusdriver

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Re: A new "fork" of the Mozilla project: Waterfox.
« Reply #1 on: March 25, 2017, 04:31:21 PM »
Good to see these developers recognizing that app bloat causes as many problems as it solves! The infamous 'solution looking for a problem' behavior? I secondarily blame the steep drop in the price of RAM, also. :)

What?! You still use a browser to store bookmarks and other urls?! [lol] One of these days URLM Pro is going to die... not sure what I'll do then. At least I can access any site that requires a log-in by  typing a few letters in 1Password mini, probably should just create some for other sites that don't need that first step. [computer]
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wurzelmac

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Re: A new "fork" of the Mozilla project: Waterfox.
« Reply #2 on: March 25, 2017, 04:51:40 PM »
Downloading & testing.

Thanks for sharing, Edouard!
Reinhard


elagache

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Use BookMacster to keep bookmarks synced (Re: Waterfox.)
« Reply #3 on: March 25, 2017, 09:29:16 PM »
Dear X-Air, Reinhard, and WeatherCat web surfers,

Glad Reinhard you found it interesting enough to "take it out for a spin."

What?! You still use a browser to store bookmarks and other urls?! [lol] One of these days URLM Pro is going to die... not sure what I'll do then.

I don't know what URLM Pro is.  I've always stuck to browser bookmarks.  I suppose I have some bookmarks that are 20 years old or more!  Since I have to use more than one browser from time to time, I use BookMacster from Sheep systems:

http://www.sheepsystems.com/products/bookmacster.html

It does the job of keeping all the bookmarks in sync from Mozilla, Safari, Chrome, Opera, and others.  Since Apple automatically exports my Safari bookmarks to my iOS devices, I have my WaterFox bookmarks current on those devices as well.

Another way to skin a cat(fish)!  [biggrin]

Cheers, Edouard

xairbusdriver

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Re: A new "fork" of the Mozilla project: Waterfox.
« Reply #4 on: March 25, 2017, 10:16:30 PM »
URLMPro is probably older than 20 years. Sounds like you have a system that works similarly. ThU5:-) I just saw some 'low-hanging' chains and pulled your! [lol]

WaterFox doesn't seem to have a mobile version, yet. I don't find the iPhone usable for serious web browsing, the screen is simply too small for my eyes and fat fingers! My iPad is not as difficult, but it's a WiFi only model and I'm not fond of 'free' connections. [lol]

Looking at the apps home page I saw some text that made me think twice: "No data collection". Last text on the page, however, may be a better explanation. I think the lad (he's still ~22) really means "absolutely no data or telemetry is sent back to Mozilla or the Waterfox project." Slightly different than "no collection", but less is always better. I don't think many commercial sites would be around were it not for their data collecting. [rolleyes2]
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jace

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Re: A new "fork" of the Mozilla project: Waterfox.
« Reply #5 on: March 26, 2017, 07:46:31 PM »
Downloaded and running Edouard, certainly seems to 'scoot' along a bit quicker  ThU5:-)

JC

elagache

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Might never go mobile. (Re: A new Mozilla "fork": Waterfox.)
« Reply #6 on: March 26, 2017, 11:08:13 PM »
Dear X-Air, JC, and WeatherCat speedy web surfers,

Glad JC you agree that it does seem to keep its promises!  :)

WaterFox doesn't seem to have a mobile version, yet. I don't find the iPhone usable for serious web browsing, the screen is simply too small for my eyes and fat fingers! My iPad is not as difficult, but it's a WiFi only model and I'm not fond of 'free' connections. [lol]

I'm not a fan of guys grabbing a bunch of open-source code and forking it into a new direction.  However, in this case the official project might have been busy with security concerns or committed to supporting the widest variety of hardware.

It is clearly the focus of this project is to get Firefox into the 64-bit world on desktops.  The mobile version of Firefox could significantly different and the same coding modification strategies wouldn't work.  It might require another renegade to create a fork of the mobile version that is specifically 64-bit clean.

We'll see!

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

xairbusdriver

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Re: A new "fork" of the Mozilla project: Waterfox.
« Reply #7 on: March 27, 2017, 03:18:50 PM »
Quote
I'm not a fan of guys grabbing a bunch of open-source code and forking it into a new direction.
I rather thought that was one of the core tenants of "open-source"; anyone can build on previous work, as long as they continue to keep it opening available. Perhaps I misunderstand the concept. I have already made too misteaks this yeer! [banghead]
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system


elagache

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Dear X-Air and WeatherCat fans of open-source,

Quote
I'm not a fan of guys grabbing a bunch of open-source code and forking it into a new direction.
I rather thought that was one of the core tenants of "open-source"; anyone can build on previous work, as long as they continue to keep it opening available. Perhaps I misunderstand the concept. I have already made too misteaks this yeer! [banghead]

The problem isn't with the principle so much as one's intentions.  Normally the idea is that open source software is developed cooperatively by a community.  However, humans being humans occasionally squabbles occur.  The worst of these result in somebody taking the code from one project and starting a whole new project - not because it is a better idea but because they can't stand the people they were fighting with.  This is a dangerous moment for any open source project because there might not be enough volunteers to support two differ pieces of software that mostly do the same thing.  Some open-source projects have died because their forked into too many versions - none of which was well-supported.

WaterFox appears to exist for honest intentions and appears to be a legitimate reason to folk open-source code.  Firefox isn't likely to suffer from this and eventually the code from WaterFox might be merged back into Firefox.  When 32-bit operating systems are sufficiently obsolete, the Firefox team will want to do precisely what the Waterfox team has already done.

We'll see!

Cheers, Edouard

xairbusdriver

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Re: A new "fork" of the Mozilla project: Waterfox.
« Reply #9 on: March 28, 2017, 03:21:17 AM »
"Intentions" are not always obvious and often never see the light of day. Many a Prosecutor would love to have a fool-proof way to determine them! [lol] I try not to become too dependent on any software (present app excluded, of course!). They don't call it 'vaporware' for nothing! That doesn't mean I have no favorites, of course, but I just let the markets operate and vote with my money. ThU32:-)
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system


wurzelmac

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Re: A new "fork" of the Mozilla project: Waterfox.
« Reply #10 on: April 15, 2017, 12:35:15 PM »
Edouard:
At the meantime I think Waterfox is only a cheap copy of Firefox, and I do not not know how "secure" this browser is in real? If you have Firefox opened and additional open Waterfox, it claims that a copy of Waterfox is already open?!?
Reinhard


elagache

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Dear Reinhard and WeatherCat web surfers,

At the meantime I think Waterfox is only a cheap copy of Firefox

I'm not sure what you mean by this.  It is a true "fork" of the Firefox code meaning that it is a reuse of exactly the same underlying code, but changed in the matter the developer proposes.  In this case the changes are to allow it to compile as a 64-bit application.  Otherwise it is Firefox.

and I do not not know how "secure" this browser is in real?

As before it is based on the same code.  It might be behind a bit on patches for security exploits, but what is safe about Firefox also applies to Waterfox.

If you have Firefox opened and additional open Waterfox, it claims that a copy of Waterfox is already open?!?

Waterfox uses exactly the same data files as Firefox.  You can only have one copy open of Firefox at a time.  So this is a normal warning.  I'm not sure why you would get the warning as being an additional copy of Waterfox.  I haven't gone back to Firefox since I started using Waterfox.  It works just fine for me.

Cheers, Edouard

elagache

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Back to Firefox (Re: "fork" of the Mozilla project: Waterfox.)
« Reply #12 on: May 10, 2017, 11:35:58 PM »
Dear WeatherCat web surfers,

I wanted to update everyone on this experiment I had made.  I had noticed that not too long ago, Firefox discontinued 32-bit support for the Mac.  I didn't have a chance to look into this until today, but finally I checked and sure enough Firefox is now a 64-bit application.  As a result, it seems to be every bit as fast as Waterfox once was.

The Waterfox project continues, but I'm at a loss as to what it's intentions are.  Since I don't like open source projects that become a nest of competitors, I've decided to return to Firefox for the moment.   There is potentially one reason to use Waterfox, it has removed the instrumentation that sends data to the Mozilla project.  If you are concerned about your privacy to the point you don't even trust the Mozilla foundation, that is one reason to use Waterfox.

I'll try to keep an eye on this project to see where it ends up.  It is still being actively supported and has kept up with the Firefox releases.  So it does appear to a viable alternative to Firefox.  I just don't see the point of this fork at the moment.

Cheers, Edouard