The Best Internet Launcher

BuilderBob

Hey Folks,

I've heard of a couple of different internet browsers that would be better than Explorer.

Is there a general favourite & what are the advantages??

Thanks for all help

garthv

www.mozilla.org/firefox - Is the best browser out there in mine and a lot of others opinions

www.opera.com

http://browser.netscape.com/ns8/

Pack3t3rroR

Firefox 1.0.7 is the best out there

Cabaal

Here's your choices http://www.w3junkies.com/toocool/
Firefox & Opera being the most popular on Windows machines

irlrobins

Cabaal wrote:

Firefox & Opera being the most popular on Windows machines

I think IE still is considered the most popular. Still has at least 85% of the market share....

Rollo Tamasi

irlrobins wrote:

I think IE still is considered the most popular. Still has at least 85% of the market share....

IE is still the most popular but Firefox has the best features. There is no harm in downloading it anyway and testing it out for yourself.

Orion

IE is the most used! That's because it is preinstalled on all windoze boxes. FF is eating into the market share slowly but surely as people become more aware of the alternatives.

For secure browsing Firefox or Opera are the way to go. I moved from Opera to FF a few months ago. Haven't used IE outside of work in years.

foxtail

Firefox my main browser, unbelievable customisation options - you really can make it your own. Favourite extensions ReloadEvery, FireFTP, ShowIP, IEView, AdBlock

On my PIII use Opera (faster than firefox) and they've dropped the annoying ads on the free version.

GoneShootin

art

irlrobins wrote:

I think IE still is considered the most popular. Still has at least 85% of the market share....

Latest figures have that down to 70-75%.

In terms of what people actually, actively, chose for themselves, the figures would probably be more like 90% Firefox, 8% Opera, 2% Internet Explorer.

Sauron

tbh...

Capt'n Midnight

Don't forget the User Agent Switcher for firefox means you can pretend to be IE for sites that are IE only, similarily Opera usually pretends to be IE/Netscape and the figures don't come from representative sites.

It's the extensions that do it for me in firefox - lots of cool features especially for things like proxy switching and hide/show images that are 4 menus deep in IE and require a restart. Firefox isn't as stable as I'd like but it's getting better all the time - IE just gets more patches..

Rollo Tamasi

art wrote:

Latest figures have that down to 70-75%.

In terms of what people actually, actively, chose for themselves, the figures would probably be more like 90% Firefox, 8% Opera, 2% Internet Explorer.

I don't really understand what your saying here Art? Are you saying that Firefox actually has 90% of the browser market?

irlrobins

art wrote:

Latest figures have that down to 70-75%.

This survey has IE at 88.5%

art

Rollo Tamasi wrote:

I don't really understand what your saying here Art? Are you saying that Firefox actually has 90% of the browser market?

What I meant is that the majority of home PC users in the world get a PC in a cardboard box, open it for a while, use the little icons they see when they start, one of which happens to be Internet Explorer, start getting very very slow connections and a strange new home page, etc etc... ... overhear or read about the phishing/hoaxing/spyware/security holes in IE and so then start splashing out on Norton Internet Protector Advanced Anti-terrorist edition...

Likewise, most business users will get a PC with a ghosted standard image that will contain Internet Explorer and cannot change this freely.

However, of those of us on our own machines, who can choose our software freely, with some savvy concerning downloading and installing programs, around 90% will install and use FireFox and almost no-one, bar the very odd, will deliberately choose such a poor browser to use for such an important purpose (security wise, for example) as browsing the net, making purchases online and so on... The obviously more advanced choice is FireFox.

art

irlrobins wrote:

This survey has IE at 88.5%

Did you actually follow the links to the so-called survey in that article? :rolleyes:

Blogs, eh, always a font of perfect knowledge

art

irlrobins wrote:

This survey has IE at 88.5%

Though I'll grant you, I should have written 80% to 75%, not 70% to 75% - that was a typo I just noticed.

irlrobins

art wrote:

Did you actually follow the links to the so-called survey in that article? :rolleyes:

Blogs, eh, always a font of perfect knowledge

yea, in particular this one

art

irlrobins wrote:

yea, in particular this one

That's the same site/host, and the final link is also one of their own sites... its all self linkage and the only external link they have, is feckin broken

Anyway, websidestory is a commercial firm that monitor certain, specific websites for browser usage so a lot is dependent on which sites they choose as measureable. If they choose very mainstream sites, the type that appeal to people just going for a quick browse and who do not use their computer much, its going to be skewed in IE's favour. For example, another web monitor published stats of a six month average at 20% FireFox usage, but that monitors more techy type sites specifically: http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

But, either way, websidestory itself, anyhow, reported 23% FireFox usage in Europe, its in US they claimed usage of around 8%, which is where that business site you linked to www.internetweek.com is based.

There's a very big difference between states and european trends so stats are very dependent on whose making what claims, and where they are based etc (ps wouldn't be surprised if IE 7.0 gets called "Internet Freedom Explorer"). I'm based in Ireland, plus I work in IT on web based applications, so as far as I'm concerned, the european figures are the one for me

Capt'n Midnight

Does anyone have stats on how many people changed over to IE or chose IE over an alternative ?

Don't forget that M$ have dropped IE support for Apple MAC's. Innovate, mar dhea.

Gandalf23

This thread makes interesting reading when discussing browsers...
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=304840

I'm becoming more and more of an Opera man myself now that the ad-free version is available free.

Cabaal

The question:

BuilderBob wrote:

Hey Folks,
I've heard of a couple of different internet browsers that would be better than Explorer.
Is there a general favourite & what are the advantages??

Basically he wants something other then Internet Explorer

irlrobins wrote:

I think IE still is considered the most popular. Still has at least 85% of the market share....

Rollo Tamasi wrote:

IE is still the most popular but Firefox has the best features. There is no harm in downloading it anyway and testing it out for yourself.

My response stating "Firefox & Opera being the most popular on Windows machines" refers to the two browsers being the most popular "other" browsers

that is all :rolleyes:

Capt'n Midnight

Cabaal wrote:

My response stating "Firefox & Opera being the most popular on Windows machines" refers to the two browsers being the most popular "other" browsers

that is all :rolleyes:

well if 23% choose not to use IE , then excluding those who don't make a browser choice it could be a higher % than those who choose IE !

Just because more people use something doesn't make the most popular one. Eircom are not the most popular telecoms provider on this Island.