Browser Wars - Which one RULES?

Site Admin/Owner Joined: Aug 27, 2002 Posts: 17088

I don't usually have time to try out all the different browsers that are out there. For my benefit, and others too, here's your chance to sound off on your choice. But, please do not turn this into a point-counterpoint thread. Feel free to state what you use and why. That way the thread is less cluttered and more easy to read. If you want to debate, start a new thread Wink

registered · Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 9:55 am

Internet Explorer all the way. Why? Because I dont need to install extra stuff, and it just works. It matches the look of the rest of my desktop, I scaled down the toolbar at the top so its just 1 line. Less is more.

I tried firefox, pages seem to load nice and quick, but half the java I use on my site wont work in firefox, things scroll the wrong way and design wise things always seem to mess up when using complex tables in a theme/site.

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 9:57 am

I just installed the latest version of FF and all scrolling works correctly. You might want to try again.

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 10:03 am

I will take another look. 0.8 I'm using. I really just keep FF on here so I can check themes I make on both browser platforms to get them working in both at least. Shocked

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 10:04 am

0.9.3 is the current.

registered · Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 10:07 am

I use Opera.

I started testing out other browsers when I wanted a way to see what my site looks like to someone who is not loged into the site but I didn't want to have to be logging out all the time.

The first browser I tried was Netscape and instantly fell in love with the tabs. I found Netscape didn't show a lot of java stuff and a lot of nuke sites don't work that great with Netscape.

I really like Avant Browser because it adds a lot of the things I like about Opera to the IE browser. The thing is Avant and IE use the same cookies and favorites so I have stuck with Opera as my browser and use IE to view my site as if logged out.

For those of you who love IE but want tab windows Avant is a great solution. The best thing about tabs is pop ups don't really create much trouble at all. It just creates another tab in the background.

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 12:28 pm

Internet Explorer 6, with the Google toolbar for quick search. Service Pack 2 has a much better pop up killer. I use multiple instances of IE, and use the 'Group Similar Taskbar buttons' to keep them stacked on the taskbar.

I've tried others, but stick with IE because it works, and works well.

Several friends at work swear by My IE 2 add-on for Internet Explorer. Adds the tabbed functionality and other tweaks.

Like Ganja, I like it simple, and it works

registered · Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 1:21 pm

I use Netcaptor Pro for IE....tabbed browsing and "CaptorGroups" to open up a group of sites with a click of the mouse (i.e. daily favorites checked often)....well worth the money in my opinion and been using it for over 2 years now.....

Client Joined: Apr 10, 2004 Posts: 649 Location: UK

I use version 0.9 Mozilla Firefox and it's fantastic.

Quote:

I tried firefox, pages seem to load nice and quick, but half the java I use on my site wont work in firefox, things scroll the wrong way and design wise things always seem to mess up when using complex tables in a theme/site.

Ganga did you install jvm from the firefox site and flash? It's not in the browser, you have to install it, as it won't run from the jvm and flash installed on your computer.

I like Firefox, as you can choose what you want added and there are a lot of useful addons if you want them.

I also love the built in popup blocker and the added security that Microslop haven't meddled with it lol

It loads faster for me on a slow dial up than IE ever did, and I have nice pussycat theme on it rofl Now ya can't have that with IE can you? lol

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2004 1:36 pm

I've never been real fond of the mozilla favorites system other then that I like it. I like it without the java and flash for surfing. IE could have made it easier to toggle that off/on IE assumes to much I think.

That said I still use IE 90% of the time inspite of the occasional fatals they just can't seem to get rid of. FireFox is most likely to hurt Opera the most I think.

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2004 1:43 pm

I need to try firefox, apparently. I'm pretty hooked on Opera right now.

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2004 1:46 pm

Muffin wrote:

Ganga did you install jvm from the firefox site and flash? It's not in the browser, you have to install it, as it won't run from the jvm and flash installed on your computer.

No I didnt bother as I use IE6 as my browser and it works great. Firefox is just on here to compare how themes look between the 2.

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2004 2:27 pm

Another thing I like about FF is that you can import all your favourites and links etc into it from IE or whatever browser you were using.

I've switched to Thunderbird for my mail client now too, and find that's a lot lot better than Outlook and OE. (that's Mozilla as well and is on the same download page as FireFox).

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2004 5:33 pm

I use them all, though IE is my default.

Reasons? Well, to checkout the look and feel of my site mainly. I not only use the Firefox 0.9.3, but also the Mozilla browser as well and find that both perform nicely.

I've heard talk about the .png rendering limitations of IE, but haven't experienced any of the reported problems first hand.

Yes, I hate IE's search block (especially since it still doesn't offer a Google option) and yes I hate the poor performance but since I'm on broadband, it doesn't affect me as would those on dialup.

As Firefox and (for our friends running Mac's) Safari browsers are gaining in prominance, I included those browsers when I customized my Statistics module back in March. Looks like I'll have to add the other new Mozilla Browser now as well! Smile

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2004 5:58 pm

I'll tell you another thing I really like about Opera.

It displays at what speed you are loading pages. It shows how many kb/s and gives you a % indicator as well as an image count. It is great for seeing how large any given page is.

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2004 10:31 pm

64bitguy wrote:

Yes, I hate IE's search block (especially since it still doesn't offer a Google option) and yes I hate the poor performance but since I'm on broadband, it doesn't affect me as would those on dialup.

Why people use a "search block" at all is beyond me when there are "shortcuts" that can be made.....(and with IE, it's possible, but....) with Netcaptor for IE, there's a function called "Quicksearch" where you assign a letter, number or combo of such to a search string and then add your search words after it in your address bar for whatever search engine you use.....

For me....if I want to do a google search, I have "ggl" set up as my shortcut to type for "http://www.google.com/search?q=%s" and then I type my words....

So in my address bar, I type:

Code:

ggl dogs cats

and it returns the page http://www.google.com/search?q=dogs+cats

You can do the same for Yahoo, MSN, or whatever search engine you use....(even works for ebay as their search string is long: "http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query=%s" and you can shorten it to "eb") and it really messes me up when I go to someone's PC where this isn't set up as I am so used to just typing "ggl" then the words to search and I get the default IE search page returning jibberish.....hehehe....

Regular Joined: Jun 09, 2004 Posts: 79

I prefer Internet Explorer, although I haven't gotten around to installing their last update since all the vulnerabilities and instructions to stop using it in July. I went to Mozilla Firefox, and I still can't figure out why anybody likes this program. I installed 0.9.2 from their site, flash, too. Then I had to get rid of my Scrolling Forum block, because when I use it, Firefox also opens the Forums module as a little block. Messes up practically everything, and I can't edit any html files from the source page, a feature I had grown to like for quick fixes. Also, contrary to other posts, Firefox takes twice as long to load for me than I.E. At some point I am going to upgrade Explorer and go back to using it. About the only thing in Firefox I will miss is the Google search box.

Quote:

Another thing I like about FF is that you can import all your favourites and links etc into it from IE or whatever browser you were using.

I hated this! It mixed everything up. It didn't list them in the order they were in Explorer; it didn't list them in alphabetical order, IP order... they're just there! I have a long list of favorites that were so organized in I.E. Why didn't it just copy the list like it was? The order it used makes no sense to me, and I have to search for everything.

Okay, sorry. I know I'm not supposed to go on about the issues, but I have been needing to vent ever since I installed this thing.
Sad

Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 7:14 am

Favorites is one issue all these other browsers really need to get right. Opera did that as well when I changed over to it.

Thanks for sharing, Amber!

Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 6:18 pm

oohh errr... when I put my favourites in firefox it put them all in alphabetical order, which annoyed me cos I like the ones I use most at the top lol

Maybe its because I'm using the latest version of firefox, maybe they've fixed it???

registered · Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2004 5:54 am

Raven wrote:

I just installed the latest version of FF and all scrolling works correctly. You might want to try again.

I've been using Phoenix/Firebird/Firefox for some time - since the beginning actually - Phoenix 0.2. It's the only way to go, IMHO - especially for web developers. If you haven't done so already, install the "Web Developer 0.8" extension, and it should become abundantly clear to you why I feel this way. This is a must-have item! Without it, you're only getting half the experience... Wink

http://www.chrispederick.com/work/firefox/webdeveloper/

If you're a Google fan , install "Googlebar 0.9.0.16" too...

http://update.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?application=firefox&id=33&vid=34

I know themes are highly personal, but to wrap this up, I use "Orbit Grey 0.2.1". It works very nicely with the above. You can find it here...

http://update.mozilla.org/themes/moreinfo.php?id=4&vid=5&category=Popular

Another thing I might mention is the support site...

http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewforum.php?f=38

Look familiar? phpBB... That alone is worth the price of admission!

Firefox is VERY much like PHP-Nuke. It's a work in progress, developed mainly by the community. And, you can tweak the underpinnings to your heart's content, just like PHP-Nuke. In short, if you like Nuke, you will love Firefox!

Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2004 3:15 pm

I've got the web developer extension and it is good.

I've downloaded most of the extensions for FF lol

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2004 12:34 am

Muffin wrote:

I've got the web developer extension and it is good.

I've downloaded most of the extensions for FF lol

These extensions (plug-ins to everyone else) turn Firefox into quite a different animal, don't they? I really don't consider it a browser any more. It's more of a development tool, when configured correctly...

Shall 'we' give them an example?

How about a nice black background? Wink

Bah! I like my style sheet better...

Heh! Look! It's RavenCops...

LoL! Firefox looking better to you yet? Very Happy

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2004 7:26 am

My main problem with FireFox is the way it ignores CSS background images on textareas, input boxes, buttons etc. And the way it shifts things about here and there, breaking out of tables. Also you have no control over the scrollbar colours of your webpage when viewing with FF, it totally ignores these CSS elements.

There seems to be a lot of blank space in my story home elements in FF too.

So in answer to that, no FF is not looking better yet. Smile

Until they get this browser displaying webpage's as efficiently and accurate as IE does I don't think there's no competition, IE all the way imho.
As a theme designer I need a browser that works with me, not against me.

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2004 9:57 am

GanjaUK wrote:

There seems to be a lot of blank space in my story home elements in FF too.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but IE is VERY tolerant of sloppy coding. That's the reason I don't use it for design work.

As a demonstration of Firefox's web development abilities, I went over to your page, and outlined the table cells. Then I ran the 'DOM Inspector' on your page. With a little adjustment to your code, I got the block at the top to display just fine in Firefox.

The problem is the height of your table cells on the sides of your news blocks. The width is fine at 16 pixels, but they have a fixed height of 256 pixels. IE is probably ignoring this, but not Firefox. By changing the height to '100%', it should take care of your 'blank space' problem... . Wink

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2004 10:04 am

GanjaUK wrote:

...Also you have no control over the scrollbar colours of your webpage when viewing with FF, it totally ignores these CSS elements...

Oh, BTW, this is by design, e.g. 'they' do that on purpose!

It's considered bad form, hence taboo, in the community for web designers to take control over other ppl's browsers. Technically speaking, the scroll bar is NOT part of YOUR webpage, it's part of someone else's browser, or so their logic goes. Wink

When you think about it, what's the sense in installing a nice, color coordinated 'theme', if webpages can change the appearance of your browser at will?