NWA-PCUG Newsletter Article, April 2009
Alternative Internet Browsers – Maybe Better Than IE
By Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director;
Columnist, The Examiner, Beaumont, TX; Radio & TV Show Host

Iwilsker@apcug.net
(click to email author)

WEBSITES:
http://www.getfirefox.com
http://www.opera.com
http://www.apple.com/safari
http://www.google.com/chrome

Windows users are all too well aware that contemporary versions of Windows come complete with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) installed in such a way as it is almost impossible to remove. Because Microsoft initially makes IE the default browser, many users are unaware that there are some excellent free alternatives out there that are often more feature rich and use fewer resources than IE. Many of the current crop of web based malware target the insecurities (and mass distribution) of IE, a vulnerability often lacking in the alternative browsers. According to some published statistics, the market share of users using IE as their primary browser has recently dropped to 70%, compared to a near monopoly just a few years ago. Perhaps users are smartening up, and learning that there are quality alternatives to IE that may provide a better and more secure browsing and web surfing experience.

My personal favorite browser, that I admittedly use in excess of 95% of the time on all of my computers, is Firefox, recently released as version 3.07. After IE, Firefox is currently the most widely used alternative browser in the world. Available for almost all platforms (operating systems), and published in almost every language in the world, Firefox is produced as “open source” software, where anyone is free to write add-ons, plug-ins, or other enhancements to the software. Because of this open source concept, there may be more ways to customize Firefox than any other browser. While I choose to run several Firefox plug-ins and add-ons, Firefox is just fine as downloaded. Firefox is written in very tight code, which makes it a much smaller download than IE, and typically uses less system resources and is faster to load and open web pages than IE. Of the major browsers, Firefox was a pioneer of tabbed browsing, a feature that was not offered in IE until recently. When people tell me that they are having trouble with IE, my typical initial response is to download and install Firefox. With a few exceptions, Firefox works well when IE seems to choke. One nice feature when Firefox is installed is that it non-destructively imports data from IE, such as cookies, favorites (bookmarks), stored passwords, and other information from IE, making Firefox quick and easy to use. IE and Firefox can mutually co-exist on a computer and not interfere with each other. While each may ask to make it the default browser, my clear choice between IE and Firefox would be for Firefox.

Another alternative browser, which would also be an excellent choice, is Opera, a Norwegian browser that is immensely popular in Europe, and gaining in popularity elsewhere. Opera claims over 20 million registered users. The latest version is 9.64, and is faster, more secure, and more feature rich than IE. Opera is available in many languages (including English), and for most platforms, including computers, cell phones, PDA’s, and gaming consoles. Opera utilizes a lot of innovative features unavailable on most other browsers, especially IE. Some of these unusual but beneficial features are “Mouse gestures” where scrolling the mouse may be used to switch between web pages; “Page zoom” where the view of web pages can be modified to meet personal preferences; “Fast forward” which advances to the next page of many popular sites such as Google and Facebook; “Rewind”, the opposite of “fast forward”, allows the user to scroll back to previous pages on selected websites; “Trash can” where previously viewed but closed web pages and tabs can be reopened; “Magic wand” which will automatically fill in online forms; and many other helpful and unique features. For those who want a full featured browser that is faster and more secure than IE, Opera would be a good choice.

Apple, which has been producing its own proprietary browser, Safari, for Apple computers, released a PC version last year, now in version Beta 4. Recent published performance comparisons between Safari and other browsers appear to show that Safari is the fastest major browser on the market, capable of loading and displaying web pages several times faster than IE, and faster than its other major competitors. Safari claims to be an elegant browser, much more appealing to the eye than IE, with a much cleaner front end. Safari takes up less desktop space than IE, allowing for more of a webpage to be displayed without Safari crowding out the webpage with borders, toolbars, and other distractions. Safari includes an integral spell checker to improve what the user displays in blogs and other postings, and was the first major browser to integrate an RSS feed directly into the browser. For those who want a feature rich and cutting edge browser, that is currently the fastest on the market, and very pleasing to the eye, Apple’s safari would be a good choice. As with the other browsers, Safari can coexist with other browsers on the same computer without interfering with each other.

About a year ago, Google introduced its feature rich browser, Chrome, which was designed from the ground up to be a leading browser that integrates well with Google’s other abundant features and services. When it works, it is very impressive, and offers active thumbnail images of recent web pages visited, and interactive searches from the address bar. As with the other alternative browsers, Chrome will import favorites and other information from IE, and is written in very tight code to make it fast to execute and load web pages. While Chrome is a very attractive browser, I will have to reiterate what I said when I first reviewed it last year, when I called it “not ready for prime time”. I downloaded a fresh copy of Chrome directly from Google for this column, and installed it. The download and install was fast and efficient, as it also imported my favorites and bookmarks from IE, enabling instant use. When I went to use it, just as I had done about a year ago, several of the web pages I routinely use would not display, instead showing a black screen that says, “Aw Snap! Something went wrong while displaying this webpage. To continue, press reload or go to another page.” This error occurred on my Yahoo web mail page, My Yahoo, and even on my weather page which is written in plain HTML. Because of the inability to display these pages, Chrome is the only of the browsers above that I have installed and then uninstalled on my computer. I will try it again when the next major update is released, but will not use it until then.

There are some excellent alternative browsers available that may be superior to the ubiquitous IE in features, speed, and security. All of these browsers are free, and worthy of a try. To quote the old TV commercial, “Try it, you’ll like it!”

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