this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2022
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The Vivaldi code is 100% accessible by the user and auditable, it is even taught in the community how to modify it, naturally at your own risk. Both Edge and Chrome itself try to mimic Vivaldi's functions, but not being allowed to fork it (that's the meaning of ClosedSource in Vivaldi), with a pretty poor result. Releasing these codes, BigTech would have forked Vivaldi, which would have been the end for a small cooperative with a different concept in a market full of abandoned and discontinued projects, which everyone believed that setting their browser as FOSS, simply putting their logo on the Chromium or Gecko would be enough (already more than 70 browsers that ended up like this)
Perhaps the definition of OpenSource requires a review, giving importance in the areas where it makes sense, in the more than 100 different browsers that circulate on the network, it is already irrelevant, especially if then they fall equally into the traffic model with the data of users, because they see that a browser requires an infrastructure, money and maintenance to continue it, apart of a good community.
Mozilla shares data with Coogle, which finances them, Vivaldi has another business model that does not compromise user privacy and also works, in a small company owned by its employees, strictly subject to and exceeding EU privacy regulations that in US companies do not exist.
Who is more capitalist and who is more ethical in their approach? Vivaldi, as the only browser company, is active in campaigns against surveillance advertising and active against Google's tracking tricks. FOSS FF is conspicuous by its absence there, how strange. Check out Jon's interview with Linux reps and why Manjaro and FerenOS use the 'ClosedSource' Vivaldi currently as the default Browser, other distros will surely follow. https://lemmy.ml/post/80937
You are free to use FOSS and continue to be driven by Big Tech to finance it, if you think this is better. I care more about the ethics towards the user and TOS/PP of the product I use, worse in Mozilla than in Vivaldi. Worse in American products than in European, much worse. All the tracking APIs of Google, FB and others are FOSS, the worst malware is too, Google and MS itself have the most extensive catalog of FOSS and there are still those who believe that FOSS is a guarantee of freedom, privacy, security and ethics. No, it is not at all, perhaps it is for some individual apps or to share new products and developments, which is in browsers, in a market saturated with them completely irrelevant, in these other factors count.
Cheers
No, I don't use TOR, it's not really more anonym in the ordinary web than other browsers, it's only slower and less secure. Certainly Chromium is made by Google, but as OpenSource, the script can be modified, well as degoogled Chromium or let the user decide which Google APIs need and which not in the settings, as Vivaldi do, because there are also users which need some services for their work. A lot of online services and profesional sites need services que offers Google and which don't have valid alternatives. Because of this, also Gecko use them, but you have to modify the script to eliminate it, in Vivaldi you can do it in the settings or at least in flags. As you can see, FOSS have advantages for devs, but not so much for a normal user who need certain features for his work, study or activities. Privacy and security has nothing to do if te product is FOSS or not. The normal user need a good tecnical support and devs which respects the need of the user (most features are added by request made by the users in the community of Vivaldi where the devs and even von Tetzchner itself particpate). Nothing to do with the habits of Big Tech and prefab FAQ pages as support, or implement or rest functions, without consens of the users, as FF do.. Where are here the advantage of FOSS over a product OpenSource who use 5% auditable and customizable by the user but proprietary code?