Back in the days of yore, Microsoft didn't have a web browser. I know - kind of shocking, but it's true I tell ya. But when the web was pretty much in its infancy*, there were very few actual "web browsers". Then, a few companies saw the need for them and started developing them. And selling them for a premium price, too.
And Microsoft being the "me too**" type company that it is, developed their own, called in "Internet Explorer" (IE) and then started packaging it with Windows (their 'other' OS, as in "not DOS"). Effectively, they were giving it away (for free - but isn't that the definition of "giving it away"?). And then there was an outcry from the other browser manufacturer's, whining about how Microsoft was taking away their lively hood because they were giving away what these other companies were trying to sell. Which eventually became a lawsuit that Microsoft actually lost (which I suppose is the real shocker).
Personally, up through IE6, I always liked IE. Then came the abysmal IE7 (*shudder*), followed by the better, but still not as good as IE6 (as far as the UI and user flexibility in customizing it goes) IE8, the atrocious IE9, catastrophic IE10, and the current not too bad IE11. But I did try Firefox once back in their early days as well and found it very...lacking.
While I was forced to upgrade to IE7, I did voluntarily upgrade to IE8 (because it was so much better then IE7), but I refused to 'upgrade' any further. At work, I repeated told my IT support dudes to NOT upgrade my IE8. Fortunately, there was never any software I needed that required it be upgraded. That did finally change not that long ago when my IT dud 'forgot' and upgraded me to IE11. Well, OK - what's done was done and IE11 was honestly not that bad (so, so, so much better than IE10); so I live with it...at work.
At home, when I upgraded from Windows XP to Windows 7, I decided to go ahead and use Chrome as my main browser. I had tried Chrome a few years earlier, but found it a bit lacking, but it was better than Firefox. However, recently Chrome - owned by Google - was becoming more...troublesome. For whatever reason, it seems that Google is trying to be more like Microsoft, in all the bad ways. And by that I mean they started taking away features in Chrome and making it less flexible and customizable and more "you have to do things OUR way, not YOUR way" (as Microsoft has been doing with IE ever since IE7 and with Windows post Windows XP). The biggest issue I was having with Chrome (and I'm not alone in this) is that Chrome has decided to remove Flash support ahead of Adobe's announced end-of-support/development come 2020. Oh sure, they will tell you it is still possible to run Flash in Chrome, but that's only partially true.
One of the best features I did like about Chrome was its "incognito" mode (other browsers have similar modes, usually called "privacy" mode or something similar). The problem? Since Chrome build 62 (I think) earlier this year, you cannot get Flash to run in incognito mode. Chrome developers are either in complete denial about this or they are purposefully lying to the Chrome user base†.
Well, last week, I had had enough. So I dumped Chrome. Not in favor of IE, mind you, but I am actually now running Firefox. I will admit that they have come a long way (baby) from their earlier days and their latest version is not too bad. They claim it is 30% "lighter" (uses less memory) than Chrome, is 2x faster than their older version(s), and is "powerfully private" allowing you much more control over what data they collect from you.
As with any 'new' thing, it has its quirks and little annoyances (like the fact that their search bar is at the bottom of the screen, while Chrome and IE have theirs at the top) that I have to deal with, but on the whole they are not that bad and I will learn to live with them...for now. But, as I did with IE and Chrome, if the time comes when they just push me too far, I will dump them for something else.
I actually do still have IE11 as an alternate browser "just in case" but so far, I've not needed to use it, like I did for running Flash content in 'private' mode when I was still running Chrome. Only time will tell how long that may be the case, but so far, so good.
So bye-bye Chrome. You may still be a very popular browser, but your no longer have me as a proponent. Or user. (OK, OK - I actually do still have Chrome installed at work, even though my primary browser there is IE, but I don't tend to run Flash content in incognito mode while at work, ['cuz, you know - I'm working...at least as far as you know], so its still acceptable.)
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* Anyone remember "gopher space" or BBSes? (Bulletin Board Systems)? Yeah, I'm talking "that long ago"...
** Apple is also a "me too" company. While Microsoft did indeed buy DOS from another developer and 'stole' the idea of "Windows" from Apple, Apple 'stole' the mouse from Xerox, so...
† I won't post the link in here, but if you do a Google search (yes, yes - ironically, I still prefer the Google search engine over others *cough* Bing *cough*), you can find the Chrome fora (sorry, "forums") and read the threads for yourself.
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