14 votes

DuckDuckGo working on a standalone web browser for Mac & Windows

13 comments

  1. [4]
    petrichor
    Link
    So, does this not just mean WebKit (MacOS) and Chromium (Windows)? It's unfortunate that there's such little competition in the browser engine space. I can't really see this being any more than a...

    Instead of being based on Chromium or another third-party codebase, the privacy company says it is building the desktop version of its browser on an OS-provided rendering engine. That's how its iOS browser was made, for example.

    So, does this not just mean WebKit (MacOS) and Chromium (Windows)?

    It's unfortunate that there's such little competition in the browser engine space. I can't really see this being any more than a theme + a few extensions for Safari/Chromium.

    8 votes
    1. [2]
      the_funky_buddha
      Link Parent
      Probably, unfortunately. Another webkit-based browser with a glorified theme and gimmick applied to set themselves apart just enough to draw attention, like most of the others. I was hoping when I...

      Probably, unfortunately. Another webkit-based browser with a glorified theme and gimmick applied to set themselves apart just enough to draw attention, like most of the others. I was hoping when I read it they'd at least try to go with a firefox fork to fight the browser monoculture.

      5 votes
      1. stu2b50
        Link Parent
        For reference, Google pays Mozilla 5x ($500 mil) DDG's annual revenue ($100 mil) just for the search engine deal. They definitely would not have the resources to maintain their own browser fork.

        For reference, Google pays Mozilla 5x ($500 mil) DDG's annual revenue ($100 mil) just for the search engine deal. They definitely would not have the resources to maintain their own browser fork.

        1 vote
    2. feigneddork
      Link Parent
      I honestly have no clue but I have the same suspicions as you. Making a browser nowadays is a lot of work - so much so that Microsoft gave up the fight and mangled Chromium instead of carrying on...

      I honestly have no clue but I have the same suspicions as you. Making a browser nowadays is a lot of work - so much so that Microsoft gave up the fight and mangled Chromium instead of carrying on building their own.

      I'll be absolutely honest and admit that while I did post this, I'm not really a fan of search engines releasing browsers. DDG is a company I trust when it comes to search engines, but I don't really want them owning the entire browser space - that's quite a large amount of personal information to potentially own, collect, and track (and yes, I know DDG is not in the tracking space now, whose to say they won't be in the future?)

      3 votes
  2. [9]
    lou
    Link
    Not a programmer, but I thought a Firefox customized for privacy would suffice.

    Not a programmer, but I thought a Firefox customized for privacy would suffice.

    2 votes
    1. feigneddork
      Link Parent
      It's been working for me so far (multi-account containers is such a gamechanger it's hard to see myself going to any browser afterwards)

      It's been working for me so far (multi-account containers is such a gamechanger it's hard to see myself going to any browser afterwards)

      3 votes
    2. [7]
      the_funky_buddha
      Link Parent
      The closest thing to that is Tor browser or Firefox Focus on mobile. For a blink-based browser, on technical terms I can recommend Brave if you ignore their contentious crypto gimmick. I use...

      The closest thing to that is Tor browser or Firefox Focus on mobile. For a blink-based browser, on technical terms I can recommend Brave if you ignore their contentious crypto gimmick. I use Vivaldi fwiw but I might switch to DDG browser since Vivaldi is getting so feature bloated and slow.

      3 votes
      1. [2]
        cfabbro
        Link Parent
        And the discriminatory politics of the person running it.

        if you ignore their contentious crypto gimmick

        And the discriminatory politics of the person running it.

        6 votes
        1. the_funky_buddha
          Link Parent
          I was going to mention that but I try to keep software and developer politics separate. That said, he's really self-righteous, inconceding and unprofessional as a CEO. If you dare say something...

          I was going to mention that but I try to keep software and developer politics separate. That said, he's really self-righteous, inconceding and unprofessional as a CEO. If you dare say something negative about Brave on HN he'll pop into the thread and try to "correct" your opinion with a smug pretentious attitude.

          4 votes
      2. [3]
        CharlieConway
        Link Parent
        Hmm, I haven't noticed any slow down on Vivaldi. But I don't actually use any of the productivity features like email integration, calendar, or the feed reader.

        Hmm, I haven't noticed any slow down on Vivaldi. But I don't actually use any of the productivity features like email integration, calendar, or the feed reader.

        1 vote
        1. [2]
          the_funky_buddha
          Link Parent
          I don't use those either but the slowdown is very slight. The occasional crashes don't help either. Meanwhile I've used Firefox since its inception and it's been one of the most stable pieces of...

          I don't use those either but the slowdown is very slight. The occasional crashes don't help either. Meanwhile I've used Firefox since its inception and it's been one of the most stable pieces of software I've used.

          1 vote
          1. Tardigrade
            Link Parent
            Maybe I overload my browser quite heavily but I find Firefox crashing more frequently than say my word processor.

            Maybe I overload my browser quite heavily but I find Firefox crashing more frequently than say my word processor.

      3. petrichor
        Link Parent
        I'll alternatively recommend Ungoogled Chromium + uBlock over Brave. You lose out on auto-updates (unless you're on Linux, of course) and some Google integration, but it doesn't have all the...

        I'll alternatively recommend Ungoogled Chromium + uBlock over Brave. You lose out on auto-updates (unless you're on Linux, of course) and some Google integration, but it doesn't have all the cryptocrap and other junk that Brave has.

        (And if you want some of Brave's bundled features, they're available on their own: Webtorrent, IPFS Companion)

        1 vote