Battle of the Browsers

[farscapeone]

The best web browser is one that suites you best. There's no need to argue about that. All of us have our own favorite one, and we all know that IE sucks so why arguing. You won't change my opinion about Opera (I prefer Opera) just like I won't change yours about FF (or whatever).

For me Opera is the best because it suites me best. That doesn't mean that it's really the best browser in the world. There's no such thing as "THE BEST WEB BROWSER".

 

[anger2headshot]

Firefox 3. I don't care about its flaws; the popularity resulted in awesome plugins and I need them to be happy.

After all, I have a lot of plugins that I don't see for other browsers.

 

[tcmstr134]

I like firefox simply because of all the addons available for it. I choose to use Firefox 3 because it is more recent, and I like the GUI better. As for the other ones, Chrome is nice, but a bit skimpy in features (in my experience, compared to my Firefox) IE is... well, a Microsoft product - 'Nuff said. I have never used Opera, so I'm not sure whether or not I would like it. Also, I completely agree with leviathon, there is no such thing as the best web browser for everyone.

 

[idiil]

The best web browser is one that suites you best. There's no need to argue about that. All of us have our own favorite one, and we all know that IE sucks so why arguing. You won't change my opinion about Opera (I prefer Opera) just like I won't change yours about FF (or whatever).

For me Opera is the best because it suites me best. That doesn't mean that it's really the best browser in the world. There's no such thing as "THE BEST WEB BROWSER".

And so, the truth comes out. It's just personal preference. None of the aforementioned claims to Opera's merit have been supported, with each failed "reason" glossed over for the next incrementally ridiculous claim.
But you, at least, are somewhat reasonable.

On the matter of "the best web browser is one that suits you best," I must disagree. For the needs of a great multitude, IE6 suits them best. But it is clearly not the "best" browser. And a simple objective reason is that its deficiencies are holding back web technologies.
And so, I would argue that the "best" browser would be a browser that can challenge IE6 and its stranglehold over the browser market, and allow web technologies to advance. Furthermore, one who's implementations are open so as to benefit the entire web community, so that all browsers can advance quickly.
Opera accomplishes this not, and instead adds complexity for developers.

I'll tell you what I would give Opera credit for, had they accomplished it.
The first ones to with an efficient Canvas implementation, that is open and reusable. Webkit has it:
http://gyu.que.jp/jscloth/miku.html

 

[agroup]

Safari 4.0

 

[farscapeone]

And so, the truth comes out. It's just personal preference. None of the aforementioned claims to Opera's merit have been supported, with each failed "reason" glossed over for the next incrementally ridiculous claim.
But you, at least, are somewhat reasonable.

Opera is the best web browser for me and there's nothing you can do about it :thefinger... and I'll explain you why. For example, two people are looking at the same apple. One side of the apple is red one side is yellow. One guy says "the apple is red" and the other guy says "the apple is yellow". Who's right?:naughty: It's all about what you see. Same here, I think that Opera is the one for me and you think that FF is one for you. You just saw the yellow side, that's all. I can't make you see my side one and you can't make see your side. It's simple as that, so stop saying "FF is the best and Opera is a piece of s**t", this thread should be like "what do you like about your favorite browser" or something like that. It should be about telling people what do you like about Opera, FF, Chrome ... not telling everybody that they are stupid because they don't use the same browser as you do.

On the matter of "the best web browser is one that suits you best," I must disagree. For the needs of a great multitude, IE6 suits them best. But it is clearly not the "best" browser. And a simple objective reason is that its deficiencies are holding back web technologies.

I disagree, for them it is "the best browser" because they don't know any better. Can't you see that most of the people that uses IE6 just don't care about what browser they use, mainly because they don't really use it that much or they are not so much into computers. It does the job for and that's the only thing they care about.

When we're talking about those of us that use almost every browser there is, then I can, for sure, say that the best web browser is one that suits you best. If I'm familiar with all major (and some minor) browsers I can't say what's the best one. Opera has something that FF don't and FF has something that Opera don't. Chome is best for ... and Opera is best for ... So please stop talking about browsers you don't like and star talking about those you like.

P.S. I'm a web designer and I never had any problem with Opera because Opera is the synonym for W3C standards. My only problem is IE<6.

 

[idiil]

Opera is the best web browser for me and there's nothing you can do about it :thefinger... and I'll explain you why.

And that is why your statements, as well as the earlier Opera supporters', are worthless and restrictively subjective.

For example, two people are looking at the same apple. One side of the apple is red one side is yellow. One guy says "the apple is red" and the other guy says "the apple is yellow". Who's right?:naughty: It's all about what you see. Same here, I think that Opera is the one for me and you think that FF is one for you. You just saw the yellow side, that's all. I can't make you see my side one and you can't make see your side.

I have already stated clearly my reasons as to why Opera is not the best, and does more harm than good. My reasons have been neither preferential nor subjective.

It's simple as that, so stop saying "FF is the best and Opera is a piece of s**t", this thread should be like "what do you like about your favorite browser" or something like that. It should be about telling people what do you like about Opera, FF, Chrome ... not telling everybody that they are stupid because they don't use the same browser as you do.

Not sure who or what you are referring to. The only ones who have come close to what you describe, were the Opera fanatics trying to bash Firefox in favor of Opera. Failing miserably on all points.

I disagree, for them it is "the best browser" because they don't know any better. Can't you see that most of the people that uses IE6 just don't care about what browser they use, mainly because they don't really use it that much or they are not so much into computers. It does the job for and that's the only thing they care about.

When we're talking about those of us that use almost every browser there is, then I can, for sure, say that the best web browser is one that suits you best. If I'm familiar with all major (and some minor) browsers I can't say what's the best one. Opera has something that FF don't and FF has something that Opera don't. Chome is best for ... and Opera is best for ... So please stop talking about browsers you don't like and star talking about those you like.

P.S. I'm a web designer and I never had any problem with Opera because Opera is the synonym for W3C standards. My only problem is IE<6.

I tire of repeating myself to people who can't seem to read. I have already covered your jaded points, including an example of a prominent web site that renders correctly in all browsers except for Opera.

Oh, did I mention that I don't like Firefox, and have not claimed that Firefox was the best? You may have been too busy collecting straw to notice.

 

[olliepop]

FF3 is sleek, elegant and widely-compatible as being super fast.
However, it does not have an active x control YET.

FF3 FTW!

 

[abcisaac]

Am I the only one who uses Internet Explorer? Perhaps I am the only one who uses Internet Explorer and is bold enough to post in such a forum. The Firefox fanboys are almost as annoying as the Apple devotees. I still use Internet Explorer in almost every case. I like the way it looks, it is familiar, and opens more quickly than Firefox. I only use Firefox for facebook. It seems to be more willing to cooperate, although I still have problems every once in awhile with it.

 

[alexandgruntz]

I can undersand your point about us Firefox fanboys, but anyone who uses Internet Exploder obviously has no idea about the risks of such an unsecure browser. Anything except IE should be used.

 

[idiil]

Am I the only one who uses Internet Explorer?

No, you definitely aren't.

Perhaps I am the only one who uses Internet Explorer and is bold enough to post in such a forum.

I saw a couple people in this thread who favored IE earlier. The demographic for this forum will likely not be IE users. It should be expected, this being a web host forum.

The Firefox fanboys are almost as annoying as the Apple devotees. I still use Internet Explorer in almost every case.

Personally, I would probably just use IE if I didn't do any web development.
However, I do think there is merit to discrediting IE and urging users away from IE. At least until IE8 is stable and/or IE starts complying by standards. If you want to know why, ask any (reasonable) person with sufficient experience in web development.

I like the way it looks, it is familiar, and opens more quickly than Firefox. I only use Firefox for facebook. It seems to be more willing to cooperate, although I still have problems every once in awhile with it.

You might want to give Google Chrome a try. It loads fast and has a slick no frills interface.

 

[abcisaac]

Thank you for the recommendation.

 

[freenetter]

I chose Chrome because it has a number of features that totally trump Firefox 3.

A) Super fast rendering engine - websites load very, very fast - sometimes 2 times faster than Firefox. Also, most Google sites have been tweaked to render quicker on Chrome that rival's browsers.

B) Chrome opens PDFs in it's own, 'inline' PDF viewer, rather than Firefox, whcih can take ages to load up Adobe Reader.

C) It does take up quite a bit more memory than Firefox 3, but that's because each tab runs in its own process, which helps to maintain stability. Also, there are very few memory fluctuations - e.g. a Chrome tab will typically take up a constant 80- 85MB, whereas Firefox 3 may jump from 50MB to 215MB!

D) The only major drawback I can see at the moment is the seemingly total lack of plugins. My 2 best Firefox 3 addins, Adblock Plus and Flashblock Plus, would be really handy in Chrome - for Internet users in countries that have download limits, Chrome is not great yet - all the ads and Flash banners load up when using it.

E) Don't know how trustworthy Chrome is regarding secure sites. I still use Firefox 3 when loggin into PayPal or my bank account.

 

[alexandgruntz]

A) Super fast rendering engine - websites load very, very fast - sometimes 2 times faster than Firefox. Also, most Google sites have been tweaked to render quicker on Chrome that rival's browsers.

It's tweaked it's own pages, which shows signs of biasism, although I have to agree here.

B) Chrome opens PDFs in it's own, 'inline' PDF viewer, rather than Firefox, whcih can take ages to load up Adobe Reader.

I use Foxit Reader, and it doesn't take very long to load.

C) It does take up quite a bit more memory than Firefox 3, but that's because each tab runs in its own process, which helps to maintain stability. Also, there are very few memory fluctuations - e.g. a Chrome tab will typically take up a constant 80- 85MB, whereas Firefox 3 may jump from 50MB to 215MB!

Here you're not comparing apples with apples. Each Google Chrome tab takes up 80MB, while the entire Firefox app uses 50-125MB. That's an unfair comparison.

D) The only major drawback I can see at the moment is the seemingly total lack of plugins. My 2 best Firefox 3 addins, Adblock Plus and Flashblock Plus, would be really handy in Chrome - for Internet users in countries that have download limits, Chrome is not great yet - all the ads and Flash banners load up when using it.

I would never use a browser without adblocking ability, built-in or otherwise.

E) Don't know how trustworthy Chrome is regarding secure sites. I still use Firefox 3 when loggin into PayPal or my bank account.

So not a full conversion then.

 

[idiil]

I use Foxit Reader, and it doesn't take very long to load.

The other guy is mistaken. Chrome uses Adobe PDF Plug-In for Firefox and Netscape. It just happens to load it faster.

Here you're not comparing apples with apples. Each Google Chrome tab takes up 80MB, while the entire Firefox app uses 50-125MB. That's an unfair comparison.

You misread it, he said it jumped from 50 to 215.
But, I don't see why memory usage is such a big deal. The difference in usage is insignificant and 2gb ram costs ~$20.

I would never use a browser without adblocking ability, built-in or otherwise.

Look at http://www.adsweep.org/ or http://www.privoxy.org/

 

[Energritz]

I like using Firefox 3 over any other browser , primiarly because it easy use and the features that it has, providing good security to witch with online scans and such that dont work it's because unlike Internet Explorer witch uses a ActiveX conrtol witch will sometime install the websites access method to get information from your pc, witch can lead to major security hole, as most site that try to get into your system without you knowing can access your pc without any real hassle, and then infect it all over the place, Firefox also is constantly updated and has the option not to leave any trace of what you do online, IE on the other hand also has the ability but the information is still stored on the pc without the end user knowing about it. As for the other browser out there they also provide unique features and security features, but personally for me, they need to be worked on alot more, thats just my opinion. Plus FF3 is modernized than IE 6 ( windows xp default IE ) , is more faster and provides rss feeds also. IE for me is too slow and isnt secure enough to be honest. Ill end my debate there.

 

[xav0989]

I chose Chrome because it has a number of features that totally trump Firefox 3.

A) Super fast rendering engine - websites load very, very fast - sometimes 2 times faster than Firefox. Also, most Google sites have been tweaked to render quicker on Chrome that rival's browsers.

B) Chrome opens PDFs in it's own, 'inline' PDF viewer, rather than Firefox, whcih can take ages to load up Adobe Reader.

C) It does take up quite a bit more memory than Firefox 3, but that's because each tab runs in its own process, which helps to maintain stability. Also, there are very few memory fluctuations - e.g. a Chrome tab will typically take up a constant 80- 85MB, whereas Firefox 3 may jump from 50MB to 215MB!

D) The only major drawback I can see at the moment is the seemingly total lack of plugins. My 2 best Firefox 3 addins, Adblock Plus and Flashblock Plus, would be really handy in Chrome - for Internet users in countries that have download limits, Chrome is not great yet - all the ads and Flash banners load up when using it.

E) Don't know how trustworthy Chrome is regarding secure sites. I still use Firefox 3 when loggin into PayPal or my bank account.

I use chrome most of the time now because it has way better crash control (each tab is a separate browser process, a great security feature), and because of the minimalistic browser components. In firefox, about 1/6 to 1/4 of the screen is composed of browser-related stuff (address bar, AiOS, firebug, when opened, etc.). In chrome, nearly all the screen is dedicated to the page. I had to adapt, but now, I am sold.

Anyways, it would be nice to see a by-product of both firefox and chrome.

 

[juanfragar]

I (´love`) FF3!!

 

[rahulkhatri]

I use chrome and sometimes chrome portable

FF2 was the best
but FF3 is very bad

IE is history even IE8 FAILS

Safari is worse than FF3,it has a nice look but it isnt the fastest browser as it was claimed

 

[matrixsquare]

I personally prefer Opera to anything and everything else because:
1) Proven track record of being VERY SECURE (yes, even more so than Firefox...)
2) Proven track record of being VERY FAST (except for Chrome, which is faster according to tests that I've personally run)
3) Feature-filled. It has everything I need in a neat little package that uses minimal RAM. That includes a Newsreader, Feed reader, E-mail client, and IRC client all in one!
4) Minimal RAM usage. It has been proven in many 3rd party tests that Opera generally uses the least amount of RAM compared to Firefox/IE/Chrome/Safari.

So, to sum up:
Opera because it has Security, Speed, and Features, while at the same time using Minimal System Resources!