[Mountain Giant]

Loot of  journalists make uneducated statements on social media. They are no different from normal people.

[Moltke]

They ignore Linux Lite, because admins do strange decisions. Like putting Google Chrome as default browser, that negate all advantages of using Linux.

Why? You don't need to log in to your Google account to use Chrome. You can use DuckDuckGo as your default search engine instead of Google's. So, why?

[Artim]

Whether substantiated or not, most people just do not trust Google like we all once did. It may be off-putting for them to find Google's own browser as the default.

For that matter, Mozilla's Firefox has even become a little suspect in recent times. A lot of browsers that aim for the "lightweight" label are choosing browsers and other software by default that is not only of good reputation but much lighter on CPU and RAM than either Chrome or Firefox.

[valtam]

The topic of 'Google' anything will always be a polarizing topic, more so with the linux community because we have a greater awareness than Granny Beatrice from down the road. All we have to do is what we've always done, encourage people to switch to Linux by way of familiarity. Once they get here, let them make their own decisions on how they proceed. Getting them here is everything.

[vint]

So,
What is the reasoning behind removing Firefox as the default browser in the new 6.0 series of Linux Lite OS?  The Chrome browser slows everything down on any computer, Google tracks everything we do and though sometimes it is a necessary evil as in using an Android phone most of the time there are other alternatives to having information taken.  I'm new to Linux Lite and Linux but I do like the way LL works on my old laptop, I like how it is so customizable.  I have a lot to learn, and unlearn and it is going to take some time to get used to Linux but I will not use Chrome browser at all, I use Duck Duck Go as my search and for now Mozilla until I find something better and lighter weight. 
Is it because Chrome is the most used and downloaded browser or is it because of $$$$$?

Vint, God Bless Texas

[Mountain Giant]

Reasons for switch are in release notes.

Now that Firefox comes as a Snap package from Ubuntu, and Windows users need to be able to deal with as few package managers as possible, Chrome was the obvious replacement choice. Huge market share, Windows familiarity, just about everything you throw at it just works, all with the backing of a little known company called Google.

[Artim]

Oh there is a whole world of alternative browsers available, some found in Lite Software. When Mozilla "got political" I switched to Seamonkey - based on Mozilla code but no longer a Mozilla product, it does what both Firefox and Thunderbird do, yet with thousands fewer lines of code than Firefox by itself! Very lightweight compared with the others. I used a PPA to install it though, as it doesn't appear in Lite Software's list.

[Artim]

I'm finding Brave to be an excellent alternative browser as well. Based on Chromium (not Chrome!) but free of the tracking and spying and stuff. I turn off all the Brave "rewards" and brave search and use Startpage as my search engine. Very fast, very reliable so far.

How to install Brave on Linux Lite

[valtam]

... (not Chrome!) but free of the tracking and spying and stuff.

I see this a lot on the internet. People stating privacy concerns over software. The thing that makes me chuckle, is that as soon as you connect to the internet, your privacy is being exploited and you are being spied on with every packet you send. You can be Tor'd and VPN'd up the yazoo and assume you're covered, and you're not. You simply cannot mitigate privacy and tracking with software. Security is an illusion.

[Artim]

Indeed! The only way to ensure privacy is to unplug!


But you know me, a true technophobe, scared of everything and anything involving tech. I have read and been spooked by so many articles and blog posts about the scary,malicious, and downright evil dangers of:

• Systemd
  
• Pulseaudio
  
• Elogind (in systemd-free distros)
  
• Google (and Chrome)
  
• snaps
  
• anything somebody thinks might be spyware/malware
  

It has sent me off to other distros and software that aren't nearly as simple, easy, functional, and just plain enjoyable as Linux Lite. The defaults are easy enough to change. Seamonkey in place of Google Chrome and Thunderbird, for example, using a PPA.


In the end, usability, reliability, and simplicity are much more valuable to me than "purity." A true purist would have to build his or her own computer from scratch using free/open-source HARDWARE as well as a "pure" OS and software that still probably wouldn't run with the point-and-click ease and convenience offered in Linux Lite.