What browser do you guys use?

Alanstrainor · 05-03-2015 11:12am #1

Was a long time Chrome fan, but due to issues on my system I moved to firefox. What do you use, and why?

PropJoe10 · 05-03-2015 11:33am

I've switched around a lot in the last few years but I've gone back to Firefox. I find that the most recent versions render pages a lot faster than Chrome does, its very stable and the sync function in Firefox now works pretty well.

I've also messed around with SR Iron and Opera lately but Firefox is my number 1 choice.

yeppydeppy · 05-03-2015 11:50am

Mostly chrome but I also use IE - yes I've heard all the jokes but from a version or two back they fixed a lot of it problems and it's now quick and stable. I haven't checked an ad block for IE that's why I stick with chrome.

bonzodog2 · 05-03-2015 11:56am

I used to use Opera for many years, except for some sites that didn't play nice with it (might have been AIB and Vodafone); for these I used IE, also for some streaming radio. Opera had a major change some months back and I was unimpressed. Now I mostly use Iron, and occasionally the version of Firefox that comes with ToR.

OldMrBrennan83 · 05-03-2015 11:57am

This post has been deleted.

BobbyPropane · 05-03-2015 11:59am

I used to use Chrome but I changed to Firefox a month back mainly because I support what the Mozilla team are doing, and I don't trust Google as much as a I used to.

I had tried to switch before but I found FF to be a ram hog, however it seems to have changed over the last few months and I'm really impressed with the performance. The customisability is a plus too.

mordeith · 05-03-2015 12:05pm

Used to be FF but lately YouTube won't play. Keep getting 'error occurred'. Flash update makes no difference. Using Chrome now.

CreepingDeath · 05-03-2015 12:26pm

I'm struggling to stay loyal to Firefox at the moment.
I like the add-ons like "NoScript" & Ghostery.

But am stuck on version 32 now because in version 33 Firefox refused to connect to sites using older/weaker encryption.
My router has an old SSL cert I can't change, so I couldn't connect via Firefox.
Also I've an IP camera which requires a browser plug-in.
It's hit and miss whether it loads on Firefox.

So I'm using Firefox, but sometimes moving the Chrome for speed and stability. Firefox for security, when browsing untrusted sites.

Alanstrainor · 05-03-2015 12:42pm

I haven't been all that happy with Firefox on my Windows 7 box. I believe I'm running the latest version, but I'm not 100%. I find the performance to be worse than chrome, and it can be a bit slow at times. Despite running a Crucial SSD, quad core processor and 16GB of RAM. Hence the thread really! Wanted to see what other options I had!

PropJoe10 · 05-03-2015 1:05pm

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I haven't been all that happy with Firefox on my Windows 7 box. I believe I'm running the latest version, but I'm not 100%. I find the performance to be worse than chrome, and it can be a bit slow at times. Despite running a Crucial SSD, quad core processor and 16GB of RAM. Hence the thread really! Wanted to see what other options I had!

Make sure you're on the latest version - click on Help along the time, and About Firefox. If you cant see the Menu bar, press Alt and it should appear. I've found the latest versions of Firefox to be really snappy. Latest stable version is 36.

They're finally launching a 64-bit version for Windows too. So its a good time to be a Firefox user!

Ballyv24 · 05-03-2015 1:08pm

mordeith wrote: »

Used to be FF but lately YouTube won't play. Keep getting 'error occurred'. Flash update makes no difference. Using Chrome now.

Change your youtube settings to use the HTML5 player instead of Flash.

https://www.youtube.com/html5

Alanstrainor · 05-03-2015 1:23pm

PropJoe10 wrote: »

Make sure you're on the latest version - click on Help along the time, and About Firefox. If you cant see the Menu bar, press Alt and it should appear. I've found the latest versions of Firefox to be really snappy. Latest stable version is 36.

They're finally launching a 64-bit version for Windows too. So its a good time to be a Firefox user!

Last I checked I was running 36. But I will double check when I'm home.

I dont run many add-ons and just have stuttery performance at time, which can be a bit annoying. That being said, Chrome in the last year or so has gotten very bloated, so I'm not so sure Chrome is any better.

PropJoe10 · 05-03-2015 1:26pm

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Last I checked I was running 36. But I will double check when I'm home.

I dont run many add-ons and just have stuttery performance at time, which can be a bit annoying. That being said, Chrome in the last year or so has gotten very bloated, so I'm not so sure Chrome is any better.

Thats a strange issue. If you dont like Chrome, try SR Iron. Its a Chrome derivative with all the Google analytics and tracking features stripped out. Pretty decent browser that focuses on privacy.

jca · 05-03-2015 1:29pm

I've gone back to FF recently after using chrome for years. The continual updating of chrome is a pain and it's become very bloated and a resource hog on a machine with an i7 processor 8gig of ram and a hybrid drive. I find FF very nice and snappy and page load speeds are much better.

yoyo · 05-03-2015 8:06pm

Always been a fan of Firefox. Still my default browser. Actually have the choice of IE or Chrome in work and choose IE all the time. Not a bad browser at all these days!

Nick

jca · 05-03-2015 8:40pm

I'm using Win 10 preview and never bothered installing another browser IE is going so well.

Alanstrainor · 05-03-2015 11:42pm

yoyo wrote: »

Always been a fan of Firefox. Still my default browser. Actually have the choice of IE or Chrome in work and choose IE all the time. Not a bad browser at all these days!

Nick

I use IE on my Windows 8.1 tablet and it's a fine browser!

Adyx · 06-03-2015 9:52am

Pale Moon on everything except my phone. It's a stripped back, slightly more optimised version of Firefox.

PropJoe10 · 06-03-2015 10:24am

The 64-bit Firefox Developer version on Windows is great. Runs like a dream.

dodzy · 06-03-2015 10:48am

Ballyv24 wrote: »

Change your youtube settings to use the HTML5 player instead of Flash.

https://www.youtube.com/html5

You Sir are a legend

Thank you

Joya · 06-03-2015 10:57am

PropJoe10 wrote: »

The 64-bit Firefox Developer version on Windows is great. Runs like a dream.

couldnt agree more - same here :d))

Alanstrainor · 06-03-2015 11:05am

Joya wrote: »

couldnt agree more - same here :d))

Definitely going to install this when I get home!

heroics · 06-03-2015 11:23am

Use Chrome or IE. I have found Chrome to use a lot of RAM lately.

SMJSF · 06-03-2015 11:25am

I've always used IE.. I rarely use chrome, and I have never used FF.

circadian · 06-03-2015 11:27am

PropJoe10 wrote: »

The 64-bit Firefox Developer version on Windows is great. Runs like a dream.

Need to install this as I sometimes have performance issues. I was pretty sure its because it's a 32bit install.

imitation · 06-03-2015 11:32am

I use chrome, I would rather use firefox, but i find it constantly freezes or locks (on a i7 with 16gb of ram), where chrome is butter. Might try that dev version because chrome really feels like big brother at this stage..

morgana · 08-03-2015 11:17am

Used to use Opera for ages. But the latest upgrades did away with all I liked Opera for. Switched to FF for its customisability and addons. Very happy with it now.

BunkMoreland · 08-03-2015 11:23am

Always used Firefox, never jumped on the Chrome bandwagon.

Firefox with adblock edge ( not "plus" ) and any other combination of addons is where its at.

Chrome remote desktop is the only reason to have Chrome installed.

I recently got a new laptop with touchscreen. Has to be said pinch zooming and scrolling are silk smooth with IE11 compared to the others.

PropJoe10 · 08-03-2015 12:11pm

BunkMoreland wrote: »

Always used Firefox, never jumped on the Chrome bandwagon.

Firefox with adblock edge ( not "plus" ) and any other combination of addons is where its at.

Chrome remote desktop is the only reason to have Chrome installed.

I recently got a new laptop with touchscreen. Has to be said pinch zooming and scrolling are silk smooth with IE11 compared to the others.

Just on the subject of addons, there's a new ad blocker called UBlock out which seems to run a lot lighter than Adblock. Pages on my PC definitely seem to load faster since I switched to it. Its well worth a look.

demanufactured · 08-03-2015 12:54pm

On my home pc I use chrome.
In work I use a combination of Firefox... Chrome and IE11...we use a corporate proxy so some sites won't load in IE

08-03-2015 1:47pm

Been using Firefox since about 2007 or so, except on my Windows 8.1 tablet where Metro IE is my browser of choice. But I've been unhappy with all of the mainstream browsers as of late.

I don't like what Chrome has done to the browser market; its focus on minimalism has caused other browsers to copy it, to the extent that I now can't tell Chrome and Firefox apart from a distance. I have a 1080p screen on my PC - I don't need to have a minimalist browser which hides functionality that I regularly use. So yep, I've never took to Chrome.

When the Australis UI was released for Firefox, I temporarily switched to Pale Moon to avoid it. However, the changes made in version 25.0 made me reconsider and I just went back to Firefox with Classic Theme Restorer. Basically, Pale Moon changed the user agent to remove any mention of Firefox, which broke many websites (for example, Google would present the same UI that it would on IE7) and they also changed the GUID of the browser which broke addon compatibility. They then went on the very dubious road of modding or forking addons to suit their own agenda.

I'm not overly happy with the performance of Firefox though, it's quite sluggish on my laptop now. Might be to do with the addons I have installed. Must really strip it back and see.

What browser do you guys use?

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