Score:1

Why is Firefox the default?

cn flag

I know that at first glance this may seem like an opinion-based question, but there has to be a definitive answer to why the developers chose Firefox rather than a browser like Chromium, even though it is over 3 times as fast on the old machines that Linux is famous for speeding up.

I've only seen 2 or 3 distros that don't use chrome by default (other than the ones that have no browser at all). The ones I remember off the top of my head are Deepin and Manjaro, as well as another arch based distro that I don't remember the name of.

Please remember that I am asking why Ubuntu or other distros use Firefox by default, not why you personally think Firefox is better, so don't close the question thinking that it is opinionistic and not factual. Also, I've experienced people on Stack Overflow dislike questions and even report them just because they can't answer them, so please don't do that. Thanks to anyone who can help me figure this out :).

Organic Marble avatar
us flag
"it is over 3 times as fast " citation needed
cn flag
@OrganicMarble this is from my own experience.
crip659 avatar
pl flag
Probably comes down to the 'don't fix if not broken' system, or it is habit. Chromium was not out in the beginning and Firefox was out six years earlier than chromiun..
cocomac avatar
cn flag
@crip659 If you think you know the answer, please write an answer, not just putting it as a comment. Also see [this Meta post](https://meta.askubuntu.com/q/2281/1438484).
crip659 avatar
pl flag
@cocomac I am just guessing the reason. For the real reason/answer, think we would need to hear from one of the Ubuntu/Linux Devs why Firefox is/still is the default browser used.
cocomac avatar
cn flag
I found this old question that might help [Why is Ubuntu shipped with firefox?](https://askubuntu.com/questions/269472/why-is-ubuntu-shipped-with-firefox)
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