So what is the best browser ?(GG)- thanksSvea!

[Icyberjunkie]

Svea on firefox (and slightly jealously  :P) a mac..

Jaggy on Opera.

Me on the bog standard everything from Microsoft  ( i know I know I just havenlt had the time the research the other options!!!!) .

So, to help me out what are the benefits, disadvantages of using MSE alternatives and what do people reckon are the best?

Iain

[Icyberjunkie]

[Derekthefox]

I am plain old boring MS as well Icy. My lads use mozilla and firefox, I will have to ask them what reasons (assuming they are technical, not political).

Derekthefox

[Svea]

mozilla and firefox have less security issues (well documented) which is why i use them , especially when logging into sensitive bank accounts and the like. i switched to mozilla as IE drove me nuts with pop-ups, pop-unders (yes, really!) and loads of other spyware depositing itself on my computer when i wasnt looking!
my work computer is a PC (on mozilla), home is mac-land (firefox, camino and safari)
mozilla and firefox are of the same family, btw (previously known as 'netscape')
free download at www.mozilla.org - also exports all your IE bookmarks for you. dead handy.

btw, it's browsers you are asking about not I(nternet)S(ervice)P(rovider)s ;)

[Icyberjunkie]

btw, it's browsers you are asking about not I(nternet)S(ervice)P(rovider)s ;)

Oops - quite right Svea.   Also...I'm no computer buff {GG} in case you hadn't noticed!  ::)

You mentioned netscape - did that not have a compatibility problem with lots of stuff?  and if my memory is correct has that now been solved?

Iain

[Svea]

netscape was way back when. mozilla and firefox is what is now.
i dont have any compatibility issues at all with those browsers (safari is a different story but that's a mac only browser anyways)

[Icyberjunkie]

Thanks Svea-  so hopefully the last question!    If I download firefox do I need to uninstall MSE or will the two happily co-exist?

Also will it work okay with AOL?


And thanks Derek - it would be very helpful to have some feedback from your lads.

Iain

[Svea]

the nature of the beast is such that you cannot uninstall IE from a windows machine. apparently, it is part of the system software (this, however, is bull$hit, but still, there is no clean way of uninstalling it). when you start using firefox, you can set it as your main browser which means that IE will go to sleep.

AOL? how do you use AOL? is it just to connect to the internet, or do you access the web through their portal? in which case you are not using IE, but AOl's own broswer.

[redimp]

AOLs browser is based on IE architecture though.  I use Firefox for everyday use but sometimes use IE if Firefox does not work properly i.e. for some sites.

[Glowworm]

Browser Alternatives
Arachne
Beonex
BrowseX
Camino
CrazyBrowser
Dillo
Firefox
Galeon
iCab
K-Meleon
Konqueror
Mozilla
Netscape
Off By One
OmniWeb
Opera
Safari
Skipstone

I haven't sorted through these yet but I'm sure I won't be switching over from my Firefox browser with it's very handy sidebar.

[Icyberjunkie]

Crikey,  worse than being in a sweet shop!!

Anything from your lads yet Derek?

Iain

[mc55]

I use Opera - one immense benefit is that you can have multiple pages open within the same application - and it remembers them when you next open it !!!  Has lots of neat tricks (zooming in and out, using keys to navigate etc), once you've found your way around, but also works very well at basic level too.

Occasional sites don't work as well as in Explorer, but this is very rare.

[Derekthefox]

Thanks for reminding me Icy, my lads have just arrived, so the timing was perfect !

The answers are ...

Firefox (and Mozilla as was) appears to be more comfortable for my lads' method of using the internet (this relates to the available features and goes way over my head). The other important reason, is that firefox can run on linux as well, whereas IE ...

There is also a political standpoint, but I won't include that ...

[Glowworm]

I-see,-why-be-a-junkie? (Icyberjunkie)...  Thanks for the tip-off about the Opera browser system. I've been told it's good but I haven't yet checked it out. What I like about Firefox is you can put what you like in the sidebar for quick reference... google... spell-check... ask Jeeves... etc.

With Firefox they don't exactly have a zoom as such - but you can enlarge script on any web page by holding down the control key and tapping the + key or the - key... or tapping the ) key to bring the page script back to its normal size.

[Rosa_Mundi]

I use Opera - one immense benefit is that you can have multiple pages open within the same application - and it remembers them when you next open it !!! 

Firefox also has multiple pages open, mc55, and you can download a small plugin which remembers where you were, too. I think Firefox is now ahead of Opera in slickness, but they're both good browsers.

[undercarriage plan]

Ok Whhooooaaaaa!! Have just downloaded firefox, thanks Ady, and need to ask daft question, what is the sliding bar thingy that glowworm mentioned? What should I be doing with it? And do I need my crash helmet? Would be so grateful if someone could explain how to get the most from this....at the min, I'm clueless!! :-\

[mc55]

Thanks Rosa, will check Firefox out

[Glowworm]

It took me about an hour after installing the Opera browser to dump it as neanderthal compared to Firefox. Very basic - very fundamental.

Its sidebar is composed mostly of Google and eBay sites - with no option for adding a huge range of extensions as you can with Firefox. And their bookmarks utility has nothing like the versatility of Firefox's Bookmarks Manager facility.

I uninstalled Opera as a jalope compared to the Firefox limousine.

Now I'm off to check out the Netscape browser... and if that doesn't turn out to be a piece of superceded crap too I'll be genuinely surprised.

The biggest puzzle to me is how in heaven's name is it that over 80% of PC users are still patronising the Internet Explorer browser. It's a virus magnet and is primitive compared to Firefox.