This upcoming release of Brave Origen is going to give it the stronger browser edge on Linux.
Now you have a leaner browser with no bloatware, no clutter, no ai, no crypto...free on Zorin and all Linux distributions.
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Hi Aravisian! I am truly honored by having you answering to my post! I tend to be on your side way long before Zorin OS 16 I signed into this forum.
In today's economy, I do not judge anyone. Even less when the economy seems to based on attention. And that's what I meant by "income and publicity sources" being mention as the default browser in a blooming Linux distro must mean something both to Brave and to Zorin. But that is not what I care about.
That said, I doubt that most of those coming from Windows (as I did) would be interested in the Firefox / Brave debate. Most of them will try to download their previous browsers and see what happens.
I am still trying to find my footing in the Linux world, after being disconnected from the M$ Matrix, so here I am, pale and weak trying to limb up after taking the red pill.
I found the process of downloading Brave, and later on updating it against my will (after a fresh install) as a prerequisite to be able to start finding the way to delete it from my disk very time consuming task, so that is why I recommended Epiphany. Zorin can easily use it as default for downloading many other browsers by adding the to the default Epipahny startpage. Most of us would find it much easier to install and configure the default browser this way, without an over 300MB directory hosting an unwanted app.
I know you would appreciate avoiding the useless bad rap Zorin would save by doing this, since you state you do not use Brave. I just hope that in the future Zorin would appreciate our time as well. I think I made my point, but let me know about any weaknesess, since English is not my first language, and I would like to be intelligible. Thanks!
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Hi swarfendor437!
You are one of my favorite regulars, although I take it you no longer use Zorin OS for personal / intellectual reasons.
I always learned from your posts, although sometimes I found they addressed topics that are way beyond my abilities... Anyway, thank you for your project on building an unofficial Zorin manual!
As for your inpunt on this matter of browsers and defaults, I'll make sure to check on Mojeek, and if it beats my current default (*ahem Startpage *ahem).
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Hi Thor!
Since I started to try OS 16 I've been missing the "read aloud" capabilities of other browsers. Firefox seems at ease with robotic, almost unbearable robotic voices... Of course, I would thank you very much if you could send me in the right direction to acheiving such a thing!
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Read Aloud is available as an extension in the zen browser as it is a fork of Firefox.
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I there my friend!
Yes, I use it as my default engine, both in my browser, and in Ollama! Thank you!
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I am now using what seems to be a fork of Firefox, but I never had the luck to make it sound other than a bad Stephen H. imitator... Any thoughts on how to make it work in a Firefox fork? sorry for the Firefox uttering, that I don not use any longer
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I think that this sums things up pretty well.
I care about certain topics. Others care about certain topics. And just because we care about them, does not mean others do - even moreso, it does not mean we can have expectations that others should.
What coming from Windows OS to GnuLinux (Zorin OS, in this case) should feel like and what it actually feels like are two different things.
It should feel like the shackles have fallen away and you can launch the desktop and focus on your own interests and tasks and have finally escaped the politically charged and controversy and control of Windows OS.
Instead...
New users are immediately mired in the political and controversial controls being pushed into GnuLinux.
All they wanted was to install an application and suddenly... On top of the learning curve of using a new Desktop Environment, they must also navigate
- Snap, Flatpak, Apt or other package management systems and all the loud opinions on each telling them what they should use and prefer
- Wayland vs Xorg debates
- SystemD integration and monolithic looming dominance
- Now LibAdwaita taking and seizing hidden control over accessibility, functionality and
- Yes, Browser Wars. Which is better and "I don't like this browser because it said my sister is ugly so I use this other browser" only to get the reply of "But did you know that browser disagrees with sending humans to Mars so I recommend this browser" when in reality: All Browsers Kind Of Suck.
Because, they are in it for themselves.
You know how you read ancient Roman History and all the internecine and even inter-family squabbling and plotting and eliminating potential threats... And we think, wow, humans were nutty back then.
It has not changed.
And what new migrants to GnuLinux are thrust into is a four sided war in GnuLinux that the refugee never asked to be a part of - Because each of those four sides only are in it for themselves.
This is why... migrants need to care, too. Leaving MS or other controllers behind won't grant you freedom.
Whereever you go - you must defend it.
You are using English better than most of my peers.
I have many personally valid reasons to not use Brave.
Zorin OS needed an all-around browser that does the full job and Brave Browser, having shortcomings like every other browser does, threw enough bones to the puppies to get its 50.001% approval rating.
I think it can be questioned with arguments that have Merit and Strong Standing.
Just as the Gnome Software Store defaulting to Flatpak or the Desktop Protocol defaulting to Wayland - that we can choose for now only means we can only choose for now. Defaults are often the first step in eliminating the choice.
So keep questioning them.
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Hi Aravisian!
It might feel too heavy (or not) my saying that your presence in this forum contributed to my investment on Zorin OS across my computers.
I've said that only to show you my respect and appreciation for what you do for most of us here. (I've bookmarked many of your replies, such as Fonts: Questions, doubts, uninstalling & Packages. It is one my go-to to save precious disk space in a 128SDD!
Nevertheless, I took your answer about the Zorin economics seriously, and appreciate your always kind manner to address us, the newbies!
I totally agreed on what you had to say about "It should feel like the shackles have fallen away and you can launch the desktop and focus on your own interests and tasks and have finally escaped the politically charged and controversy and control of Windows OS.
Instead...
New users are immediately mired in the political and controversy." THAT I felt on Zorin 17.3. Regardless of the default browser.
My intervention on this specific debate intends just to deal with the apparent dichotomy between users of this or that browser. I hate to spend time downloading a browser I will not use. Because I am built like many others. And that is the only reason I vouched for what seemns to be an undercooked and underskilled browser as an amenable brigde to downloading our preferred browser.
Lets get out of this maze by taking a different vantage point, one that lets us see the maze from above and avoid a maze that makes you hurt at every turn.
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I think it was important to address because our comments are public. Another reader may (Mistakenly) get the impression that ZorinGroup receives some kind of payments from other applications.
This is not the case. In fact, ZorinGroup has invested in other applications, instead, through donations to their projects. When users choose Pro, some of that funding has gone toward supporting many Gnome Extensions like Arc Menu, for example.
As a being who is imperfect and very human, it helps a lot. We all want to have meaning and purpose - it is gratifying to know I have left a mark.
There is feedback that requests a Browser Chooser at point of install that may solve this.
There is also feedback that calls for Minimal Install options for Core.
Personally, I favor this option over having a set default.
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There is also I can foresee, OS wars. There are different OS's with different principles, and for me, what is key is an OS that allows you to mess with it, take parts away, add parts to it. I remember the fun I had taking the carburetor out of my Ford Cortina Mk.II 1300 cc four door saloon, setting it on newspaper on the dining table to clean the jets etc and then put it back in, knowing your carburetor would be more efficient at delivering fuel to the engine.
These days try to remove something like systemd and the whole system breaks, the same happens with Desktop Environments, whether it be Gnome or Plasma.
Remove one element and it might take something else with it. In Plasma KMail is notoriously bad, which I have only tried once in recent years. Try to remove it and you break Plasma, so you have to leave it alone and just install your mail client of choice.
As I right this I can see the advantages of using something like Arch, (but I would restrict my choice to Artix as it is superior to any Arch reliant distro as it uses its own repos).
Additionally Artix Community xfce edition has adopted XLibre over X11 and Wayland, as has my current daily driver, PCLOS Debian. Devuan also announced last year its intended adoption of XLibre - this offers a more secure option over xorg/X11 and avoids the poor performance of Wayland such as desktop capture (streaming) and video conferencing.
With PCLOS Debian you have multiple .iso DE's to choose from:
budgie
Cinnamon
MATE
Plasma Mini
Plasma
xfce
You get all browsers available in its 'Browser Installer' and also in Synaptic Package Manager.
You have single choice option LibreOffice installer, install the entire Office Suite or just choose one application.
All "bookworm" and "trixie" isos now come with XLibre.
A unique updater notifier, choose Synaptic or Simple CLI:
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I'm enjoying Helium browser. What browser do you prefer?
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Currently zen. Vivaldi if I need to check on a specific financial account.
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Firefox Has Quietly Integrated Brave's Adblock Engine
Shivan Kaul Sahib, the VP of Privacy and Security at Brave, has put out a blog post about something that didn't make it into the Firefox 149 release notes at all. The browser now ships adblock-rust, Brave's open source Rust-based ad and tracker blocking engine.
The change landed via Bugzilla Bug 2013888, which was filed and handled by Mozilla engineer Benjamin VanderSloot. The bug is titled "Add a prototype rich content blocking engine," and keeps the engine disabled by default with no user interface or filter lists included.
For informational purposes, adblock-rust is the engine behind Brave's native content blocker (aka ad blocker). It is written in Rust and licensed under MPL-2.0, handling network request blocking, cosmetic filtering, and features a uBlock Origin -compatible filter list syntax.
Shivan also mentions that Waterfox, the popular Firefox fork, has adopted adblock-rust, building directly upon Firefox's own implementation.
Full article and more details here
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Hi there @swarfendor437! I think I agree with you, except that (at least from my perspective) the OS wars have started back in the early 90's...
I came to Zorin apparently for the opposite reasons that once drove you here: I don't want to "deal with" GNU-Linux derivatives (or with any other OS), as if I didn't feel comfortable, I just moved along to the next candidate, as I did already in the early 2000's only to get back to Windows...
Back in time, System 7 was my home once... with those flying toasters!
A few years later, I tried to assess how much pain I'd have to endure to make things agreeable to my (personal, acquired, and perhaps "conditioned by third parties") tastes / user needs, and "tinker" as little as needed.
Windows XP, 7 and 10, as they came, seemed OK for me until 10 became an unnaturally bloated W7, yet very, very usable, while Ubuntu did not work for me in the early 2000s. Please don't get me started on W8 or W11...
For me, discovering Zorin OS 16 was a demonstration of GNU-Linux alternatives becoming viable choices for those of us who "grew inside the Matrix". So I stayed here, double booting until I found myself invested enough to ditch Windows for good.
And now forgive my quoting of Aravisian:
Please: refrain to make us worried about X11 vs Wayland. I don't know, but I tend not to care at all. At least until a divide not of opinion, but of one if user-oriented functionalities and / or safety protocols makes it impossible for us peasants to stop caring about.
Snap, Flatpak, systemd: I don't care! I guess that there aren't many of us saying this, but it is not our problem, until some distro comes up and doesn't make us feel as the worthless peasants we might be, and make a nice, welcoming place for us to feel at home (and safe, not "sage"). APT is better thank flatpak and those are better than snapd (perhaps, and supposedly, but the OS is the ultimete decider, so I choose Zorin!).
Back to the browsers, I agree with Aravisian when he said: "All Browsers Kind Of Suck".
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I make no such promises. 
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I had never tried Brave until I installed Zorin. I have always used Firefox with ublock origin, Brave simply saved me time and it seemed fine to me.
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Has anyone else watched this video, by Chris Titus about Brave Origin? As someone who has used Chris' WinUtil, to "make Windows as good as it gets", I'm quite excited to try his method of using his de-bloated Brave (which I do via WinUtil) and syncing it to Brave on Zorin_OS. I'll have some time to try it out this coming week. I'd be really interested to hear other's experiences, oh and do remember, no one is suggesting paying ... just being creative with what is already freely available.
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I'm interested in Brave Origin, too. But I will wait for Trying it until it has a stable Release. At the Moment, You only get it through the Nightly Channel.