Re: [GNU-linux-libre] Status of google chrome and chromium

[Ali Gunduz]

On Wed, Jan 6, 2010 at 3:19 PM, jaromil <address@hidden> wrote:
> I still  didn't do a code review  on Iron myself, nor  even diff'd its
> source against Chromium's  trunk, however the above link  reads like a
> veritable analysis  to me that,  along with the poor  documentation on
> Iron that its developers provide, basically erodes my trust for futher
> usage.

Even if the Iron developer was serious with his scheme in that log, in
my opinion, it doesn't put his fork in a worse position than neither
Google Chrome nor Chromium both of which come with more privacy/ethics
problems. Iron automatically opens the Iron web page with ads on it
when you first install the browser, while Chromium, in its default
configuration, constantly sends your private data to an ad company in
various ways. I think the bigger concern with Iron is that its source
(especially its diff from upstream) should be carefully inspected.

> I'm now opting  for Chromium, nevertheless it would  be really nice if
> the  GNU  project can  host  a  patch-set  that is  peer-reviewed  for
> characteristics that we regard as freedom and privacy respecting.

Having sed -i 's,/www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron.php,/kongoni.co.za,'
in the iron port seems like a better solution to me than using
chromium with its privacy undermining default settings. Just my two
cents.

Of course, a GNU parallel fork (a la IceCat) would be the better
solution, if anyone's up to it.

Ali