Exactly, I'm surprised this post is even being upvoted here on HN. It sounds like NYT did their job, and did it well (considering so many people got pissed off).
We can not tolerate tiptoeing around subjects simply because someone's "faith" might be offended.
Firstly, I don't know how you conclude Safari has the majority of market share on Mac.
> Chrome is convenient, but I'm not about to start using Opera or Safari because Google is making a better browser.
Chrome uses far more battery and processing power to achieve the same task as Safari. Safari animates content smoother and scrolls pages smoother. I would conclude Safari is currently the best web browser, despite it being slightly behind Chrome in standards support.
> ignoring standards like "filter: blur()"
This is false.
> implementing their own "backdrop-filter" that no other browser uses
This is false. Backdrop filter support is planned in all browsers except Edge currently. You can enable it with a Chrome flag. I should also mention it is a huge advancement for creating blurs on the web.
> Chrome and Firefox are the leaders in feature advancement
I don't see how you can consider Firefox a leader anymore. That browser is a mess, hopefully they make a comeback.