Better Web Browser

[Cobrav]

I've been a satisfied Netscape Communicator user since my first computer. As it will not be supported in the future I get a notice each time I log on telling me to upgade/convert to either Flock or Firefox. I've used Microsoft Explorer in the past but just am not a fan. I'm just wondering if anyone could recommend one over the other. I'm not a Facebook or Myspace user and don't use Ebay so I don't really need neat graphics features. I'm not a gamer so I don't need features for that. I don't open multiple windows at the same time but I did like the multipe tabs feature of Netscape. I would like something that runs quickly meaning it doesn't automatically load a lot of aplets or auxiliary programs in anticipation that I actually would have wanted them running. Can anyone suggest a robust, quick loading browser that they are pleased with?

Thanks,
Chuck

[getbent]

firefox is a very good browser....

[TDPRI]

Another vote for Firefox.

[PraiseCaster]

Well, I'm not sure about what you meant about aplets and loading some of the stuff your talking about, but I am a confirmed Mozilla FireFox user. I like it a lot better than IE, and it helped eliminate tons of pop-ups, and pop-unders I used to get all the time with IE (of course that was years ago, and I dont know if IE addressed that or not).

[Scott McCray]

Firefox -
has all the add-in pieces you could ever want, but none are installed by default. Lightweight and fast - what's not to like!

Scott

[tazzboy]

Firefox all the way

[smitty54017]

I'm a happy Firefox convert.

It has tons of add-ons from security to entertainment. It's also opensource, so you can customize it. By typing about:config in the address bar, you can tweak settings to make it do everything from load pages faster, to resize buttons.

The current version, 2.0, starts up slow, but once you start surfing, especially with the tweaks, it loads pages faster. Two of the add-ons, Noscript and Adblock Plus, block java and ads, so pages load faster. Blocking java also means more security and privacy. You can select which scripts to allow and which to block. If the browser crashes, it will recover the last site(s) you were visiting, so you won't need to dig through the history folder to find them.

The beta version, 3, starts MUCH faster, but there are a lot of issues with it crashing, etc., so I recommend avoiding that version.

The only real issue I've had with it is that Microsoft's websites don't like it, and if you're going on the Windows update site, it won't work, so you'll have to use IE. Other than MS, most sites work well with Firefox, simply for the fact that more and more people are using it.

[mikespe]

Originally Posted by smitty54017

The only real issue I've had with it is that Microsoft's websites don't like it, and if you're going on the Windows update site, it won't work, so you'll have to use IE. Other than MS, most sites work well with Firefox, simply for the fact that more and more people are using it.

I have been using Firefox for several years now and love it! To solve the the MS website issue there is an add-on call IE Tab or something like that. It creates a new tab that emulates Internet Explorer. Just right click over the link you want to open and select Open In IE TAB.

[ROADMAN]

[teleclarkster]

Firefox for me too. I only open IE if I encounter a website that doesn't work properly in Firefox.

[Scott McCray]

Originally Posted by mikespe

I have been using Firefox for several years now and love it! To solve the the MS website issue there is an add-on call IE Tab or something like that. It creates a new tab that emulates Internet Explorer. Just right click over the link you want to open and select Open In IE TAB.

IE Tab is da bomb! I rarely have to use the full version of IE at all any more.

Scott

[cookie1054]

Count my vote for Firefox. Been using it for about 3 years.

[Joe M]

Originally Posted by teleclarkster

Firefox for me too. I only open IE if I encounter a website that doesn't work properly in Firefox.

+1

And there are some websites that don't like Firefox

[Cobrav]

Thanks a lot. That sounds like the way to go. I'll install it right now.

[stephwills]

Wow. Overwhelming support for Firefox. I knew you guys were smart ... but wow. Nice show!

[Tdot]

Originally Posted by getbent

firefox is a very good browser....

Firefox. But since they're all free, you could try Opera too.

[morroben]

Another Firefox fan...IE only gets used when I open my hotmail account directly from Windows Messenger.

[wilkat1]

Firefox

+ AdBlock Plus
+ TabMix Plus (gives greater control over tab behavior)
+ MR Tech Link Wrapper (reformats wide posts on message boards)
+ a few other extensions

[garytelecastor]

I use firefox because of it's security bonuses. I place the google page as home page.

[tazzboy]

I'll also add get Thunderbird it 10 times better then Outlook or Outlook Express in my opinion.

[Dennis68]

I seem to do the round robin always going from one to another. I was using firefox for about a month with no real complaints other than some sites I frequent didn't mesh 100% with it. I am currently back using IE's latest release of IE 7.0.6 which is faster than before. But I am fickle and like to try different things so I'll probaby move on again at some point. But for the time being IE7+ is just fine...

[Unseen]

Firefox is great, but one of the advantages of it is fading. For a long time Netscape and IE held sway and most hacker efforts were aimed at those browsers. If you used Firefox, you were flying under their radars.

Now, Firefox has almost become the new standard browser and so I'm pretty sure the hackers are giving it more attention than they used to.

Want to fly under the radar again? I think most of us have heard of Opera, so I'll just mention that in passing.

Other browsers to look at (which I have tried and work just fine) include Avant, which is a fast browser with features Firefox doesn't support; K-Meleon read these reviews; take a look at Maxthon, too; and finally there is Safari by Apple. Their Windows version is out and it's not half bad.

[MulliganChebichev]

Firefox

MouseGestures is my favorite extension, it has sort of a learning curve, but now its an integral part of my web browsing life.

[bradpdx]

Safari on the Mac, Firefox on Windows. I will add that I have been using Safari 3.1 on Windows XP recently as well with great success - it is finally quite close to the Mac version and may become my favorite.

I work in software development and use Windows at work only. I avoid IE there because it is slower and suffers from poor UI design - it is simply not well thought out. Also, as websites worldwide began to adopt open standards, IE simply does not render pages well and produces more page errors than Firefox or Safari, which conform more closely to W3C guidelines.

Though Firefox supports more shear features, I love Safari on Mac OS X because it is direct, consistent and wickedly fast. That's what I'm on right now.

[bradpdx]

Originally Posted by Unseen

Now, Firefox has almost become the new standard browser and so I'm pretty sure the hackers are giving it more attention than they used to.

Partly true. Much of the reason that IE has such a lousy history of security is because of the manner in which Microsoft tied the browser to the operating system. The idea was to make using connected Microsoft products easier and to shut out competition. Unfortunately, this opened huge holes that were exploited over and over again.

With IE7 the integration is far less, which helps. But Microsoft still suffers from much legacy code that remains ripe for targeting.

Firefox certainly has vulnerabilities, but it is doubtful they will ever rise to the levels seen with IE 5 & 6 simply because it is not integrated with Windows.