What's your browser

[Cain]

A previous thread on browsers inspired this poll.

Edit:
Sh*t. Now I can't add the poll.

Argh, I'll have to make it a write-in (which will probably under-represent embarrassed IE users).

Safari
IE
Mozilla
Firebird
Opera
Netscape

[arcticpenguin]

Firebird for me. I keep Mozilla around as well, there is at least one web site where it behaves better.

[Zep]

1) Firebird
2) IE6.x, if absolutely necessary.

[Janus]

1) mozilla
2) links
3) IE 6 (only if there is no other way)

[LFTKBS]

1) Firebird.
2) IE6. Ugh.

Janus, Links or Lynx?

[Janus]

Originally posted by LFTKBS
Janus, Links or Lynx? [/B]

Both actually. Links is more useful, but lynx is easer from the console.

[Luciana]

Cain:

I've added the poll for you. I hope it works out fine, because it's the first time I do that!

[Yahweh]

1. Firebird
2. IE 6
3. My imagination

[shanek]

Originally posted by Janus
Both actually. Links is more useful, but lynx is easer from the console.

Lynx is da bomb when you want a script to get a web page.

[Janus]

Originally posted by shanek

Lynx is da bomb when you want a script to get a web page.

wget (http://www.gnu.org/software/wget/wget.html)?

[Lord Emsworth]

I voted Safari, but this is only my secondary browser.

I do most of the surfing with iCab, as it offers a load of features that no other browser has.

[Brian]

I use Slimbrowser.

[Psi Baba]

Originally posted by Lord Emsworth
I voted Safari, but this is only my secondary browser.

I do most of the surfing with iCab, as it offers a load of features that no other browser has.
I'm always curious about other browsers. LE, can you briefly describe these? I've been using Opera for about two or three years (well, since version 3.x, let's put it that way). Firebird is sounding very tempting. A lot of people seem to like it. I used to be a loyal Netscape user until version 6 which was a disaster. I still keep 4.76 around because I like Composer which I use if I want to make a quicky web page and I'm too weary to get out the old HTML hammer and chisel. One alternative browser I tried turned out to be nothing more than a shell that ran over top of IE.

[jimlintott]

Lynx absolutely rips. Fastest browser I've used. Used to use it more but sites are less lynx friendly these days. I use Mozilla and Konquerer mostly.

Here is a shot of lynx in action:

[Lord Emsworth]

Originally posted by Psi Baba
I'm always curious about other browsers. LE, can you briefly describe these?

All right, but both iCab and Safari are only available for the Mac platform.

Safari requires OS X, and to me it really made a good impression when I switched from Classic around June and tried this Apple product. The features are rather limited but include tabbed browsing and a pop-up blocker. And it is quite fast

iCab (www.iCab.de) has been around for some years now and you can still use even the newest versions with something like System 7.5. The newest thingy they've implemented is tabbed browsing. But it always featured very elaborate download settings which enable you to suck down whole webpages and store them either as they are (files&folders) or into a webarchive (they are nothing else than .zip files). The settings for JavaScript allow you to decide what JavaScript may and may not do; that means you not only have a pop-up blocker but can furthermore block all kinds of annoying things like windows being moved or resized. It is highly configurable, has a html code error checker, a filter manager, and so on. The two major drawbacks are that (a) it is not the fastest and (b) the rendering of webpages is not too good.

[arcticpenguin]

I believe Safari uses the same underpinnings as Konqueror.

[shanek]

Originally posted by Janus
wget (http://www.gnu.org/software/wget/wget.html)?

Wget's a downloader, not a browser. It's great if you need a file or a stream, especially if you need more than one. I find lynx better for script-based browsing and navigation.

[shanek]

Originally posted by jimlintott
Lynx absolutely rips. Fastest browser I've used. Used to use it more but sites are less lynx friendly these days.

Here's a hint to all the clueless web designers out there who don't use ALT attributes in their images: If your web page doesn't make sense in lynx, it won't make sense to any visually impared person browsing your site using text-to-speech.

Use ALT attributes!

[AfaintcoldcupofTea..]

Firebird or Opera if needed.

[MRC_Hans]

IE. It came with the box, and it works like a breeze. I'm wondering: What do other browsers have that IE hasn't? I can't imagine what more I could use.

Looking at the stats of my website, I can see that about 90% of the visitors use IE.

Hans

[Occasional Chemist]

Originally posted by MRC_Hans
IE. It came with the box, and it works like a breeze. I'm wondering: What do other browsers have that IE hasn't? I can't imagine what more I could use.

Looking at the stats of my website, I can see that about 90% of the visitors use IE.

Hans

Mainly better control over what web pages can and can't do when you view them. Mozilla's built-in popup blocking and javascript controls are much better than "stock" IE's.

And you'd have to pay me to give up tabbed browsing, but until you've tried it for a bit that might not seem like a big deal.

[arcticpenguin]

Originally posted by MRC_Hans
I'm wondering: What do other browsers have that IE hasn't?
A port on Linux, Tru64 Unix, etc.

[Cain]

Originally posted by MRC_Hans
IE. It came with the box, and it works like a breeze. I'm wondering: What do other browsers have that IE hasn't? I can't imagine what more I could use.

Looking at the stats of my website, I can see that about 90% of the visitors use IE.

Hans

What Occasional Chemist said plus mouse gestures. Mouse gestures are very cool.

[jimlintott]

Originally posted by MRC_Hans
I'm wondering: What do other browsers have that IE hasn't?

Don't forget compliance with web standards (http://www.w3.org/). Another advantage is that because other browsers aren't embedded in the (Windows) kernel they aren't as compliant with nasties like viruses and trojans.

[shanek]

Originally posted by MRC_Hans
IE. It came with the box, and it works like a breeze. I'm wondering: What do other browsers have that IE hasn't?

Let's see:

Popup blocking (you can get this in IE with the Google Toolbar)
Tabbed Browsing (the killer app—once you use this, you won't want to go back)
Bookmark keywords (mentioned above)
Better "smart browsing" functions
Better keyboard navigation of links
The ability to stop scripts from doing such things as resizing windows etc. without affecting other functionality
Built-in Mail client that doesn't even look at Outlook viruses, much less run them
Excellent pseudo-Bayesian spam filter in Mail client
Options to view EMails as full HTML, simple HTML (avoiding the running of nasty scripts), or plain text (avoiding HTML entirely)
Excellent password manager
The ability to encrypt passwords and other sensitive information with a master password
Excellent download manager
Excellent cookie manager
Excellent form manager


That's just off the top of my head...I'm sure I left out a whole lot!

[shanek]

Originally posted by jimlintott
Don't forget compliance with web standards (http://www.w3.org/).

IE gets better at this with every release.

Another advantage is that because other browsers aren't embedded in the (Windows) kernel they aren't as compliant with nasties like viruses and trojans.

And they don't take everything down when they crash.

[gnome]

Oh and when you hit "Stop" they actually stop instead of ignoring you and continuing to load the page anyway. In this respect IE seems like a kid getting into some mischeif, it almost seems to hurry up when you hit "stop" as if to try to get into as much trouble as possible before you get over there to pop it on the butt :)

[shanek]

Originally posted by gnome
Oh and when you hit "Stop" they actually stop instead of ignoring you and continuing to load the page anyway.

Or, when it actually does stop loading the page, starts loading a completely different page...

[FFed]

My main is IE
and my backup is Neoplanet.

[tygirwulf]

Whoa, Neoplanet is an old one, I used that one a couple years ago, mainly for that really nifty Farscape theme. It wasn't a stand-alone browser though, at least that was the impression I got from it.

I currently use Firebird 0.6.2 almost exclusively, IE for the rare times a site doesn't work with FB. The occasional times I do dabble with Linux, I use Konqueror.

[shanek]

Originally posted by tygirwulf
I currently use Firebird 0.6.2 almost exclusively, IE for the rare times a site doesn't work with FB. The occasional times I do dabble with Linux, I use Konqueror.

Why not use Firebird on the Linux side, too?

[arcticpenguin]

Originally posted by tygirwulf

I currently use Firebird 0.6.2 almost exclusively, IE for the rare times a site doesn't work with FB. The occasional times I do dabble with Linux, I use Konqueror.
0.6.2 is out? Excuse me for a few minutes...

Hmmm, the mozilla.org website still is at 0.6.1. Thought I was in for a treat there.

[Diamond]

Galeon, IE6, Firebird, Mozilla

[Sindai]

IE. I've never had a compelling reason to go to the trouble of finding another.

[evildave]

Tabbed browsing, and not as virus/trojan/etc. friendly.

Upgrading to a new version of Mozzilla won't BREAK every installation in the system by replacing or incompatibly "upgrading" the Win32 "common controls".

Every time I've had to "fix" a horrible emergency where somebody's computer is a useless blue-screen popping ruin, the same theme has emerged:

"I only upgraded to IE XXX".

Both Outlook and Outlook express are only too happy to act on any old scripted junk. Especially if you have that 'preview pane' up. "Oops, I saw that! You wanted to install the latest mail WORM right now! Done! Here, let me send that WORM to everyone in your system-wide accessible address book! I know you don't mind! Oh, and I'll get right on that PING attack you wanted to do!"

Oh, you think your Outlook is secure? So did the people at Valve.

Guess what? It wasn't.

Their whole Halflife 2 source tree was grabbed and put out on the internet!
http://www.planethalflife.com/

So, keep using that Microsoft browser and Mail client. At least the damage probably won't cost you as much as it did Valve.

Our speculation is that these were done via a buffer overflow in Outlook's preview pane. This recorder is apparently a customized version of RemoteAnywhere created to infect Valve (at least it hasn't been seen anywhere else, and isn't detected by normal virus scanning tools).

[Prospero]

AvantBrowser. Based off of IE, but a lot more user friendly with really useful mouse controls for forward- or back-browsing.

[!Xx+-Rational-+xX!]

I don't believe any of you about which browser your using! Damn these worthless anecdotal claims. Your all lying about which browser you use and I know it!

[Reaver]

I originally voted for IE, but I've been using Firebird for the last couple of days and it's great. I'll probably only be using IE for windows update form now on :)

[evildave]

So, that would beat out IE for Mozilla/Firebird/Netscape variations versus IE now.

[!Xx+-Rational-+xX!]

http://www.student.smsu.edu/s/san232s/hardfunnypics/fasteryoudownload.jpg

[shanek]

Originally posted by evildave
So, that would beat out IE for Mozilla/Firebird/Netscape variations versus IE now.

That's a good point. Mozilla, Firebird, and Netscape are all variations of the same browser, so they should probably be combined for a fair assessment.

[Yahweh]

Originally posted by traveller
http://www.student.smsu.edu/s/san232s/hardfunnypics/fasteryoudownload.jpg

There is nothing wrong with my AOL Dialup (assuming you ignore everything wrong with my AOL Dialup).

[Yahweh]

Personally, I always liked IE (until something happened and it became corrupt on my computer). As far as displaying webpages the way they were designed to look, I've never once had a problem with it.

I like Firebird, its errored a few times (not too much to be a nuisance like Mozilla) since I've been using it. Its a nice little browser, it works pretty fast. I like that its just a standalone browser, IE gives me all these features I've never used before:
There is a "Real.com" button my toolbar, I dont know why its there but I know how to get rid of it
There is also a "AIM" button. Including that, I currently have about 5 different buttons and icons I could click on my computer to start AIM. I dont use AIM very often (I have about 5 people on my buddylist... one of them is me, another is momma Yahweh)
I dont use the Search feature on IE
I dont use the "Media" feature
Never once have I used MSOutlook
I do like the popup blocking feature of Firebird, I'm expecting a popup blocking feature is going to included in the next release of IE

Good things about IE:

However, I do like the Favorites feature in IE more than Firebird's.

IE also starts faster than Firebird.

Firebird occasionally has a habit of slowing down temporarily for no reason.

I dont use the "tabbed browsing" feature much in Firebird, but in the times I have I find it quicker than going through individual windows.

In a times Firebird has crashed (usually when I have 5 or more windows open or composing a long post), it does something I cannot stand. Its "When one goes down, they all go down" scenario (those who have ever used crappy Christmas lights will recognize this phenomena). When one IE window crashes, it leaves the other windows unharmed.

I like IEs downloading capabilities than Firebird's. (For instance, when one of my downloads get interrupted, IE has cached the download and usually continues downloading from the place it left off)

However, I would still be using IE if it would display images. Here's a screenshot of Randi.org through my IE (this is the largest I could get the image without exceeding 25400 bytes):

[shanek]

Originally posted by Yahweh
I like Firebird, its errored a few times (not too much to be a nuisance like Mozilla) since I've been using it.

Um...Firebird is Mozilla. It's Mozilla's browser-only software, without the Mail/News client, chat client, etc. Pages render exactly the same in both browsers.

IE also starts faster than Firebird.

No, it doesn't; IE just loads when you start the OS. When you hit the button, all it's doing is opening a new window. You can have Mozilla do the same thing with the QuickStart option.

In a times Firebird has crashed (usually when I have 5 or more windows open or composing a long post), it does something I cannot stand. Its "When one goes down, they all go down" scenario (those who have ever used crappy Christmas lights will recognize this phenomena). When one IE window crashes, it leaves the other windows unharmed.

That's because IE loads in the OS space, not its own application area. You're very lucky that IE doesn't take the whole desktop down when it crashes. (Actually, it might be doing just that, since the desktop automatically restarts and you just notice a flash.) Mozilla runs in a protected memory space, like all programs should. The consequence of this is that when it crashes Windows closes out the entire space.

I like IEs downloading capabilities than Firebird's. (For instance, when one of my downloads get interrupted, IE has cached the download and usually continues downloading from the place it left off)

Mozilla does this, too. It all depends on whether or not the site you're downloading it from supports this.

[Yahweh]

Originally posted by shanek
Um...Firebird is Mozilla. It's Mozilla's browser-only software, without the Mail/News client, chat client, etc. Pages render exactly the same in both browsers.
I'm already aware of that, but for whatever reason Firebird has better stability than Mozilla (must be all that crap they put on it that I'd never use).

But there is one weird thing I notice:
Firebird doesnt work with the new version of Flash too well, Flash works just fine in Mozilla (I'm sure it has something to do with the installer pack I had to download).

No, it doesn't; IE just loads when you start the OS. When you hit the button, all it's doing is opening a new window. You can have Mozilla do the same thing with the QuickStart option.
I already know that also, unfortunately I got sick of the QuickStart feature. It slowed down the rebooting process of my computer to unbearable. Firebird does happen to start up significantly faster.

That's because IE loads in the OS space, not its own application area. You're very lucky that IE doesn't take the whole desktop down when it crashes. (Actually, it might be doing just that, since the desktop automatically restarts and you just notice a flash.) Mozilla runs in a protected memory space, like all programs should. The consequence of this is that when it crashes Windows closes out the entire space.
Sometimes my taskbar would stop functioning after a good IE crash. (Its also taken out my desktop a few times... the screen goes black, nothing left but an arrow and no use of the keyboard... not much I can do in that situation except switch the power off, then back on... my computer yells at me for it everytime).

Mozilla does this, too. It all depends on whether or not the site you're downloading it from supports this.
Wow, you learn a new thing everyday dont'cha. :)


One question: Where did you learn all this computer-y stuff? (I always considered myself a bit of a computer junkie, but you just about whoop the bejeezus out of me!)

[shanek]

Originally posted by Yahweh
I'm already aware of that, but for whatever reason Firebird has better stability than Mozilla (must be all that crap they put on it that I'd never use).

True, it is a lot sleeker. But I use the full Mozilla both as my browser and as my mail client. And I don't really have a problem with it crashing.

I already know that also, unfortunately I got sick of the QuickStart feature. It slowed down the rebooting process of my computer to unbearable.

And that's about as much time as IE spends during your startup, the only difference is you don't have a choice with IE.

(Its also taken out my desktop a few times... the screen goes black, nothing left but an arrow and no use of the keyboard... not much I can do in that situation except switch the power off, then back on... my computer yells at me for it everytime).

If you're using NT/2000/XP, the next time that happens hit CTRL-ALT-DEL. You should still get the Windows Security dialog. Click Task Manager, select the Applications tab, hit New Task, type "explorer" (without the quotes" and hit OK. That should get you back without having to reboot.

One question: Where did you learn all this computer-y stuff? (I always considered myself a bit of a computer junkie, but you just about whoop the bejeezus out of me!)

Years and years and years of education and keeping up with the technology...

[ehbowen]

My browser is AWeb 3.4 (http://www.amitrix.com/aweb.html). Yes, I am still using a Commodore Amiga 3000, vintage 1991, as my main computer. I am hoping to get one more year of service out of it before I finally send it out for honorable retirement.

Page display in A-Web is OK; it might be better if I had a more up-to-date graphics card. As it is, I'm limited to the stock 16 colors. I have had some problems displaying the JREF forum; seems that my own avatar causes some problems. I usually end up turning off avatars and limiting page display to 20 posts per page.

[evildave]

Apparently, someone is working on a Mozilla port to Amiga.

http://www.discreetfx.com/AmiZillaFAQ.htm

OK, actually it looks like someone is arranging a bounty for Mozilla to be ported.

There's also this project... (also begging).
http://mozamiga.mozdev.org/

[arcticpenguin]

Mozilla 1.5 and MozillaFirebird 0.7 have been announced. I can't get through to the download site now, I'll wait a couple days I guess.

[jimlintott]

I managed to get the new firebird. I'm using it now. Here is a link to the ftp site (ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firebird/releases/).

I fixed the link. It was moved on their server.

[shanek]

Originally posted by arcticpenguin
Mozilla 1.5 and MozillaFirebird 0.7 have been announced. I can't get through to the download site now, I'll wait a couple days I guess.

It's released. Big news: The SpellChecker finally landed in the code! It's always been available as a separate download, but it's finally included as part of the browser download.

[komencanto]

I just took a look around. Mozilla was too big, and had stuff I didn´t need, Firebird .7 was great, but had an annoying bug with mouse gestures (if you select text it opens a new window) and didn´t have a thing for turning off images if i want to, while Opera 7 is looking really good. Its got that annoying ad bar which is holding it back, but it beats IE in every respect I think. I really think Firebird is going places. By the next big release it should be as good as Opera.

[DoNotDisturb]

I'm running a custom Firebird build, 0.6.1+

[DoNotDisturb]

Originally posted by komencanto
I just took a look around. Mozilla was too big, and had stuff I didn´t need, Firebird .7 was great, but had an annoying bug with mouse gestures (if you select text it opens a new window) and didn´t have a thing for turning off images if i want to, while Opera 7 is looking really good. Its got that annoying ad bar which is holding it back, but it beats IE in every respect I think. I really think Firebird is going places. By the next big release it should be as good as Opera.

Firebird > Opera.

Just keep getting the more updated versions over time. I don't have that problem that you stated.

[ChrisH]

Opera 7.21

I also have Firebird 0.7 - nice, but fewer features -
Mozilla Netscape 7.0, Opera 6, Netscape 4.7 (even worse than MSIE) and MSIE 6.0