Picking a Web Browser

[Zacchaeus]

The last threads about web browsers were trapped away in Cong and Internet Renaissance, and the times are changing. So it's time for an update. But with this becoming an increasingly debated topic, we need some ground rules!

This thread is for posting about your favorite browser or browsers. Which ones have you found to work the best for certain tasks? Don't talk trash about the other browsers if you don't like them, just support the ones that you like. As time has passed, internet browsing has generally been delegated to a select few browsers but there are still noticeable differences between them and there are some you may have never heard of. Also some of these will differ in availability and use based on your operating system, so just judge the ones that are available to you.

Personally, I use Internet Explorer 9. I grew up on IE and I never really saw a reason not to use it until about a year ago when I was having problems running browser-based online games. So I downloaded Firefox and Chrome (unsure of versions) and tested them, and for some reason or another they both failed to outperform IE so I stuck with it. It's a really basic browser but IE9 is nice because of how simplistic it is with basic features still present like tabbed browsing and in-private browsing. After doing more research, I've found some new competitors and I am preparing to try out Maxthon 3 so I'll post my results for that in due time. And I almost forgot, I have used Opera on my Wii and 3DS. I don't really think it's fair to judge it based on those because I've heard that it really is a good browser and my experience with Opera is probably tarnished by the consoles moreso than any other factor.

 

[mkizzy]

I prefer Chrome, as it feels really simple and easy to use, all in one search/address bar, and just it's so clean. I respect IE, though you really are behind the times if you're not using IE7.

 

[complete legitimacy]

I used to use IE exclusively but now that I'm on a different computer I figured I'd start fresh with Chrome, and it hasn't disappointed. I haven't really noticed any functional differences but the main reason for the change is that PS! lags far more on IE than Chrome, to the point of unusability, at least for me.

 

[Woodchuck]

I use Chrome for most browsing purposes, mostly because I can sync my bookmarks/history between comps/devices via my google account. It also has good extensions, though it's pretty equal to Firefox in that regard. Chrome does eat up more RAM than any other browser but hey I have 8 GB so no biggie.

I don't limit myself to one browser, though. If i'm writing a warstory/analysis/anything that involves any extended use of BBCode then i'm using Firefox, because the WYSIWYG editor actually works in Firefox. The Chrome editor only shows BBCode, so it all looks like [COLOR.=RED]dafjasfsdfds[/COLOR.]

I generally avoid using IE very much because frankly I'm not used to it. However, IE seems to run certain plugins better than Chrome, and I have run into sites that only really worked in Internet Explorer. For example, when I was buying parts for my new computer, I was trying to use http://pcpartpicker.com/ to compare prices. However, the site wouldn't save any of my part choices properly in Chrome :(. They did, however, save properly in IE, so yay.

In situations where I'm on a generally underpowered computer/virtual machine, I use Opera, as that seems to use less memory. Opera is basically my go-to "lightweight" browser, but if anyone has something better in mind I'd be happy to know, as I'm currently trying to make a shit old computer into something usable (without installing Linux over Windows XP, I love Linux but I need Windows programs lol)

And guys, don't just bash IE. I know that previous versions of IE have been really bad, but with the advent of IE9, Microsoft has made a competitive modern browser that I wouldn't mind using for any period of time. It just doesn't have all of the convenient features that I want. :/

 

[shnen]

I use some old version of safari because my mac is too old to run chrome and I think firefox, and fuck opera.

 

[alkinesthetase]

ie is clunky and unpleasant and it can't even run some of microsoft's own pages correctly from the unpleasant experiences i've had with it, so no i will never use it. i once had my laptop blow up on me and i had to stay on MSN through hotmail's built-in web messenger (not a pleasant experience). IE actually failed to operate it properly and crashed several times. when they come from the same company (different dev teams of course but still), this does not make me confident. you can say what you want about IE being a competitive browser now but it's not going to get any respect from me when it can't even get the job done. this experience is anecdotal and hardly a good reason for someone else to not use IE, but it's more than enough to convince me.

i advocate both the popular browsers right now, firefox and chrome, but i stick to firefox because i've got it all set up just the way i want it and i'm not really seeing any compelling reason to change to chrome.

i do admit though that firefox's version number scheme is stupid and i don't know why mozilla thought it was a good idea to number practically every other release as a major one when this is obviously not the case. i'd rather have some multi-part d x.y.z.a.b.c number that actually means something (even if it's complicated and tough to understand), than a number that goes from 8 to 15 in the course of six months or whatever it's been. that's my main gripe with firefox really; i've never had any serious speed or stability issues and i don't think i'd have any on chrome either, just that i've been using FF for longer.

EDIT: good poll though, you didn't miss any of the major options. much better than rodan's cheese poll

 

[Saria]

Seamonkey is legit

 

[Key]

If you don't use seamonkey, you're fucking retarded.

 

[Killah]

If you wait 2 years to make your first post, it must be true.

 

[Key]

Damn straight.

 

[Crystal Moogle]

Seamonkey is the browser that fits all my needs!

 

[LuckOverSkill]

I love SeaMonkey, it's light, fast and highly customizable.

What struck me the most is the pleasant user interface, something even a 6 years old kid would understand and be fully able to utilize (granted, if you are on the web at 6 years old, something's wrong with your parents...if you have them)

In short, SeaMonkey is the best browser.

Opera is a close 2nd.

 

[v]

1600th thread in a forum!!

 

[Matthew]

You guys should try Mozilla's Aurora browser. It's the nightly builds of Firefox that doesn't deal so heavily with memory leaks and is generally faster. I absolutely can't go back to another browser

 

[whistle]

I use Firefox because I couldn't find a suitable mouse gestures extension for Chrome and Firefox's address bar has far superior history/bookmark search capabilities.

 

[Danmire]

I have never heard of Seamonkey. I must be fucking retarded.

Anyway, I use Chrome. I find it it's a lot faster with the whole search address Google thingy. Though I do like the design on IE. By the way, this is on a W7 PC. When I had my XP desktop, Chrome would constantly shut down, but I guess that's because the computer was very old. I switched to Firefox and it was pretty good. But Chrome just feels a lot faster on a fast computer, I guess.

 

[Steve]

SeaMonkey is obviously the winner here.

 

[Vintage Books]

seamonkey is actually quite legit. everything you need in one!

 

[Key]

>using chrome

Enjoy being spied on by google, fucking halfwits.

 

[Django]

Firefox is DANK

 

[PoJ]

If I had to pick a browser to use, it would be Chrome or Firefox. There's no huge difference between them, they're both great Imo. I don't know why, but I can't use IE... I just don't like it.

Edit: Never heard of SeaMonkey, I'll look into it :o I'll also check out Mozilla Aurora.

 

[faint]

I've been using Chrome > Firefox since it's release due to the amount of memory Firefox used to eat up. I also love Chrome's sync functions so I have no reason to try anything new.

I've experimented with SeaMonkey and I think it's great, but again there's no reason for me to not use Chrome. Opera is also a fantastic browser.

 

[Prevent]

Ever since chrome been out I switch from firefox to chrome. It's interface is easy and rarely crashes. also incognito window!

 

[Woodchuck]

You guys should try Mozilla's Aurora browser. It's the nightly builds of Firefox that doesn't deal so heavily with memory leaks and is generally faster. I absolutely can't go back to another browser

++

Chrome also has multiple development channels, Beta being approximately equivalent to Firefox's Aurora.

And I want to try Seamonkey, seems pretty neat. Maybe I'll set it up on a new computer instead of just going with Chrome + X-Chat + Thunderbird.

>using chrome

Enjoy being spied on by google, fucking halfwits.

or you can use chromium, which isn't tied to google

also, are there any good browsers specifically made as a "ten-foot interface", i. e. used with a TV? trying to set up an old computer as a media center and I'm curious about other options as opposed to just running Opera.
Though I bet you could probably do something strange with Firefox's uber-configurable interface to make it more TV-friendly, lol.

edit: so far I've found Kylo, I'll report on its quality in a while.

Also @Faint, Firefox's memory leaks have been nearly fixed (Chrome actually uses more memory than Firefox now) so my main reason for using Chrome is its syncing abilities.

 

[Shinryu]

I've been using Firefox, only thing I hate still is how they want to keep updating the fucking thing every month or so, yeesh...I heard Chrome is good, I think everyone else in my family uses it. Then again, I still pine for good old Netscape Navigator...