So I was browsing YouTube while waiting for my Uma Musume energy to refill so I could start another run. Just passing the time, you know? Then I saw a video from Syntax with the Arc Browser logo in it. Naturally, it clickbaited me into watching
And to my surprise, Arc is shutting down...
Ok, not really shutting down but it kind of implies that it is.
How I found Arc.
I wasn't interested in browser wars before. I used Google Chrome for everything and everything is good. I'm satisfied with it and never thought of changing.
Until I saw some video by Jack Herrington. I saw in one of his videos he's using a minimalistic looking browser. I wanted that but since I'm the shy-type of guy, I decided to try and search for it myself rather than asking in the comments.
At that time, It wasn't that famous. I had a difficult time trying to find it. And I never found it. A few weeks later I saw Theo's video about him giving up on chrome.
And it was that! I finally found it! Arc!
But, it wasn't available for Windows... Windows 10 to be specific.
I was so sad. I had no choice but to wait. I saw Mac users use it and it looks so good! I'm in agony. I wanted to try it so bad.
After the wait though, I was finally able to use it. And it was love at first sight!
It looks minimalistic but feature-rich at least the features I want and features I didn't know I want until I tried it was in there! It never lacked anything for me!
What's in there?
There's just so many things I can talk about in this writing so I'll write what I think has the most impact for me.
The sidebar or vertical tabs
I know this has been done by so many browsers already before this, but it's my first ever new browser after Google Chrome.
It takes a short time to get used to it. When I got used to it, nothing's really innovative about it. I neither like nor dislike it. Pretty normal.
What I like about it though, is how they handle bookmarks. They don't have the native bookmarks. But they have two types of pins:
- The one that only show icons in a grid layout and
- The ones that looks like a normal tab and can be inside folders
Why are there 2 types you ask? I don't know but I do have my own uses for them and I know some users have theirs too.
The workspaces
Now this! This is what kept me using it and why it became my daily driver for a long time!
The workspaces where you can switch between them hassle-free is what kept me going.
Not the vertical tabs, not the UI, not the customization, not the animations.
It's the hassle-free workspace switch!
So what's up with that?
Imagine this as kind of like a profile for Google Chrome. You can have different sessions and/or history on the same browser. In Chrome, it's beside the address bar on the right. Click the button and you can pick or add accounts.
On Arc though, it's just at the bottom of the sidebar. You click it and you're switched. I don't even click it! I just use the default hotkey which is alt + a number! It's really easy!
That's all?
I'm the type to have personal and work related stuff separate.
I said those 2 but personal branches out a lot. Like gaming, streaming, dev stuff and some other else.
I like to have all of them separated by email and search history. And when I get interested by something else outside of the scope of the workspace, it's easy alt + number to switch!
The fact that I can switch workspace with a hotkey because of a whim is really productive and a big fat W!
Temporary good bye (supposedly)
I used Arc as my daily driver. It's really good and I love it. Unfortunately, I have so little space for my SATA SSD (Please donate for my PC upgrade 🤣) so I had no choice but to install it to an HDD. And it hurts a lot when I'm playing games.
I had no choice but to leave it temporarily and use a something a bit more lightweight, Zen.
It helped a little bit but not so much. And let me tell you, it's hard moving off to a none-chromium based browser.
Zen is the closest thing to Arc that I can use. I've tried Vivaldi, but I don't know. It doesn't hit right.
I was planning to move back to Arc after buying a new drive. But I can't believe that Arc went on before I can even buy one!
They're replacing Arc with what?!
Apparently, they're focusing on a new browser called Dia.
And what's new with Dia? Why shift focus from a browser to a new browser? Does it look and feel like Arc? should I move to it?
From the videos I found on internet. I saw some demos from people who uses it and you know what my reaction is?
WTF IS THIS?! THEY'RE REPLACING A REALLY GOOD BROWSER FOR THIS?!
It's my legitimate reaction. Imagine chrome with an easy access ChatGPT. And that's all there is to it. It's not as innovative as Arc. There's no vertical tabs or workspace (or at least nothing in sight for now).
Now I do know that there are people that's going to make this their daily driver. We do have different jobs after all and each of us has they're own way of using a browser.
I understand that. But, why stop Arc? I really love it and I was planning to go back after buying a new drive.
What now?
Well... I guess I'll stick with Zen for now. I would've really preferred a chromium-based browser for work though.
I've been using Zen as my daily driver for browsing the web and dev work for quite some time now. I eventually got used to it, specifically the dev tools. And it's good for work since I'm probably the only one using Firefox-based browser in the company. I was able to create tickets that specifically target Firefox.
Would I try Dia? Well... with what it currently has, NO.
I don't find opening ChatGPT on a new tab and typing my prompt hassle enough that it deserves a whole new browser.
Dia will not replace Arc.
Arc was irreplaceable.
