Browsing Browsers
The internet is an entirely personal experience. It is entirely possible for me to spend an evening watching German Curling highlights, and for you to spend that same evening learning how to code. What the internet means to me, a 17 year old high school student is very different to, for example, the 60-year-old CEO of a freight company.
But there is a constant between you and I and our internet that we have forgotten: the browser. For as free and varied we are on the internet, we all wear the same uniform. The first thing you do when you get a new laptop is probably to download Google Chrome. Reading this essay right now, you probably are on one of many Google Chrome tabs. The dominance that Google and Chrome have over our experience of the internet is one baked into language (really, just ‘Google’ it). The thing is you may even be able to name a few browsers. But can you name someone you know who uses them? It is spelt out in our browser choices that we have forgotten everything but Chrome in our experience of the internet. The thing is though, it’s something we have forgotten because seemingly, it’s okay to forget. It’s not like we are missing out on something revolutionary out of neglect, right?
Around a year ago, out of curiosity, I switched my browser from Chrome to a browser called Arc, after I saw one of my friends using it. I remember thinking how weird it was that I never thought about switching browsers but I really did like the breath of fresh air Arc gave me. Its features included the ability to pin tabs, put them into folders, and had many capabilities I would have never thought possible. I organised tabs by A days and B days for school and was able to multitask with a really cool and simple split screen option. But my favourite feature was that tabs were on the side and I was able to use a quick shortcut to hide the tabs to use the browser in full screen. Another feature I loved was the ability to take any youtube video playing in a tab and have the video player pop out while on another tab. To me, this was an example of how a browser actually changed my experience of the internet: being able to watch a video while being on a document to take notes became a vital part of how I studied for many classes.
I realized that the internet was bottlenecked by Chrome, and I was really happy about switching. But as time went on, Arc’s issues with memory consumption forced me to face the reality that my laptop’s eight gigabytes of RAM could not handle all the bells and whistles I had ——RAM here refers to a laptop’s short term memory, the higher the gigabyte count the more it can do. I needed to switch browsers, but didn’t want to go back to the default. So began a quest for the next browser. This review is a document of the four browsers I tried over a span of seven weeks, with suggestions of what kind of person might enjoy using that browser.
The first browser I tried after Arc was Orion. I was in AP Research, a class that lends itself to many off topic conversations. And it came up that I was looking for a new browser that didn’t destroy my laptop’s RAM consumption. My friend said that he used a browser called Orion. The difference that Orion had over Arc and Chrome was that it was the least Chrome of all browsers. As my friend explained, the majority of browsers, Arc included, are based on the same “skeleton” as Chrome. The actual processing done by the computer is therefore done with the same power hungry program that isn’t designed to run natively on an apple computer.
But Orion isn’t perfect. The lack of a split-screen feature feels like a glaring omission, especially for someone like me who had grown accustomed to Arc’s multitasking. It is essentially safari, but without the bug free experience that you get from a bigger brand name (there were a few times my browser crashed out of nowhere). Still, there were a few features that made me stick: the same video player feature that Arc had, being the most important to me.
Until I didn’t. I decided to try out other browsers. What the experience of Arc and Orion taught me was how different browsers could be. Next, I turned to Safari, Apple's default browser. It was already downloaded onto my laptop and I had to use it anyway since the lockdown browser seemed to only work on Safari. Importantly, the RAM consumption was low since it was built and optimised for MacOS laptops like mine. Since my devices were already deeply interconnected within the Apple ecosystem, Safari's integration immediately made sense. During a school project, I started writing notes on my MacBook and then effortlessly resumed my work on my iPhone during a break using the Handoff feature. Safari’s battery efficiency helped me get through long school days without needing to charge my laptop frequently. It was also just simple. No need for anything fancy. Just a browser that didn’t bug out.
However, Safari's limitations quickly became clear. When working on a debate case one evening, I noticed how clumsy Safari's full-screen mode felt compared to Arc’s sleek sidebar. And, during research for an essay, I encountered frustrations due to Safari's lack of certain extensions that streamlined citation processes, and I started looking for the next one.
I decided to experiment with Vivaldi. Vivaldi is a browser that sells itself on customisation. Everything——from how tabs are organised to how the search bar looks——is set by the user. I figured if I was able to customize the browser the exact way I like it, I could combine features from every browser: Arc’s sidebar, safari’s search bar, Chrome’s extensions ect. It worked for a while. I spent hours watching tutorials online and browsed dozens of forums to build my browser brick by brick. The end result was a frankenstein of a browser that did resemble what I was going for. But soon, the extensive customization became distracting. Instead of completing tasks efficiently, I found myself spending time adjusting and readjusting my browser layout. Casual browsing felt complicated, as the interface demanded constant attention to settings, detracting from actual productivity. Vivaldi felt powerful yet burdensome for everyday use.
What browser do I use today? Chrome. While lacking in pretty much everything I thought I wanted, I suppose the familiarity I built as a kid raised on the internet, and therefore Chrome, was the only thing I couldn’t compromise on. I realise now that in the process of dating all these browsers, it was the girl-next-door-childhood-friend that Chrome embodied I fell for in the end. natural and unpretentious, it gave me what I needed most in a partner when navigating the chaos of the internet: the ease and closeness of decades together. I guess what I can claim over all the other Chrome users is I didn’t forget the other browsers. That my choice is a conscious choice. I won’t forget my summer flings with those other browsers, but I’ll be loyal to Chrome till death do us part.