What's your browser??

[Tii]

i'm using Google Chrome...

after trying all others it seems to be the fastest and sleekest

IE7 - slow crap

Netscape - slow crap

Firefox - ok, but Google seems much faster

Opera and others - ick!

[StevOz]

Firefox ever since about 1.5 or so, just can't be beat for customisation and useful add ons.

[Jlr]

Firefox but there are a few bugs though otherwise i am using Opera as i seem to have a mouse pointer issue when using Firefox 3,sometimes it works for 2 weeks or more and then suddenly the mouse pointer moves less quickly and the only fix is to restart the computer,each time it happened then it was while using Firefox.

[TuNk77]

Originally Posted by StevOz

Firefox ever since about 1.5 or so, just can't be beat for customisation and useful add ons.

What StevOz said

[Phoenixx]

There was a time when i warshipped IE (6) for its speed, etc. due to its perfect integration in the system, but ever since i came to dig tabbed browsing and certain AddOns (ABP and NoScript and a couple of others) i dont even start IE anymore. On this system, IE7 has been started precisely one single time, and that was because 3DMark has started it to display some specs or results.


The browser of choice is now FireFox. I used the 2 version till i guess 2.0.0.8, then i changed to 3 but wasnt really satisfied, then i changed back to 2 for a short time, and ever since the 3 version worked decently for me as well im using the latest 3 build, currently 3.0.5. My alternative browser is Opera, latest build available. Inbuilt torrent function and certain AddOns make it my clear Number2, or actually more like '1b'. Just like FF it shouldnt be missing on any PC,...

[m4paws]

Also using Chrome, but even though its out of beta I find it's still not compatible with everything. Secondarily I use Avant, which is essentially an IE wrapper. FireFox is third, Opera is fourth. I *never* open IE.

[shogun01]

I use Firefox!

[faralos]

I use (still) IE6! it's better than ie7! ok it's crap but with firefox they had way too much spamware that came with it, and it kept on locking up so I went back to ie6
wait a sec. you said browser, google is a search engine NOT a browser yeah my homepage is google (no spamware) but my BROWSER is ie6

[yogiholzer]

FF!

[marv75]

I use Mozilla FF...it's the best for me!

[ValamirCleaver]

[sleepy]

I'm on Google Chrome.
Google Chrome doesn't play nice with some websites and it gets the job done.
Check out this page for The Honda Center, mind you, a premier venue for concerts and sporting events.
Hoariest piece of apeshit that you will ever see.
Google Chrome gets the job done.

http://www.hondacenter.com/


This is an actual unretouched photograph which I took during my visit to the Honda Center website.

[m4paws]

Originally Posted by faralos

I use (still) IE6! it's better than ie7! ok it's crap but with firefox they had way too much spamware that came with it, and it kept on locking up so I went back to ie6
wait a sec. you said browser, google is a search engine NOT a browser yeah my homepage is google (no spamware) but my BROWSER is ie6

1) Firefox doesn't come with "spamware".
2) Google is a search engine, but Google also makes a browser called Chrome.

[Rick2006]

I USE FF 3.0.5

[faralos]

oh ok never heard of chrome! looks kind of busy personally I like basic google they haven't sold out to any commercial spammers yet (as did AOL) their site is full of spammers (adwares, trackers, etc) and it's nice and empty still the one time I d/loaded firfox I HAd to install their toolbar and it came with 3 adware trackers! maybe they've changed in the past year, though. but to each his/her own...

[m4paws]

Originally Posted by faralos

oh ok never heard of chrome! looks kind of busy personally I like basic google they haven't sold out to any commercial spammers yet (as did AOL) their site is full of spammers (adwares, trackers, etc) and it's nice and empty still the one time I d/loaded firfox I HAd to install their toolbar and it came with 3 adware trackers! maybe they've changed in the past year, though. but to each his/her own...

Chrome looks busy? You're probably referring to the "most visited" tab which has thumbnail shortcuts to your 9 most visited sites. That's optional. Overall, Chrome's the least busy of any of the major browsers IMO - it has a very minimalist interface.

About the Firefox toolbars... I'm not even sure what you mean by that. Very plain interface by default, no extra stuff. (see attachment) Nothing in there really that could be construed as "spammy". I think you might have had a bad installation, or a 3rd party program (or some other malware on your system) loaded some extra toolbars into it.

Bottom line though is browsers are all about what's comfortable. Firefox is a very competent browser, but for some reason I could never get comfortable with it which is why it's not tops on my list.

[Ike Savage]

still haven't tried chrome yet-- so far i've just been listening to what people say.

otherwise, what steve said-
FF is my favorite because i can customise it far more than any other browser.

but i use FF portable, not FF regular release, because FF portable runs significantly faster on every machine i've tried it on so far.

[Hierophant]

Only ever used Firefox myself (with Clusty as the search engine). Old habits die hard. Idk the first thing about Google Chrome other than it's promoted on YouTube. Does it have a NoScript function?

[Phoenixx]

Originally Posted by sleepy

I'm on Google Chrome.

http://www.hondacenter.com/

So thats Chrome? Gee, i guess its true that hype is everything.

Looks like a total looser app to me,...bland, boring, unfunctional, 'standard',...definitely nothing i would even want to try out.


But whats more is that it is by google. Google is obsessed with data collection, (after all thats what they make their money with), so using their browser is probably the safest way to tell a bunch of strangers all about your browsing habits. And if you think that this is just 'science-fiction' or 'paranoia' think again; each installation has a PC specific unique identification number which means with a browser thats acts like a giant cookie they can establish a complete detailed browsing profile of every user merely by calling up a specific ID. In other words they will know every search-term youve used, every site you went to, and since a browser obviously needs full access to the internet they could even have it send all sorts of other data about your PC to them since it is free to pass through the firewall as it pleases.


Definitely not for me, and to be perfectly honest; i dont understand how anyone could use something like this voluntarily. Especially since more and more people are taking more and more measures to protect their online-privacy, all of which are then being defeated quasi directly at the root by using such a browser,...

(That is 'browser' is what the users call it, to google itself im sure this is nothing more than an enhanced statistics and profiles establishing tool meant to gather informations even more efficiently than their infamous 'GoogleToolbar'. Sort of 'BigBrothers bigger brother', if you will. But hey, thats just me,...)

[m4paws]

Originally Posted by Phoenixx

Definitely not for me, and to be perfectly honest; i dont understand how anyone could use something like this voluntarily. Especially since more and more people are taking more and more measures to protect their online-privacy, all of which are then being defeated quasi directly at the root by using such a browser,...

(That is 'browser' is what the users call it, to google itself im sure this is nothing more than an enhanced statistics and profiles establishing tool meant to gather informations even more efficiently than their infamous 'GoogleToolbar'. Sort of 'BigBrothers bigger brother', if you will. But hey, thats just me,...)

Chrome is open source, so I seriously doubt that my browsing habits will be the topic of the next season of Big Brother.

http://code.google.com/chromium/

[yogiholzer]

Your browsing habits are interesting enough?

[Phoenixx]

Originally Posted by m4paws

Chrome is open source, so I seriously doubt that my browsing habits will be the topic of the next season of Big Brother.

http://code.google.com/chromium/

I admit that i didnt know that. (On second thought, i think i actually did but i forgot about it.)

But i do know that the GoogleToolbar did send browsing-related statistics and other stuff to Google, and i know Google, who wouldnt give away a browser that costs them a lot of money to develop (the advertising campaign alone must have cost them a fortune) for free just out of pure kindness. No, a business-oriented company like Google always has a reason for doing something like this, and since Googles Number1 priority is data harvesting (for obvious reasons) it would only make sense to assume that this is why they try to get a browser in as many homes as possible. Its the only incentive they could have for doing something like this, and given their business and history its simply a logical conclusion.

Of course i would like to be wrong in this case,...has anybody already checked that sourcecode to see what info is being sent where?

[faralos]

well after every online session I use tracks eraser pro which erases all those cookie trackers anyways. andyeah I tried firefox last yr. and had a major time getting rid of spammers and tracking programs that got into my window registries! but that toolbar is emptier than the one I had first tried, so since (I read it just today) google now has trackers on it (and they inform big bro about illegal or questionable sites that you visit, including porn sites) I think I'll retry firefox again and go from there. sorry for all that crap about google (they USED to be better) ah well "ya' learn something new every day!" said the horse!

[m4paws]

Originally Posted by Phoenixx

But i do know that the GoogleToolbar did send browsing-related statistics and other stuff to Google, and i know Google, who wouldnt give away a browser that costs them a lot of money to develop (the advertising campaign alone must have cost them a fortune) for free just out of pure kindness. No, a business-oriented company like Google always has a reason for doing something like this, and since Googles Number1 priority is data harvesting (for obvious reasons) it would only make sense to assume that this is why they try to get a browser in as many homes as possible. Its the only incentive they could have for doing something like this, and given their business and history its simply a logical conclusion.

"Why we built a browser"
http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/why.html?hl=en

Basically, in their battle with Microsoft for supremacy, it's in their best interest if the web based applications they develop are running on a platform that they know and understand on a very intimate level. Control of the process from start to finish gives them the ability to deliver a richer and more stable product.

As for the Toolbar, I don't know, I've never installed it. I know they claim that their data collection on such things is innocent and never tied to who actually performed the searches. I'm not sure I buy that last part, but truthfully, I don't care if they know that what I search for. I have nothing to hide, and I can't believe they don't have better things to do than track me. Do they really care what I looked for on WebMD or that I'm a pinball fan? I'd be more afraid of my ISP reading my email if I were going to be afraid of something... I mean it's just sitting on their server un-encrypted, how tempting. Then again, maybe they've read enough jokes or Snopes-deflated web rumors.

Originally Posted by Phoenixx

Of course i would like to be wrong in this case,...has anybody already checked that sourcecode to see what info is being sent where?

Chrome is actually based on the open source project WebKit, best known previously for being the engine behind Apple's Safari web browser. In other words, it's been open source for some time - if it were malicious, I think it would be out by now.

I may lean a little towards naivety on this, but I think you lean a little toward paranoia.

[Phoenixx]

Originally Posted by m4paws

"Why we built a browser"
http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/why.html?hl=en

Thank you, i will make sure to read this on occasion.

Originally Posted by m4paws

I may lean a little towards naivety on this, but I think you lean a little toward paranoia.

When i doubt, yes, because these days its hard to trust anyone, much less a monster company like Google who is known for certain practics and who might gain financially by doing certain things.

I myself prefer to call it 'healthy carefulness' though,...

[yogiholzer]

I tend to agree with m4paws, but I detect myself to be same as you, Phoenixx.

[faralos]

well I am trying firefox and twice it kicked me off sites that i was on! is this normal? or am I doing something wrong? it asks me if i want to save the bookmark of whatever site I'm currently on, i say no as they are already in my faves (ok bookmarks) (this was one of them) then it tosses me back to my desktop! I don't know if it is buggy or if I did something wrong. I didn't have to LEARN google at all I just used it, but it seems firefox requires a learning period. ok I'll be patient for another try with it...

[m4paws]

Can't say that I've heard of it doing that...

[StevOz]

Still with FF here, simply the best, chrome does have it's uses though FF just beats it hands down for security, beauty, customisation and general usage...

[LeeVanCleef]

IDK, Steve... I hear Mistress Yahoo puts the whip to poor ol' Firefox if it doesn't force ads down yer gob. At least Chrome doesn't have adware built into its browser. Mostly because they know Google Search will take care of that!