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I would like to know what are your answers to the following:
What Browsers Best?
How many Browsers do u have installed on your machine?
And what Browsers are built on the same technology as an another Browser?
You can't beat the extensions for getting added functionality, and the ability to tweak about:config settings and user files for adjusting performance. And following the instructions in this thread [webmasterworld.com] will really speed up page rendering beyond your wildest dreams. (Actually it may be time to post an update to that thread; a few settings have changed in the past couple versions.)
Photon, sorry for making another little ripple for you to wade against, but I'll make it up to you by saying that Opera is good, too - just not "quite there" like FireFox is! ;)
FireFox is far and away the fastest, most secure, slimmest, most customizable,...
I'm not trying to perpetuate a holy war of browsers here. Just wanted to present an alternate view. :)
As I've said before, I use FireFox with the web developers extension for development and think it's fantastic. I just prefer Opera for regular surfing. It's not perfect; it's just my choice.
Matthew--take your "not quite there" remark, switch Opera with FireFox, and we'll agree! ;)
Fastest? Opera makes the claim (potential marketing hype, sure) to be the fastest.
Follow the instructions in that other thread I referenced, and you'll find that FireFox is at least as fast as Opera, and many people say it's even faster.
Most secure? In Opera you can turn off referrers, prevent automatic redirection, and most security settings are just one button (F12) away.
You can do all that with FireFox, too. Security settings are a bit more than an (F12) away on an out-of-the-box install, but there are several extensions that will put them even closer - right in a toolbar! ;)
Slimmest? 4.5Mb for Firefox installation files, 3.5Mb for Opera--and that includes a fully integrated mail client (I don't have any information on the memory footprints).
Opera beats FireFox in terms of download size (my experience has been that they sacrificed reliability to achieve that; doubless others will say otherwise). But what I meant by "slim" was that FireFox doesn't include a built-in mail client or other "extra features," meaning there's not a lot of "interface bloat" like what Opera has by default. For memory footprints, to my knowledge they're pretty well equal. Except, you can change prefs in about:config to say how much memory FireFox is allowed to use.
Most customizable? A lot of the customization comes from extensions to the main program, many of which provide functionality that is built in to Opera.
That's down to the "slim features" point again. First, many extensions (such as Web Developer) provide functionality that you can't get in Opera at all. Second, why have features installed by default that you may not use? Some people actually don't like mouse gestures! ;) But what I meant was mostly in terms of editng the user files, themes, things like that. Opera handles most customizing through a GUI, while FireFox allows you to edit userChrome.css, user.js, etc. I'm over-simplifying to say this, but to me the customization differences come down to this: If you want scalable toolbar buttons, use Opera; if you want everything else, use FireFox.
Opera has a lot of points in its favor; I won't deny that. But FireFox meets my needs better.
These threads wouldn't be complete without the following statement: Choose a browser you like and stick with it! And to that I would add, try all the "main" ones before making your choice. Give them all a two-week exclusive try. Then decide accordingly. The competition at the moment seems to be largely between FireFox and Opera, and over the past few months, FireFox has been pulling ahead among web developers. But that's their choice; it doesn't take anything away from those who find Opera better.
I use Firefox daily as my main browser because it suits my way of working. I have a registered copy of Opera 5 which runs extremely fast even on older kit. Personally, Opera 7 doesn't correspond to my current needs, but it is a wonderful browser choice for many. If you like it best, I wouldn't dream of encouraging you to switch!
But I second encylo, this is purely a matter of preference, I completely agree with matthewhse's points, but there are many other substantial differences between the two browsers, pluses and minuses, and that's what having a choice is all about. However, the opera interface team might want to take a closer look at just why it is they aren't picking up market share, the reactions of people who dont' like it are pretty universal, and reflect I believe a lot of user's experiences. Personally I'd like to see Opera grow, but as a company I think they need to ask themselves why they haven't been able to pick up more desktop market share in the last 4 years.
My suspicion is that the firefox team's decision to cut out everything extra and deliver a very simple browser had a lot to do with this, extra features are extra if you want them, and not there if you don't.
I wish I had a Mac to test on.
[edited by: firstreflex at 2:37 pm (utc) on Oct. 15, 2004]
In case you're referring to the back and forth between Matthew and me, I don't think either one of us is denigrating the other's choice. We both agree that the other's choice is an excellent browser, and that our preference is just that--a preference. We're just comparing the features of the two, and expressing opinions on opinions expressed.
To me, the discussion has been along the lines of why I like my browser better, not why your browser sucks. If it hasn't come across that way to others, I apologize.
If you want to see some serious denigrating, let's talk about IE. ;)
Matthew, I agree wholeheartedly with your last paragraph.
Guys, guys: every time someone asks which is the best browser, the thread degenerates into an Opera/Firefox debate!
Probably because:
Combine that with a dash of tenacity and dogmatism about one's own choice, and behold the result! ;)
Actually, the fact that these threads do always "degenerate into a FireFox/Opera debate" really shows clearly just where the competition is. If I had to guess, I'd say FireFox stands more chance long-term of being the developer's choice, while Opera, being more polished, will eventually choose to become more user-friendly and therefore may pick up more of the general populace. If the combined user-base of the two could ever top IE's market share, I'd be one happy webmaster!
<edit>Photon posted while I was writing the above; I didn't feel that my choice was being criticized and I'm glad he didn't see any of that in my posts, either. Discussion like this is what first got me started trying other browsers, so I'm all for this type of thread from time to time!</edit>
Firstly I would I like to thank you all for your posts this thread, it’s just been great help.
After reading all your posts you all have 3 things in common you all have Firefox, Opera and IE.
I have now installed Firefox and Opera, I already have IE and Netscape, and Netscape I don’t like at all. My opinion on Opera after installing the latest version 7.54 US version from UK version 7.23 which I did not like is a whole lot better now it’s great. Firefox is just great too.
My Favourite Browsers:
1st Place: Firefox and Opera
2nd Place: IE6
Last and theirs no 3rd Place for this Browser as I really don’t like it: Netscape
Thank you all so much
Regards
Dominic Naylor (domoftheuk)
[quicknote.mozdev.org...] is a nice extension that you might like.
I do a great deal of my day to day browsing in Mozilla, I don't know why but I can't seem to warm up to Firefox. Maybe it is just old habit. I like using Opera on certain sites because it very easy to toggle off images, java, animations, and the like when appropriate. I find the quick preferences on Opera to very useful on websites that have really abused the flashier plugins.
2.K-Meleon/1.8a2+ Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8a2) Gecko/20040817 K-Meleon/0.8.2+
Link:[kmeleon.sourceforge.net ]
for the new "beta": K-Meleon 0.9 ^
3.Ace Explorer Copyright © 2004 Amazing Software Products, Inc.
Link:[aceexplorer.com ]
4.Opera, but I don't use it anymore.
5.IE, for those time's.
6.The Off By One Web Browser] (worlds smallest browser) V3.4.a Build date: Dec 9/2002 Home Page Software Inc. A Webster Code Base Product OpenSSL support libraries are not present.
Link: [OffByOne.com ]
Running on XP Celeron 2.7ghz 256mb DDR SDRAM 40gb Ultra DMA Hp pavillion a305w-b.
If you want a Firefox, go to the site on 1. It's bangbang023's version, and you won't be disappointed my friends. It's the "HEMI" of "Firefox's".
Thanks for the edit.
I pretty much use Firefox these days and I`m recommending all my friends switch to it too. Opera is a nice browser, once you have disabled a few things (like that horrible status thing that pops up at the bottom of the screen).
I really only use the other browsers for script testing.
My personal favorite (for information only): Lynx
My personal favorite (for "normal" sites): Mozilla
The one I use for multimedia sites (not a favorite): MSIE
Slightly related rant about why I am forced to use MSIE at all:
Web developers need to work harder for the money they make on the multimedia sites. Use a variety of media types, for crying out loud! Sure it's "easy" to dump a bunch of .WMV files on the server, but there are other movie formats (and many audio formats) which are cleaner, faster, and more broadly accepted by a variety of operating systems (Like Real).
Linux boxes have a tough time with Windows Media. Particularly when they (MS) change the specs!
Anyway, Firefox is interesting, but it uses a lot of Mozilla stuff on a Linux box. I'm not yet sure I like that they integrated FF1.0PR with existing Moz installations. (I want TWO browsers, darn it!) Plus, a sketchy extension can easily disrupt a FF installation. Not to mention profiles becoming damaged, etc. All that said, it's not too bad, for a Preview Release.
I used to use Netscape 4.79 regularly to test. Until I realized that I have NO sites where N4* has more than about .5% of the UA stats.... and that's not even on a regular basis - that's averaged from 2 years' worth of stats now.
I actually think it's way more important to start using AOL's current browser offering as a test browser. I still have AOL/CS 7 (I think) on my antique laptop, and use it somewhat regularly. Must be time to upgrade and use it as a part of my normal test routine.... [I know there's some of you out there who think AOL should be disregarded, but I don't think I can do that.... I have a LOT of older people who use nothing BUT AOL, and a fair amount of college kids ditto....]
For testing, my main workstation has the following browsers running under Windows:
Firefox 1.0PR
Mozilla Suite
Amaya 8.5
Internet Explorer 4.01
Internet Explorer 5.01
Internet Explorer 5.5
Internet Explorer 6.0SP2
Links
Lynx
MSN Explorer
Netscape 4.8
Opera 6.06
Opera 7.23
Opera 7.5
I also have PearPC running the latest Mac OSX with:
Firefox
Safari
Mac IE 5.2.3
I keep Knoppix (Debian Linux) running in vmWare with:
Mozilla Suite
Konqueror
Testing under EVERYTHING is usually once a design has been finalized. As with most folks on here, I build to standards and then adapt for the quirks in the major browsers. It allows you to work with everything in the shortest development time (and at the lowest frustration level).
You should add the webtv emulator [developer.msntv.com] though, it's pretty shocking to see what it does to many sites, especially CSS/P stuff.
On a big commercial, utterly standard userbase site I do, Opera is beaten week in and week out by the following:
IE 4
webtv
konqueror
safari
and some weeks, Lynx
Which I guess means I need to develop for those first.
Of course this just comes down to whether 2 or 4 users visit with linx or webtv in a week.
You should add the webtv emulator though, it's pretty shocking to see what it does to many sites, especially CSS/P stuff.
Ah, I actually forgot to mention that. For my clients' consumer-facing sites, I do test using the WebTV Viewer. I play around with it on some of my own sites occasionally as well, but my own sites never see any WebTV viewers.
AjiNIMC
>>Explorer Sucks vs. Firefox Sucks:
The winner is Explorer Sucks! 138,000 to 64,700 results. It's always better to suck less.
Of course, Firefox is a little younger ... :)
Anyway, there will always be people who prefer to live in the MS cocoon, personally that group of people isn't one I'm particularly interested in, what I follow is what the better power users say, the experts who know what they're talking about that is, and basically all those experts pretty much agree, use Opera/Firefox if you want a good browser.
