Firefox and possible replacement(s) - was - Re: An operating system with all the usual tools, but without news and ads

[Ralf Mardorf]

On Wed, 8 Jun 2022 20:05:40 +0800, Bret Busby wrote:
>I have changed the subject, as the thread appears to have been what I 
>have renamed the subject, rather than being about operating systems.
>
>
>On 8/6/22 6:03 pm, Ralf Mardorf via ubuntu-users wrote:
>> Mozilla Firefox 101.0 vs WaterfoxLimited Waterfox G4.1.2.1
>> 
>> For those interested in a visual comparison:
>> 
>> https://i.imgur.com/TwF3u0w.png
>> https://i.imgur.com/xaqvAh1.png
>> https://imgur.com/a/ga5AqzJ
>>   
>
>So,
>
>1. what are the differences between Waterfox and Firefox (and
>Seamonkey, apart from Seamonkey also incorporating its email
>application);

I don't know. At least it doesn't have a sponsored shortcut option.

>2. can Waterfox be installed and run, concurrently with Firefox and 
>Seamonkey;

You can run both at the same time. Waterfox can import the
history from Firefox. I suspect it imports from the currently
selected Firefox profile, but I can't say for sure. The directory is
seemingly $HOME/.waterfox/.

>3. does Waterfox use chrome or gecko as its underlying engine
>(Firefox, like Thunderbird, apparently uses chrome, resulting in
>frequent javascript crashes ("Unresponsive script(s)" ); and,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterfox#Features
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox

Waterfox engines: Gecko, SpiderMonkey
Firefox  engines: Gecko, Quantum, SpiderMonkey

>4. is Waterfox available as a package that can be installed and
>updated, using the package managers, like Seamonkey can be done via
>ubuntuzilla?

Yesno?! https://www.google.com/search?q=waterfox+ppa