2/6/2024: My new favorite web browser
The browser of my dreams
Plus: Comcast’s “10G” stupidity, a must-try browser trick, and notable TV deals.
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I’ve always been a big proponent of experimenting with different web browsers. It’s one of the simplest ways to get out of your tech comfort zone, and you might even discover some new features that you never knew you needed.
So when I found out last week about a browser called Floorp, I had to give it a try. Beyond just having an excellent name (which requires all my willpower not to write in all caps), Floorp caters to browser power users with all kinds of customizations. It’s similar to Vivaldi, but built on the same code as Firefox instead of Google Chrome.
I fell in love with Floorp almost instantly, and now I’m using it as my default browser despite its various imperfections.
What I like about FLOORP
Floorp will look familiar if you’ve used Firefox before, but it adds some extra features found in other browsers, some of which I consider essential:
Vertical tabs: Pinning your tabs to the side of the screen makes so much more sense than putting them up top, because you can fit more of them without cutting off page titles. While Firefox requires hacky workarounds to enable vertical tabs, Floorp lets you enable them through a button in its Settings menu.
Web apps: Most browsers have an “install site as app” feature, which lets you run them as free-standing windows without the usual browser clutter. It’s great for app-like sites such as Gmail and Google Calendar, as you can open them quickly from the taskbar, separate from your other tabs. While Firefox abandoned the idea years ago, Floorp managed to make it work, with a little install button that appears in the address bar. (Sadly, it’s only available on Floorp’s Windows version, not Mac or Linux.)
Side panels: Taking a page from Vivaldi, Floorp lets you pin websites to the right sidebar and slide them into view next to your main window. I use it to quickly glance at my calendar, quick notes in Google Keep, and my Raindrop.io bookmarks.
Workspaces: Like some other productivity-centric browsers, Floorp’s “Workspaces” feature lets you toggle between several groups of tabs within a single window. You can have a space for social media, one for travel planning, one for work-related research, and so on.
Cool customizations: Digging into Floorp’s settings menu reveals all kinds hidden treasures. I opted to keep my bookmarks hidden except when scrolling over the address bar, and I enabled the “round the corners” setting that makes the web pages look a little cuter.
Ties to Firefox
As I mentioned earlier, Floorp is based on the same code as Firefox, which itself has a bunch of nice features:
- Right-click the top toolbar and click “Customize,” and you can choose which controls show up there. (I added a button to copy the current address with one click.)
- A built-in screenshot tool lets you capture specific elements or the entire length of the page.
- “Firefox View” (called Floorp View here) shows all your recently-closed tabs, along with tabs you’ve opened on other devices linked to the same Mozilla account.
- Firefox’s strong anti-tracking protections are built in, and Floorp collects no data about how you use it. I also installed the excellent uBlock Origin extension for additional ad and tracker blocking, which is at risk of being restricted in future Chrome versions.
- If you really want to get nerdy, you can make more tweaks by editing the browser’s UserChrome.CSS file. I used this to replace the default interface font with DM Sans.
On a philosophical level, I also derive some small satisfaction from using a browser built on Firefox’s Gecko rendering engine, if only because nice to support an internet that’s not controlled by Google or Apple.
Yes, but…
As for those rough edges I mentioned earlier, Floorp has a bunch of them:
Video playback: Floorp doesn’t have the same DRM media support as larger browsers. While Video works fine on YouTube and other social sites, I got a playback error on Netflix’s website and couldn’t play more than 10 seconds of any audio track on Spotify.
User-friendliness: Being a browser for power users means Floorp is inherently more complicated than, say, Chrome or Safari, but even then, some features just aren’t explained well or at all.
No mobile app: If you want to access Floorp’s tabs, bookmarks, and history on a phone, you’ll need to sync with a Mozilla account and Firefox’s mobile app, which I don’t love.
Uncertain future: Floorp was built by a tiny team in Japan with one primary developer, and asks only for voluntary donations in return. The team has committed to monthly updates that integrate Firefox’s latest security patches, but if that commitment ever wavers, I’m gone.
Leaving Brave behind
I’d previously been using Brave as my primary web browser. While it’s still a solid alternative to Google Chrome with better privacy protections, a few things about it have always bothered me, including its cryptocurrency peddling and its installing of VPN software without permission. Lately it’s also been trying to push an AI assistant that I never asked for, with an “Ask Leo” button in the address bar that can’t be disabled.
Floorp has provided a convenient off-ramp while providing some power user features that Brave isn’t likely to offer. If development ceases or new problems pile up, I’ll happily take the chance to experiment with other browsers once again.
Need to know
Amazon abandons iRobot: Amazon won’t be acquiring the company behind Roomba robot vacuums after all. EU regulators had threatened to block the deal, fearing that Amazon would downrank competitors such as Eufy and Roborock in its store, and the company decided a legal battle wasn’t worthwhile.
Colin Angle, iRobot’s CEO and founder, once told me that he had big ambitions for the Roomba, not just as a cleaning robot, but as the roving brains of your smart home. I feared that an Amazon acquisition would turn iRobot into just another cog in the tech giant’s machine, similar to what we saw with Eero.
The botched acquisition only leaves iRobot in worse shape, though, with Angle out and layoffs looming, plus the mound of debt it took on while holding out for Amazon’s deal to clear. I look forward to seeing what the upstart Matic can do in the space in the meantime.
Comcast’s 10G stupidity: Comcast will stop advertising its home internet service as a “10G Network” after T-Mobile and Verizon complained and the industry’s self-regulating ad body cried foul.
Comcast’s network isn’t the 10th generation of anything, and instead refers to the 10-gigabits-per-second service the company offers in some areas (for $300 per month, plus hefty installation fees). The cable giant seemingly just got jealous of the hype that wireless carriers had whipped up around their 5G networks, and was hoping to glom on. (The ironies: 5G itself is often an insubstantial improvement over 4G LTE, and AT&T continues to wrongly label 4G connections as 5G.)
Just remember: There’s 5th-generation wireless, 5 Gbps internet speed, and the 5 GHz band on Wi-Fi networks, all of which might be referred to as “5G” despite meaning entirely different things. Never underestimate the tech world’s knack for sewing confusion.
Tip of the moment
Previous pages, faster: Ever need to jump back to a web page prior to the one you just came from? Instead of repeatedly mashing the browser’s back button, just right-click the back button instead, or press and hold the back button in Safari for MacOS.
You’ll see a little pop-up menu with all the pages you previously visited in the current tab, so you can jump directly to them. The same trick works on your phone by pressing and holding the back button.
You can also open those earlier pages in a separate browser tab instead of leaving the page you’re currently on. Just hold Ctrl (in Windows) or Cmd (on a Mac) before clicking the page you want to open.
Keep in mind these shortcuts only apply to page history in your current tab. To view a full history of all the web pages you previously visited, press Ctrl+H or Cmd+H in most browsers, or Cmd+Y in Safari.
For more little shortcuts like this, I’ve got a newly-updated list of useful browser tricks on the Advisorator website for paid subscribers.
Now try this
Pageless Google Docs: Google has just made it easier to turn off page breaks in Docs, giving you an endlessly-scrolling document instead of one that’s optimized for printing. Just click Format > Switch to Pageless format in the menu bar. (As before, you can default to pageless view under File > Page Setup. Select “Pageless,” then click “Set as default.”)
Single-page calendar: Try visiting this website and sending it to your printer. You’ll get an entire calendar on one page, perfect for marking off important events without having to flip between different months. (Via Recomendo)
Further reading
- By me: Samsung’s new AI phone features mostly aren’t worth using.
- Google stops storing cached versions of web pages.
- Arlo’s security camera subscriptions get even pricier.
- Wirecutter: Email unsubscribe services aren’t really worth the money.
- Google’s Bard AI assistant now includes an image generator.
Spend wisely
With the Super Bowl fast approaching, I feel obligated to point out a handful of TV deals. While I haven’t seen any out-of-the-ordinary discounts, and the idea that you must buy a TV at specific times of year is a bit overblown, there are at least some notable deals if you’re in need of a new set for the big game:
- TCL’s entry-level QLED TVs: 55-inch for $320, 65-inch for $498.
- Hisense entry-level Mini-LED TVs: 55-inch for $348, 75-inch for $648.
- New lows for Hisense’s Mini-LED TVs with 1500-nit brightness: 55-inch for $650, 75-inch for $1,150. (Compare with the TV above.)
- Roku’s 75-inch Plus-series TV is $100 off.
- LG’s 65-inch B3 OLED TV is on sale for $1,300.
Need help deciphering the TV jargon? See my guide on the Advisorator website.
Other notable non-TV deals:
- UGreen Bluetooth adapter deals start at $7.
- Take 12.7% off Nuphy’s slim mechanical keyboards with code VAL2024.
- Sonos home theater deals are back, including the Arc soundbar for $719.
- Sonos One SL speaker for $150, ends today at Best Buy.
- The 10th-gen iPad is back to $349 Black Friday pricing, plus save $10 on the USB-C Apple Pencil.
- Ends today: 1,002Wh Jackery portable power station for $480.
- Fix your Wi-Fi with the Eero Pro 6 three-pack for $240.
Thanks for reading!
Got tech questions for me? Just reply to this email to get in touch.
Until next week,
Jared