Web Browsers

These are the browsers that I use most and for what reasons.

Falkon

Falkon might be my new favorite general purpose browser. It lacks a lot of features, most notably the ability to add security devices like the Smart Card reader and it cannot read DRM content from streaming services like Netflix but for everything else it is, by my estimation far better. The memory usage is far less than Firefox and Chrome on the same number of tabs, doing the same tasks. Also note, I can use the Google Office Suite just as well with Falkon as Firefox or Chrome.

The one feature I wish it had is the lack of Plasma Media Player extension so I cannot start and stop something from YouTube with the Plasma Media Player or using KDE Connect.

Firefox

Not only because it is the default openSUSE browser but it also generally just works with just about anything. If you need Java Runtime Environment to work and work well, Firefox is what you will need to get the job done. There are several sites that just won’t work with Chrome but will with Firefox. More on Firefox from the openSUSE Wiki.

Chrome

I use it for Google applications and Netflix, so specific multimedia apps that have DRM. Outside of that, I find Chrome to be several steps behind Firefox in terms of speed and use of memory. I still use this often but for machines that have lower powered specifications, Chrome is not your friend.

I do recommend you install Chrome if you plan to watch streaming media, although that is not as much true today. Ensure you select the RPM that corresponds to openSUSE and since Leap is only 64-bit, select the appropriate version.

Once downloaded, note where it is downloaded to complete the install.

Chromium

Chromium is the open source web browser which is the base of Google Chrome. Chromium is void of any of Google’s closed source code bits. There are reports of people playing Nextfix in Chromium when you add the Pepper-Flash-plugin. I have not tested this.

Click here to install Chromium from the openSUSE software repository

openSUSE One-Click Install Chrome / Chromium Extension

This extension allows chrome users to install software on chrome using openSUSE’s one click install links.


Aren’t there more Browsers than this?

There are many more browsers out there, but these are the ones that I recommend and have had continued success. I have heard a lot of good experiences with Opera which can be installed by clicking here. Konqueror is another browser that is installed by default on KDE. Works okay for many things and has a real nice and low memory foot print.

Check out this article on some browsers that may interest you. Install them using openSUSE’s rather convenient search and install software web tool. See what suits you best.