Wowzers! Browsers!

Good morning everyone!

I thought I'd reproduce an article here, that I've already written for Associated Content, in my capacity as a freelance writer for them. I usually submit my articles to them as an exclusive, but since this was tech., related I wanted to be able to publish it here also.

There are four types of internet power users who use browsers:

Diehard Firefox users;

Diehard Opera users;

Diehard Safari users;

Diehard IE fans; (possibly aka as the dying browser, fans ;)


You'll rarely find people that will have a mediocre view of their browser - you'll always find that they'll hotly describe their browser as "the best!"

Because of this web site, I'm a member of numerous tech., forums and an affiliate for a growing number of companies, including Roboform and Firefox, which also happens to be my preferred browser. However I do have the other browsers installed on my machine, as I also continue to do a little web design and like to design for cross platform compatibility.

Around 1999 I used Netscape religiously, while my husband swore by IE. Together, we would have enjoyable debates over each, without any real winner surfacing. But that was then. The "War of the Browsers" goes back even further than that, in fact it's since:

Windows users seemed to be split evenly between Netscape and IE:

Macintosh users also seemed to have a split following, with iCab and OmniWeb;

Linux users also had Konqueror and Galeon.

It can be quite amusing in various forums, to watch discussions between long time users of each of these three major operating systems. All three would be willing to sacrifice their bodies to a volcano, while telling people why their choice is 'definitely' the superior OS (operating system) and browser.

Personally, I think Firefox; Opera and Safari just about have it covered, though I'm not prepared to throw myself into a burning inferno just to prove it.

However if you're looking for features, each of these browsers will appeal to you. They all include:

Tabbed browsing; download manager; bookmark importing; ad and pop-up blocking; Java; search and plug-ins; cookies (and managing cookies;) pages that support - HTML; CSS; SSL and Javascript;

The browsers that I'm hearing more about these days are:

Flock

Mozilla based; open source, cross browser - more for those into social networks;

K-Meleon

Windows - lightweight; based on Gecko engine; open source; supports mouse gestures; macros;

Camino

Macintosh - native Mac OS X technologies and toolkits, based on Gecko engine; open source; highly extensible;

Epiphany

Linux - for the GNOME desktop - free software, based on Gecko engine; highly extensible.

These latter four browsers all support the same features mentioned above, including the fact that they're all programmed to be cross platform compatible.

As I mentioned earlier, at this point in time (2007) IE only marginally leads the pack, just slightly ahead of Firefox; while we see the other three major browsers being: Opera; Firefox and Safari, which make up the "Alternative Browser Alliance" and are the three browsers that make up the tri-emblem to the right.

It's important that users consider their own needs before choosing the appropriate browser for them. When I choose a browser, the things I take into consideration are; that they must be cross platform; there must be constant ongoing development and finally - it must be open source, which guarantees ongoing improvements; safe programming and amazing innovation.

However, different strokes for different folks and other people may have different considerations.

The many strengths of being an open source project:

A few interesting links for you;

• Definition:
  
  
• Wikipedia:
  
  
• History:
  
  
• Reasons to use open source software:
  
  
• Millions of developers all working on the same project at the same time;
  
  
• All additions and changes have to go through an approval process;
  
  
• Did you know that Wikipedia itself is implemented by using Wikimedia (which is also open source;)
  
  
• People who download and use open source software are covered by the GNU GPL (General Public License,) which also covers most free software packages anywhere on the net.

But now I'm so confused! Which browser should I use?

I suggest you simply pick one and use it for a couple of weeks to see how it suits you. If you like it but aren't thrilled with it, keep it for now but download another one and use that one alone, for another couple of weeks. Given that they're all free, you can take all the time you want testing these browsers, to see which one is your ultimate preference.

~ Buy your Christmas Gifts at Software by Swan ~ ---->>>

Above all don't get frustrated, there really isn't any need. If you proceed slowly and expect not to make your final choice for at least a couple of months, you'll actually enjoy testing out all the various features; customization and extensibility - and you'll even find that you pick up quite a few knowledgeable tips along the way.

If you enjoy my reviews, please rate my article at the top of the page - ratings are always appreciated and help me to improve this web site (and my reviews,) for you. Not to mention that it improves your own karma!
~ Swan





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Ahhh Agloco!

“The day will come when machines and software will tell us whom to know; what to eat; what to wear; when to go to work and what profession to pursue; when to sleep; what entertainments to enjoy and with whom to have any kind of relationship. It can’t be avoided and you will succumb.”
~ Swan (2005)