What browser do you use?

[Naez]

It seems on the web world we are always trying to accommodate for all the different web browsers our visitors use.  But the question I pose is: what browser do YOU actually use?

 

Here's a quick rundown of the most common browsers used.

 

Firefox

Mozilla Firefox (abbreviated officially as Fx, but also unofficially as FF) is a web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite, managed by the Mozilla Corporation. Firefox had about 15% of the recorded usage share of Web browsers as of January 2008 making Firefox the second-most popular browser in current use worldwide after Internet Explorer[1]. Firefox has been considered a "rival" to Internet Explorer.[2]

 

Firefox uses the open-source Gecko layout engine, which implements some current Web standards plus a few features which are intended to anticipate likely additions to the standards.

 

Firefox includes tabbed browsing, a spell checker, incremental find, live bookmarking, a download manager, and a search system that uses Google. Functions can be added through more than 2,000 add-ons created by third party developers;[3] the most popular include NoScript (script blocker), FoxyTunes (controls music players), Adblock Plus (ad blocker), StumbleUpon (website discovery), DownThemAll! (download functions) and Web Developer (web tools).[4]

 

Firefox runs on various versions of Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and many other Unix-like operating systems. Its current stable release is version 2.0.0.12, released on February 7, 2008.[5] Firefox's source code is free software, released under a tri-license GPL/LGPL/MPL.[6]

 

Internet Explorer

Windows Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer abbreviated MSIE), commonly abbreviated to IE, is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems starting in 1995. It has been the most widely used web browser since 1999, attaining a peak of about 95% usage share during 2002 and 2003 with IE5 and 6 but steadily declining since, despite the introduction of IE7.

 

Internet Explorer was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95. Later versions are available as free downloads and are also included in the OEM service releases of Windows 95 and in later versions of Windows. The most recent release is version 7.0, which is available as a free update for Windows XP with Service Pack 2, and Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 or later, and is included with Windows Vista. An embedded OEM version called Internet Explorer for Windows CE (IE CE) is also available for WinCE based platforms and is currently based on IE6. Another Windows CE/ Windows Mobile browser known as Internet Explorer Mobile is from a different code base and should not be confused with desktop versions of the browser.

 

Opera

Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by the Opera Software company. Opera handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, IRC online chatting, downloading files via BitTorrent, and reading web feeds. Opera is offered free of charge for personal computers and mobile phones, but for other devices it must be paid for.

 

Features of Opera include high performance, tabbed browsing, page zooming, mouse gestures, and an integrated download manager. Its security features include built-in phishing protection, strong encryption when browsing secure web sites, and the ability to delete private data such as cookies and browsing history by clicking a button.

 

Opera runs on a variety of personal computer operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris.[2] Although evaluations of Opera have been largely positive, Opera has had limited success on personal computers. It is currently the fourth most widely used web browser for personal computers, behind Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari.

 

Safari

Safari is a web browser developed by Apple Inc. and included in Mac OS X. It was first released as a public beta on January 7, 2003,[1] and is the default browser in Mac OS X v10.3 and later. A beta version for Microsoft Windows was released for the first time on June 11, 2007 with support for Windows XP and Windows Vista,[2] although it was also functional, albeit unofficially, on Windows 2000. Safari has also been run unofficially on Linux under Wine, but the graphical user interface (GUI) and web graphics do not render properly.[3]

 

 

 

I would be really surprised if someone uses any other browser than those listed (besides like on a phone or other device).

 

I personally use Firefox, I used Internet Explorer for a long time and then one day a couple of years ago I discovered Firefox and gave it a try.  I liked how it blocked all the "crap" of the internet better than IE did.  This was back when IE was horrible though, I had tons of popups and spyware everytime I ran a check because IE was letting so much bad stuff in... I have never gotten that with Firefox and sometimes I end up at some sketchy sites  !!  Maybe they have stepped up their game now that they have some competition.

 

Opera looks interesting to me, but I like how Firefox has a large community writing add-ons for it.  For instance I have a built-in proxy addon, where I just click a button and I am browsing under the Tor proxy engine.  I also have another addon that whenever I hover over a link I get a little option to open that link in like an a virtual window, so it makes it easier to navigate larger sites or view a video someone has linked on a forum.

 

Also does anyone turn off javascript?  I just leave it on always and let firefox validate it.

[unsider]

Safari Mac OS X. So much better than anything I've ever used before (Firefox, IE, and Opera, listed)

[redbullmarky]

i tend to not like switching too much between browsers. because Firefox just has an absolutly essential bit of development kit for me (Firebug), I use it for work all the time (aside from testing where i'll play with the others). as a result, i'm pretty comfortable with FF now so use it for all my personal browsing, too - both PC and Mac