Giving Firefox Developer Edition a Go

I love that I can run Chrome on my work MacBook Pro, my personal MacBook Pro, and my iPhone 6 Plus and keep my browsing history in sync. I love that I can install a plugin on one Mac and have it available on the other. I love that my logins are available whichever device I use. I love that I can bring up my open tabs from any device. My web experience transparently moves with me, and it makes life so much easier.

I just launched Firefox, as I do periodically to keep it up to date, and noticed the message on the home page:

Choosing Firefox isn’t just choosing a browser. It’s a vote for personal freedom online.

Ouch. I’m not really clear on Firefox’s business model, but I know Google’s: to sell me to retailers, advertisers, or anyone else that aims to profit from me by knowing more about my habits, my data, my income, my purchases, et al. I can’t pretend that I’m outraged at the arrangement — I generally have nothing to hide, and I’d rather see advertisements for things I’m interested in than for things I care nothing about. Lately, however, I’m getting more creeped out about privacy invasion, and I’m tentatively deciding to cloak myself a bit better.

Like most web developers, I leverage Chrome’s Developer Tools in my work, and would sorely miss their absence. The release of Firefox Developer Edition might be able to fill that void. I’ve just downloaded it and will try to use it for my web development. I have high hopes.