Sign up for a new account or log in here:
Home › News › Weekend Open Forum
Weekend Open Forum: Your browser of choice
Without looking at any stats, I'm confident to say web browsers are in the top three most used applications by PC users. In fact, the relevance of the web browser is soon to surpass its original intent with Google developing an operating system revolving around Chrome. But without delving too deep into what the future may hold, today the browser is where many of us spend a majority of our time, be it for production, consumption or recreational purposes.
We've come a long way since the early days of Firefox, which reopened the door for the browser's evolution. Today the picture is more complete than ever, with five major browsers competing for our attention. There are the usual suspects: IE, Firefox, Opera, Safari and Chrome, as well as a handful of alternatives worth trying.
With that level of competition, you can expect development to continue accelerating. A rampant new version of Chrome is released every few weeks, and Mozilla is planning something similar, but for now we have a new major revision of Firefox in beta. Opera has remained small on the desktop, but has made impressive strides in the mobile market and on embedded devices, while Apple has turned itself into a leader by driving WebKit and bringing it to the iPhone. IE still holds the largest market share and Microsoft is working hard on Internet Explorer 9, but this may be their last opportunity to redeem themselves with early adopters, having the last two builds widely regarded as laggards.
Without further ado, we want to hear about your preferred browser or combination of browsers.
Discuss and vote in our poll.
User Comments: 77
Got something to say? Post a comment-
I've been using Firefox since version 2.x. Can't beat the addons, I use NoScript and Adblock.
-
treetops said:
I use Firefox and IE when I have any problems with Firefox. Some web pages made by microsoft only work with ie. I never tried out anything past firefox because well Im happy with it.
-
I've been using FF as my primary browser for ages, and recently I switched FF4B1, I've also been using Minefield for several years now. Opera is a secondary choice along with IEx64.
-
DarkCobra said:
The Fox Rocks!
-
I use Chrome on my "safer" computer in which I pretty much just go to certain web sites like commerce, bill paying, etc.
On my other computer I use Firefox with a lot of extras running, mainly protection, adblocking, etc. I feel more comfortable going to random web sites on this computer.
I still get occasional hiccups with those two, so once in a while I'll run the IE 8, but to be perfectly honest, when they made the change from IE 6 to IE 7, and moved everything around, I stopped using IE 7 altogether. I got so used to where all the buttons and menu items were, that I really did not like the changes.
-
Opera is my choice, but ever since 10.5 it has been really unstable on my PowerPC Mac, so I've resorted to using the pre-release of Firefox 4, its pretty nice but I really miss certain things about Opera. Still use Opera on my PCs though.
-
mattfrompa said:
Home-Firefox 3.6.8
Work-IE 8
-
Using FF4 and liking it so much I only go to IE8 on the rare occasions when FF4 has problems. IE8 also for MS sites and a few financial or corporate sites I need that still don't believe browsers exist outside of IE. I like IE8 pretty much but FF is more fun to dink around with - more extensions, etc. Plus FF4 is very fast and does 95% of what I need, even in beta 1.
Chrome feels limited to me but it's still an early work in progress. I try it every few updates but still prefer FF for fun and IE8 for the shrinking number of IE-only sites. I drifted away from Opera a few versions ago but might try it again if it's compatible with Xmarks and LastPass - have to find out about that.
-
Firefox is the king. Chrome is the prince. Opera is the princess. IE8 is just a commoner.
-
Firefox FTW!
-
i cant stand it when people use IE. no offense, but it really annoys site makers when internet explorer blocks out half of the site because it COULD harm the computer. but IE doesnt even scan the content, it just sees what type of content it is. no flash videos, no mouseover. on ie.
-
ElShotte said:
Dear god. So I just read this article, the first comment said FireFox 4 for life... had 3.5.1 installed, and didn't even know the FF4 beta is already available. Just got it, and it's looking sweet. Looks a bit like a Chrome rip-off, but sweet none the less. Thanks for pointing it out. Don't know yet whether it's going to replace Chrome, but Im liking it so far.
-
I, too like both Firefox and Opera... depends on whether we are using the laptop or the desktop... but either wins out over any other.
-
Opera and FF
-
firefox is my main browswer and chrome as a backup for when firefox doesn't behave.
-
I have to say Firefox.Love those themes. Right now I'm using "Pimpzilla". The fake leopard fur in the tab bar is awesome....And come to think of it, so are the diamond studded browser buttons. Gold plated scroll bars too.... it bees fly....!
-
I have to say Firefox.Love those themes. Right now I'm using "Pimpzilla". The fake leopard fur in the tab bar is awesome....And come to think of it, so are the diamond studded browser buttons. Gold plated scroll bars too.... it bees fly....!
yo dog, it still don't be havin spinna's
-
Yeah well, the rhinestones do glitter when you rollover them, so there...! :p
-
Firefox is the browser I use at work and at home, if sites do not work in Firefox, they do not work for me.
-
@Guest, I quite enjoy your comment, the only thing that would make it better is if you said Opera instead
-
In addition to all the browsers mentioned above, I sometimes use Epic Browser too.
-
Firefox is THE browser.
-
Ain't Gots None.........
yo dog, it still don't be havin spinna'sNext time, work the double negative into this, I think it would sound more authentic.Sic; "yo dog, it still don't be havin' no spinna's....!
-
I use FF most of the time and Chrome just for a change. BTW Cueto_99, you can search from the url bar in FF, I do it all the time.
-
Next time, work the double negative into this, I think it would sound more authentic.
Sic; "yo dog, it still don't be havin' no spinna's....!
well obviously....I stand corrected Ice Cap
Most Popular
| Trending | Featured |
Subscribe to TechSpot
Get free exclusive content, learn about new features and breaking tech news.