added new post (finding the ultimate browser)

.vscode/settings.json

@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
 	"editor.detectIndentation": false,
 	"editor.insertSpaces": false,
 	"cSpell.words": [
+		"bspwm",
+		"classnet",
 		"developomp",
 		"developomp's",
 		"dompurify",
@@ -12,9 +14,13 @@
 		"Fontawesome",
 		"hljs",
 		"katex",
+		"Librewolf",
+		"polybar",
 		"Pomky",
+		"sxhkd",
 		"texmath",
 		"tinycolor",
+		"ungoogled",
 		"YYYYMMDD"
 	],
 	"[svg]": {

markdown/posts/finding the ultimate browser.md

@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+---
+title: Finding the ultimate browser
+date: 2022-03-24
+---
+
+## Intro
+
+When I made the switch to Linux, I had to reconsider every choice I've made throughout the entire time I've been using Windows.
+Most of them were trivial choices, some took a bit of time but I eventually figured it out but one problem stood out to be much more difficult than the others:
+Which browser should I use?
+Spoiler alert, I'm still waiting for the _ultimate browser_^TM^ but at least now I have something to share.
+Make yourself comfortable because you're in for a ride.
+This is my journey to find the ultimate browser.
+
+## The beginning
+
+For us to talk about browsers, we first have to go all the way back to the early 2000s,
+when the only computer in my house was a old windows XP PC with a CRT monitor that was probably as old as me.
+When I was old enough to understand language, my father introduced me to my first browser: The Internet explorer (abbreviated to IE from this point onward).
+
+At the time, it was everything I wished for and more, but little did I know,
+IE was already on the decline while another browser was quietly climbing up the market share.
+
+<p align="center">
+	<img alt="browser market share" src="/img/posts/linux-setup-script/browser-market-share-trend.png" style="max-width: 100%;" />
+	<br />
+	source: <a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/desktop/worldwide/#monthly-200901-202203" target="_blank">statcounter.com</a>
+</p>
+
+One day, probably after my father upgraded the PC to Windows 7,
+the default browser was changed to some colorful ball looking thing.
+And its name was Google Chrome.
+
+Not much have changed with my browsing experience as I didn't use much internet back then - I didn't even know that YouTube was a thing -
+but the switch is worth mentioning because it made Chrome the browser that I grew up with instead of IE.
+
+## Switching to Linux
+
+By the time I was in grade 8 I considered myself to be quite a tech-savvy person.
+I knew how the internet worked behind the scene, I was able code basic programs, had some experience with Machine Learning and Linux,
+was interested in various online privacy and security issues, and was no stranger to the DIY culture.
+That, added with the fact that Microsoft was making Windows worse by day made me make the switch to Linux.
+And along the way, I ditched Google Chrome for Chromium.
+
+In hindsight, I could have chose a better browser like firefox but I chose Chromium because I couldn't <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>+<kbd>W</kbd> away pinned tabs.
+Sounds silly now but it was a big deal back then since the only browser I was familiar with was Google Chrome.
+
+Anyways, despite the poor decision,
+this is probably the most important day in my search for the ultimate browser since it was the first major change I made on my own.
+
+## Not enough
+
+When I made the switched to Chromium, I was disappointed to see no changes in my browsing experience whatsoever.
+Maybe if I used more advanced features I would have felt the difference but Chromium even supported account syncing back then
+so I didn't experience any.
+Familiarity isn't what I singed up for when I switched to Linux so I needed to find a new browser.
+
+After constantly switching browser every couple of weeks for the next two years,
+trying many, many different browsers, I finally settled on one: librewolf.
+
+## Is this it?
+
+I could write an entire post just listing what librewolf does things right but to keep things simple:
+it is not an obscure browser, it is secure, and it respects my privacy.
+To put it simply, it was the ultimate browser I was desperately looking for.
+
+After configuring librewolf to suit my need, I was happiest I've ever been using a browser.
+It created no cookies I didn't need, all my favorite extensions were there, and most importantly, I felt secure.
+Not a single site was broken (at the time), and the only problem I had was the lack of performance.
+I had to use chromium for io games that needed juicy 3 digit fps but other than that, I was satisfied.
+I used librewolf all the way until I entered college.
+
+## I came for copper but I found gold
+
+Librewolf slowly lost its charm when firefox - the browser librewolf is based on -
+was going in a direction I didn't like and some college related sites started breaking on librewolf.
+I also never got used to opening chromium every other day.
+One day, I was so fed up with the problems librewolf had that I decided to replace librewolf.
+
+I considered using raw chromium again since they removed much of google-specific code,
+but then I remembered that ungoogled chromium was a thing.
+
+When I first saw ungoogled chromium way beck when I was trying different browsers,
+it didn't really piqued my interest because back then I was heavily reliant on google's services
+but now I barely use them at all so I knew it would work perfectly for me now.
+
+I quickly configured ungoogled chromium to delete cookies and histories on exit, installed some of my favorite extensions,
+and changed some security related settings and I was shocked to see how closely it resembled the feelings of librewolf.
+As a added bonus, I don't have to open another browser to play io games.
+
+## Conclusion
+
+For now, I'm more than satisfied with ungoogled chromium but it's still far from being perfect.
+Though most if not all google-specific code was removed,
+the original code is written by Google and some of the borderline spyware features could potentially find its way to my computer.
+
+Currently I'm not actively looking for the ultimate browser (and I don't think it even exists yet),
+but I'm ready ditch ungoogled chromium the first chance I get.
+I'll make sure to make a follow-up post if that ever happens.