Have appreciated all the interesting responses having switched to FF about three or four years ago while keeping Netscape in reserve for emergencies - (which never happened). I, like many was turned off by Microsoft, though IE is in reserve too on the desktop since some service applications prefer automated updating through IE. Now Google offering Chome - but I'm not too keen on migrating to "The Cloud" even though I've also set up GMail as an alternative to Thunderbird - since it offers a couple of useful features.
Picassa, which I use with all its simple manipulative powers is in the Cloud too, but I keep self-updated duplicate photo files and parallel applications on the computer too - which I'll still have access to if I withdraw from Picassa at some point. Why would I do that? It's worth reading Google's legal stuff - which applies to everything one passes on to them - which resides in the Cloud. Even though you retain copyright Google has free rights to everything you send them - which they can use in any way they please - including commercial purposes. In addition, Google retains the right to alter your material as it so wishes.
Apple, on the other hand, is refraining totally from the Cloud concept in favor of computer-resident applications (more powerful and sophisticated in many cases that Cloud ones) and which remain totally under one's private control. Once you buy it there are no more fees - except perhaps for updates.
One can predict that before long, after most people have become dependent on Cloud services - use charges may well be introduced - despite parallel advertising revenue. This has already occurred in the case of some Cloud-based business applications.
No doubt, many of this thread's contributors know all this, so please forgive my seeming pedantic - and please correct any misunderstandings I may have.
dpurq.