How Neowinians Surf the Net?


Which browser is your favourite?  

325 members have voted

  1. 1. Which browser is your favourite?

    • IE
      94
    • Netscape
      4
    • Mozilla
      11
    • Firefox/bird
      158
    • Safari
      10
    • Opera
      27
    • k-meleon
      1
    • Camino
      0
    • Other - You better post if you pick this!
      20


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Wow-- where do I begin? :|

maybe you just started to program for the web and pickuped up a W3C book--otherwise, you would know that you have it ass-backwards.  It's only recently that other browsers are rendering pages properly.
Umm... look at the browsers listed. Only one does not follow the W3C. :/
But who cares?  IE is a built-in html-renderer for Windows.

IE is a built in browser with a rendering engine. Is that an accomplishment? All browsers have a RE and being built in is monopolistic and has no influence on its virtue.

Windows can parse text files, parse .bmps, and can parse html files, among other things.  97% of computer users use Windows.
Umm.. ok? Who brought up Linux or another OS? Most of the browsers listed are cross-platform or FOR your favourite OS. You are right-- a lot of people use Windows. That means they use IE? :/
There was never a need to complicate matters by creating a slew of separate products for browsing the web, each with their own idea of what should work and what shouldn't.

Why are there more than 1 PC maker, OS, potato chip brand, or even paper? I don't think the purpose is to complicate things. It promotes progress and allows each to choose what's best for them; providing them options! Once again-- "each with their own idea" is an inaccurate statement. All modern browsers act alike except IE.

It was a real pain in the ass to have to program in all kinds of exceptions to get Netscape to work properly, because people were still using it 4 years after they stopped developing it--and decided to focus on whining at Microsoft instead--because they made browsing completely transparent to the user.
Why didn't you use standards? I've never had to program specifically for any standards-compliant browser. That is in fact, the point of standards. I have however had many cases where a friend and I have had to program AROUND IE. That is the real pain... And yes, Netscape wasn't too clever. Mozilla fixed up that nonsense. IE makes browsing easy, but not fun nor convenient. IMO.
Just like .zip files.  XP opens them just fine, you don't need PKZip or WinZip or whatever anymore.  Time to move on.

Although this is not a topic I want to dwell on, I use WinRAR, because the RAR and .tar .gz formats are more clever. Once again-- I like having options. Does anyone even use .zip anymore? :/

Cheers...

[Editted to remove typos]

Edited by mswarts
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I don't recommend Neophoria (no offense jhay), I'm not big on slapping a face on a good browser. That's one of my diagreements with the many faces of IE.

Edit: Another comment about the quality of this poll: Safari in particular, but maybe others, gets a raw deal. It is a WONDERFUL browser for Mac. But it isn't for Windows, so it gets a ton less votes. Basically, don't reject a browser with only a few votes, or none :| I like k-meleon. I guess I'm the only one :p

Edited by mswarts
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I use Opera for browsing in general. But don't use it when I am in forums (like this one) because I can't apply tags like 'quote', 'code' by selecting the text.

For browsing forums and IE-centric sites like those who have JAVA applets, I use MyIE2.

I have to try FireFox to see what good things it has to offer.

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Started using firebird then firefox recently, was just getting fed up with the constant hijacking of IE. Am now a complete convert and have it on all my machines :)

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i'm a user of MyIE2 over here... good stuff! tried out firefox (still have it installed too), but it didn't catch on to me quite yet... still use it every once in a while though ;)

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I know there is a free version, but the banner is intrusive :/

Open source IMO is the best way

The problem is, every "feature" is smashed into one program. No wonder it isn't open-source-- they're probably embarrassed that the source code is such a mess! And I know Opera's mail is not default. The point is I don't want a DVD player in my browser :/

There are pages Opera displays incorrectly that Fx displays correctly, both compliant and Quirks. It's the bitterness of the engine -- doesn't make it a bad browser, so I'm not arguing that really...

I don't know anything about Bonzai Buddy in Opera-- I bet it was that poster's error.

Also, realize, I have used Opera and give it a new try each time a new version is released. I prefer Firefox, but Opera users are the least of my conerns :)

Ok, never seen a dvd player or any type of opera media player, and that is because it doesn't have one. On that statement, I may be able to sense your exxageration or sarcasm, but others might not. Also, as I asked earlier, please tell me of a page that Opera cannot display correctly where Firefox can. That is all I want, and I will stop talking about it. Opera does come with a lot, but I find Firefox doesn't come with enough. And I am sure the reason that they haven't opened the source code is from a 'embarrassment' to let people see it...I AM sure that it has something to do with the fact there would be no point in having a paid version if it was open source, because people would just remove the code that creates the banner in the free version.

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mswarts: I want you to know that i read this entire thread just to make sure that my gut feeling at the begining was infact true. Why is it that you state that you want people to express their opinions and no one should start a flame war, yet every time someone mentions something differnt, you respond with ..."No, you are wrong, IE is inferior" or "Well, you are wrong fro thinking that way because...blah blah blah use k-meleon"

Listen People are going to use whatever they feel most comfortable using. If IE is more comfortable, then so-be-it. I personally tried FF and was not all that excited. The tabbing was nice, but it interupted my flow. Same thing happened with Avant. Notice that they are giffernt browsing engines. The browser really had nothing to do with it. The interface did. I hear a lot of people that like this feature and that feature, but argue that this makes the browser better than another. What I would like to see is people developing a interface that is just a shell. You pick the rendering engine, and all of the other components are "plugins" that way you could have the experiance you want using the engine you want. But I digress.

Seriously, warts, back off, you are so tarnishing your own thread with your comments.

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Ok, never seen a dvd player or any type of opera media player, and that is because it doesn't have one. On that statement, I may be able to sense your exxageration or sarcasm, but others might not. Also, as I asked earlier, please tell me of a page that Opera cannot display correctly where Firefox can. That is all I want, and I will stop talking about it. Opera does come with a lot, but I find Firefox doesn't come with enough. And I am sure the reason that they haven't opened the source code is from a 'embarrassment' to let people see it...I AM sure that it has something to do with the fact there would be no point in having a paid version if it was open source, because people would just remove the code that creates the banner in the free version.

DVD = exaggerration

Code "embarassment" also exaggerration (point was programs that do more than 1 thing have messier source) They true reason it is not open is the reason you stated- money.

Opera comes with too much and you can't get rid of (I don't mean disable) it.

Firefox comes with enough and you can get more using extensions. Kind of like the analogy you can always put more clothes on, but you can't peel off your skin.

Just trust me-- I might be less lazy and look later (I don't currently have Opera installed). Opera has a weaker Quirks mode and BITTER standards. I emphasoze again though, that isn't a *bad* thing... Bitter standards is the right way (I just want some slack ;)

Opera is a good browser, I'm glad people use it. The browser market, like any other market is full of diverse people. Some people like Doritos, some Lays, some corn chips. :D

I promise I'll post some pages later, but not now-- it isn't all that big a deal though considering it is not a bad thing...

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DVD = exaggerration

Code "embarassment" also exaggerration (point was programs that do more than 1 thing have messier source) They true reason it is not open is the reason you stated- money.

Opera comes with too much and you can't get rid of (I don't mean disable) it.

Firefox comes with enough and you can get more using extensions. Kind of like the analogy you can always put more clothes on, but you can't peel off your skin.

Just trust me-- I might be less lazy and look later (I don't currently have Opera installed). Opera has a weaker Quirks mode and BITTER standards. I emphasoze again though, that isn't a *bad* thing... Bitter standards is the right way (I just want some slack ;)

Opera is a good browser, I'm glad people use it. The browser market, like any other market is full of diverse people. Some people like Doritos, some Lays, some corn chips. :D

I promise I'll post some pages later, but not now-- it isn't all that big a deal though considering it is not a bad thing...

I understood your sarcasm, I was just saying others might not, that's all. And what is this Quirk mode that keeps being mentioned?

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mswarts: I want you to know that i read this entire thread just to make sure that my gut feeling at the begining was infact true.  Why is it that you state that you want people to express their opinions and no one should start a flame war, yet every time someone mentions something differnt, you respond with ..."No, you are wrong, IE is inferior" or "Well, you are wrong fro thinking that way because...blah blah blah use k-meleon" 

Listen People are going to use whatever they feel most comfortable using.  If IE is more comfortable, then so-be-it.  I personally tried FF and was not all that excited.  The tabbing was nice, but it interupted my flow.  Same thing happened with Avant.  Notice that they are giffernt browsing engines.  The browser really had nothing to do with it.  The interface did.  I hear a lot of people that like this feature and that feature, but argue that this makes the browser better than another.  What I would like to see is people developing a interface that is just a shell.  You pick the rendering engine, and all of the other components are "plugins"  that way you could have the experiance you want using the engine you want.  But I digress.

Seriously, warts, back off, you are so tarnishing your own thread with your comments.

Well said.

You're right, it all comes down to personal preference and opinion. I like certain features of FireFox, and certain features of IE, and certain features of myIE2. If I could combine all of them into one super-browser, that would be great!

I have never used Opera or Avant, so I can't comment on those. But like you said, people will use whatever makes them comfortable.

EDIT: The ONE thing I don't like about FireFox is the fact that I cannot uninstall extensions! Sure, I can disable them, but I'd like the option to totally remove them.

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mswarts: I want you to know that i read this entire thread just to make sure that my gut feeling at the begining was infact true. Why is it that you state that you want people to express their opinions and no one should start a flame war, yet every time someone mentions something differnt, you respond with ..."No, you are wrong, IE is inferior" or "Well, you are wrong fro thinking that way because...blah blah blah use k-meleon"

Listen People are going to use whatever they feel most comfortable using.

...

What I would like to see is people developing a interface that is just a shell. You pick the rendering engine, and all of the other components are "plugins" that way you could have the experiance you want using the engine you want. But I digress.

Seriously, warts, back off, you are so tarnishing your own thread with your comments.

Ugh-- The purpose of this form is to see arguments on all sides (I have a lot of arguments, obviously), but I am not telling people they are wrong *for the most part ;)*

I want everyone to try all of the browsers and choose the one that fits them best, even if that isn't Fx. No flame war on my end-- only debate.

I want as many people as possible to state their opinions, really. I'll debate them, but if I hurt someone's feelings or truckle a Neowinian, I am guilty. I don't feel that I have done that, but I'll make a more conscious effort to be polite :D

Also-- I never said IE was inferior. It has got a lot of problems IMO, but it isn't "inferior". It is my least favourite, so it probably gets more negativity, but I encourage people to debate it. But please know, I will debate back. It isn't because I hate you-- it's because this is a debate :yes:

As for k-meleon, I like it, but I am not afraid to post its weaknesses. It loads fast and the compromise is appearance. It looks kinda dumb and archaic to me. I like it because it has a fast GUI and has achieved that without engulfing the Windows shell. I said people should try it if they feel Firefox is good, but the GUI is too slow. That's about the only reason I would ever use it...

Yes, people will use what they feel comfortable with. I support that more than you know. I just want Neowinians to be well-rounded.

I like your "shell" idea. Please note I said "I". To many, it would be confusing. So logically I just admitted, no one browser fits everyone best. (I am serious btw, that is a *very* good idea.

Lastly, I hope "warts" was a typo. It isn't the first time someone has made that pick at my name. It offends me if done intentionally, so please... As for backing off, I shall not end my debating, but I shall take steps to ensure my posts are relevant, constructive, and polite. I encourage others to do the same.

Thanks for your input Billprozack, mswarts

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I apologize in advance for posting twice in a row-- I hate to do that. But a couple things deserve mentioning.

1. Quirks mode is the process a browser uses to render pages without standards in mind

2. X Static is right. It is annoying you can't uninstall plugins in Firefox (should be added soon I think)

3. shihchiun, No. Here we *don't* go again. I don't want this turning into a war. It should be a debate. I am sorry if you feel I have violated this.

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How do I surf the net? With one hand, of course!

Sorry, had to say it. :p

:laugh: Does that mean you type in an URL with one hand only....Kinda Hard :p Anyway, I use Internet Explorer I don't really need a browser that real fancy with tons and tons of features I probably won't use just need one that lets me surf from Site A to B & to C.

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mswarts 2.0 [now with constructive posts!]

Ryan, you might give Firefox a try for that very reason. It comes (as many other posters have noted) with only the basic features + No popups and tabbed browsing.

IE will get you to B and C, but you might enjoy checking those site out with tabs or something. If you determine you don't like Firefox feature, go back to IE. But everything's worth a shot right?

Let me know how Fx works out for you using PM (if you feel comfortable doing so)

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I like firefox, is gr8 but the software that came with my logitech bluetooth duo doesn't work properly with it :angry:

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i use firefox because of my dislike of IE because of its many faults

a little list of features (IE vs Firefox comparison in no particular order)

proper CSS/PNG/Standards support - firefox 1- IE - 0

tabbed browsing (at first i hated it tbh, but now its so natural) - firefox - 2 - IE - 0

no spyware active-x crap that i have to clean up - firefox - 3- IE - 0

speed (Firefox and IE probably tie on my system for this) - firefox 4 - IE - 1

popup blocker - firefox - 5 IE - 1

etc. etc.

as you can clearly see from my little list firefox is better than IE for me (if IE had 1 + 3 from the list i wouldnt hate IE nearly as much)

as for opera it just felt big n clunky and i didnt really like the feel of using it (also it has some weirdness when rendering some pages i make) so thats my little post over with

feel free to comment on my list but i warn you if you say IE is better on any of the counts where i have marked it as not then you are mistaken

hth

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