I also went completely to FF on my phone the moment it had uBlock Origin and some other extensions. Now that I learned how to force other ones, it has been game over for other browsers aside from just seeing how they are every now and then (I work with general public and need to be aware of how they work). The only thing I would really really advise in addition to FF on a non-rooted device is setting the Mullvad ad-blocking/tracking blocking DNS for the device.

It helps even if I need to use a different browser (not as good as also having uBO), and has really good chances of blocking ads in many apps. For example, I kind of treat the Microsoft Solitaire app since it keeps games and stats from my PC. However they have lots of video ads that play after a couple of games. With the DNS it just kind of glitches when an ad should run and just goes on to the next round instead. The only odd thing I see with other apps is that it can cause my bank app to take a little longer to load when signing in (I am guessing due to tracking it is trying to do). But after like ten seconds it goes through like normal.

This is the DNS address to add if you want:

https://base.dns.mullvad.net/dns-query

And here is the main site for all their options and tester to make sure whichever one you pick is working:

https://mullvad.net/en/help/dns-over-https-and-dns-over-tls

I am really going to miss the old settings when they finally remove what is left of Control Panel. So far they have removed things or moved shit to force the Settings app. But they keep failing to make the new things have anywhere near the level of control. The power settings from Control Panel still matter way more than Settings and seem to actually stick when applied. And I just really have no idea how they have made stuff like resetting networking/connection issues worse over time. Fucking right-clicking on the networking icon on the taskbar and picking “repair” would actually get shit working again 8 times out of 10. But just seems to be a placebo at this point. There are still so many times that using different resets in Internet Options fixes more stuff I see regularly than the resets in Settings->Networking.

And the newer Troubleshooting options never fix any of the Windows Update issues I come across. Just a glorified verification of the failures I already know are happening. I never thought I would so badly miss being able to tell Windows Update to ignore updates if they were bugging out (not to avoid them all together but at least stop the OS from just constantly going through the motions of installing and failing during each reboot/shutdown). So many of the updates that used to give me issues were really either down to them trying to install out of order or due to a fuck-up on MS’s end that pushed bad updates.

The push to so deeply embed these AI models into everything so fast is really pissing me off. Shit is known to have issues with just outright making shit up. Which is IMO reason enough to not be adding them to end-products (especially since the end-products are also still not finished with removing old versions of things). One thing that really worries me in my job with fixing people’s PCs is the AI and search that pushes web content (and the now inescapable placement of ads) above local resources/programs/settings/etc. The main issues people have aren’t actual viruses like in the past. It is the massive levels of scams and fake alerts followed by fake “repair techs.” If the average person is so easy to trick when it is people scamming them. AI is going to blow shit up waaaaaaaay worse and will be able to do it so much faster and completely. Average people are still under the impression that these AI chats are giving completely real and accurate information (reminds me of how people used to believe that if something was said on TV that it was real).

Shit is fucked and going to get much worse at a dramatically faster rate due to rushing things in order to make as much money as fast as possible. Even Microsoft used to ship things in a more complete state. But gaming has made shipping broken products completely normal. So no reason to care about keeping any level of quality.

ME

It might be a good idea to get a good VPN for any of those sites (even the streaming ones). No hate if you ran into an issue with FF. Every now and then I do see some PCs act weird with FF DNS options. Never able to figure out what causes them to not work correctly while most other PCs are working fine on the same local network. Opera and Opera GX “feel” too “busy” for me personally with just all the random things on the UI and features. I support people using anything that isn’t official Chrome at this point.

If you don’t already have a VPN, here is a list article with more than a few options and give some basic info on stuff like if they keep logs of IPs and for how long. Some of them also have additional DNS options for removing ads. https://torrentfreak.com/best-vpn-anonymous-no-logging/

There are .deb and .rpm versions of Edge for Linux. Doesn’t get mentioned on the main download site until you scroll below the Mac/iPhone/Android options.

The Chromium Edge really started to win me over a bit with how well they have done vertical tabs (Brave only just recently got something even close). Was cool up until Microsoft really seems like they have gotten insecure about trying to be popular again. I fix people’s computers so I see it more than a normal user would, so I will just say that now. But it feels like every time I open Edge it seems to just bukkake my eyes with “helpful” pop-ups trying sooo bad to trick me into turning on more and more data collection “features”. It is already annoying that they try to cover up the area where the download starts if it detects that it is on the Chrome download page.

But they took what was looking to be a shockingly good alt to Chrome, and I have even gone out of my way from time to time to let customers know that they don’t really need Chrome and Edge. Instead I try to at least offer Firefox as a second option. As I do find that if a site is messed up for Chromium based browsers FF might at least give them a usable site until Edge/Chrome starts working again.

That being said, I am really curious how the original Edge would work if they had kept at it. It sucked at first because all browsers suck for awhile when new. The extensions being through the app store seemed about as normal as what Apple does with Safari. But the Edge extensions didn’t require first signing into the store in order to get free ones. So that was much less frustrating. Jumping to Chromium just further enabled Google to be on more fuck shit.

I scrolled through so many comments to see if anyone was just going to let that one go un-asked! I started reading the chart from the bottom and got to chaotic good last and went from leaning back in my chair to fully forward when I read it. Was like car tire screech “What the fuck is the bottle hack?!?!?” lol

LG/HB are vanguard af and we doesn’t afraid of anything! I have this account because I made it around the same time I made my LG account and like that Lemmy.ml is pretty good for normies (no hate) of various kinds. Joined HB long before it federated and after the CTH subreddit was quarantined. Both places are much more chill than folks think. HB is much more trollie and should be taken with more than a pinch of salt. LG is much more serious and strict, but you just need to be clear in phrasing things in good-faith if asking questions. Are there dicks on both? Yes, just like there are on here and any other instance. But I think they both benefit more from lurking for a while if not used to non-liberal leftist spaces. Feel free to downvote all you want if you disagree or whatever…or are right-wing of course. #PunchNazisIntoTheDirt

Installed and seems to have the same issue. But I will keep it installed along with Connect and any others I come across. I like to jump between different apps over time to see how they evolve and compare to each other. Thanks for sharing it!

Installed and it does seem to be smooth, so I do thank you for pointing it out! I am beginning to think what I am looking for is more an issue with Lemmy. The thing I liked about Sync was the ability to have multiple columns of posts in the card format. So each post in a community doesn’t just span the whole width of the screen (which is much more dramatic in landscape). Also keeps it easy to scroll more posts and preview images being smaller, but not as tiny as the super small list view.

That all being said, I do think Connect is very clean and will be using it more for the moment. It is good to see attention from devs being put towards Lemmy.

Might as well ask here. I am waiting on Sync for Lemmy to be released, and more importantly reach a non-alpha/beta release. But for now I am also down to try out others. Are there any that are able to handle Android tablets correctly? At the moment I have only used Jerboa. It is great on my phones, but it looks like the old days of apps for Android being forced to run on early tablets on my Galaxy Tab S8+. It just stretches out and feels off in both landscape and portrait orientations.

Adding this to be more specific, as I blanked on it originally. The thing I was somehow forgetting to mention was having cards in multiple columns. With Sync for Reddit, you could have posts show as cards that had smallish preview thumbnails in multiple columns. So posts would show more like a grid. Not sure why I blanked on saying that when talking about how currently posts just stretch all the way across the width of the display (especially in landscape mode). I am not sure if this is even currently an option with how Lemmy itself works. So hopefully that helps better. lol.

And they will keep yelling about how leftists are all actually Nazis while literally burning books. The worst kind of fascists are all fascists, but the next in line are the ones that don’t seem to realize that they are. The combination of massive corp greed across all media has done the real work for indoctrinating so many. Doublespeak and gaslighting all the culture war stuff. The right is doing a terrifyingly good job at making people actually proud to be ignorant. It is “American” to be consumed with placing individualism above community. So convinced that any and all assistance programs are “evil” or that we can’t “encourage laziness”. Which is ironic given how folks that claim this shit are among the worst offenders for grifting or otherwise scamming people that do work hard. The “pro-law and order” folks are among the worst offenders of literally breaking laws and threatening people and property (which they won’t STFU about how "Antifa is being trucked into places in order to break shit). I wouldn’t lose sleep if I ever had to put down any of them, as they are only tripling down on their stances and open threats. Not willing to just take the L on shit they have been, or currently are, wrong about (which is admittedly a big step ego-wise). Which is why I do try to do what I can if I manage to get a good-faith conversation going, and I see them actually having their mind blown. But that requires a lot of factors lining up and time isn’t on our side atm.