Info: What browser are the fanatics using these days?

[tm3308]

Shocked this many folks are still using IE. I haven't used IE in maybe . . . ever.

A lot of companies have IE on work computers. That's the ONLY explanation I can think of that makes any Goddamn sense.

I've been Chrome for just over 3 years now on my laptop (first with a PC, and got a MBP over winter break this year), and it was easily the best (and last) switch I'll ever make. I use Safari when I'm on my iPad, though, but it's pretty good.

 

[1100011CS]

Netscape

Thanks for leaving me out..


-NETSCAPE 4 LYFE

 

[kingcy]

Netscape browser, Lycos search engine, Excite mail provider, AOL chatrooms and Yahoo instant messenger. Top of the line 15 years ago. Now an example of why you don't put your money into tech stocks.

 

[cyclones500]

Shocked this many folks are still using IE. I haven't used IE in maybe . . . ever.

I didn't realize it still exists.

 

[alarson]

Netscape browser, Lycos search engine, Excite mail provider, AOL chatrooms and Yahoo instant messenger. Top of the line 15 years ago. Now an example of why you don't put your money into tech stocks.

Eh, plenty of tech stocks that are worth buying, they just have to have an actual business model beyond Step 1 gain users, step 2 ??? step 3 profit. That was the problem for a lot of 90s tech companies (and i think some companies are creeping into that territory today, but many times theyre building up to a buyout from one of the companies that does have a good plan)

I mean look at google. Theyre a tech company. But theyre constantly coming up with new and exciting ideas, they are constantly developing new revenue sources, and theyre exploring some really cool stuff that could be world-changing (self driving cars, for example). I still wish i'd had the money to take advantage of what a professor said repeatedly around the time of google's IPO: "you get money, you buy the google".

 

[RotatingColumn]

Chris, ask your webmaster who he/she wishes your viewers used. The list will go in reverse (minus android)

There has GOT to be a way to get people to quit using IE.

 

[Cy$]

A. I need internet access for my job. I actually have to use three different browsers because certain applications only run in archaic IE, while others only run in Firefox or Chrome. And yes, I've tried to have IT fix that for me.

B. It's been shown that allowing employees access to internet and the ability to do non-work browsing actually makes them more productive.

oh yeah, Chrome at work and Chrome at home. I've used IE, Slimbrowser, and Firefox previously and Chrome wins so far.

talking to zw isn't a job.

 

[00clone]

talking to zw isn't a job.

Possibly not, but I would consider it a chore.

<rimshot.mp3>

 

[brianhos]

Surprised that Firefox isn't higher.

All FF users moved to Chrome about 2 years ago.

The one that surprised me is safari, but then I realized ipad is safari.

 

[colbycheese]

Both my email and my (NCSU) campus email are through gmail. I've had issues having two email accounts open in the same browser at the same time. Now I use Firefox for my work stuff, and Chrome for my personal stuff.

I use Dolphin for my Android 2.3 phone. I like Dolphin a lot. Mobile Firefox, and the native browser for Android 2.3 were terrible, and mobile Chrome isn't compatible w/ anything not 4.0 or newer.

 

[TykeClone]

Sliepner.

The #1 browser in Japan!

 

[ChrisMWilliams]

Good news for you IE people. We'll be installing the recent VB upgrade (nothing major) here before too longs and I know one of the tweaks is an improvement for IE users.

 

[Cyclonepride]

Safari is horrendous.

 

[Clone83]

I use Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Android a lot, and IE occasionally. After getting an iPad, last year I got a MacBook Pro as a direct result. These are the first Apple computers I’ve used a lot since the Apple II.

On the MacBook, my preferences are:
1. Firefox
2. Safari
3. Chrome

On the Dell (large laptop, which I now use mostly as a desktop):
1. Chrome
2. Firefox
3. Safari

Differences for all browsers exist between Mac and Windows, mostly slight, but that still matter. I like the more classic look and feel of Firefox for Mac, and as shown above, even prefer that to Chrome. I also use the Firefox extension Zotero a lot, an important reason I got a new computer. Zotero is Cloud-based now, but still easiest and best to use in Firefox. (IE is the only browser that will never have Zotero-app features specific to it, though you can still access Zotero via the Cloud.)

In the past, I never synced bookmarks between devices. It seemed to me how I want them set up is device dependent (by the same rationale, maybe why Windows 8 isn’t universally liked?). But learning more, in Safari, I finally synced bookmarks between the iPad and the MacBook. This immediately made a huge amount of sense. On the bookmarks bar, I have folders for authors listed alphabetically by author. Since they are alphabetical, the bookmarks bar can go on and on and the links are still highly accessible. Besides the sync with the iPad, another feature I like on Safari is the built-in Reader. This makes text size and format more independent of screen size and web page format. You can also save items to a Reading List in Safari (which is accessible offline) -- another nice bookmark sync feature. Apps with these reading features are available in all browsers, that put your screen in an easier to read format in real time and that can save to a reading list if you choose. These apps are actually pretty good (and sync via the Cloud). Readability and Pocket are ones I looked at, and installed, and might yet use. That it is built-in in Safari though makes it much more likely for me to.

On the Mac, Safari seems more like driving a luxury car, and Firefox more like a sports car. I was going to use Firefox mostly for leisure, but because of the greater compatibility with Zotero, have found myself using it most.

Safari for me right now relates more to the iPad. Really, on the iPad (or any smaller screen, or especially for anyone who might wear bifocals , the Reader feature makes a lot of sense. I don’t use it a lot, but it is especially nice when most needed. For example, on some web pages, the text doesn’t “flow†on the iPad (though it might on a regular PC or Mac, on the same web page), so that is a big difference there. You might otherwise have to view the page landscape, versus portrait, for example -- and even that is inferior to using the Reader. My MacBook is 15 inch and high resolution, so a reader is not as necessary. But I can see how a reader can increase the utility of smaller laptops, which are more affordable and even more portable.

After seeing how the Safari sync worked, I also synced Chrome between the MacBook and the Dell (where again, Chrome is my preferred browser). That way, when I do use Chrome on the MacBook, the links are the same (if I want, I have two Chrome profiles). I rarely use Safari on the Dell, far less than Chrome on the MacBook (which relates to Google Drive), but it is nice that the Safari links, via Safari for Windows, are also readily available on the Dell.

The lead for Chrome on the Dell over the other two is pretty clear (though Firefox for Windows isn't bad).

All of these browsers, including the latest IE, are pretty good. Speed for me isn't a big issue right now, so that could change. I’ve learned a lot in the last few years and will likely continue to narrow how I use applications, and discard ones that are actually pretty good just for reasons of efficiency (doing things just one consistent way, versus slight differences in features).

Whether you like a particular browser though depends on a lot of things IMO, including your current device. It isn’t like there is one right answer.

 

[Clone83]

Sorry to keep you in suspense. I know you all couldn't wait. On further consideration, here are my new browser rankings on the Mac:

1. Chrome
2. Firefox
3. Safari

Chrome moved to the top from using a beta version of Apple's iWorks suite (Pages, word-processing; Numbers, spreadsheet; Keynote, presentation), on the Cloud, scheduled to be released this fall. This makes this software available on Windows-based machines, as well as on Apple, via the web (and iCloud). This is something people who use both Windows and Apple might most consider. I have used Google Drive and Microsoft SkyDrive a fair amount. I have planned to do a lot more with such web-based word-processing and spreadsheet software. I now plan to use iWorks primarily, instead.

The dark theme I have on Chrome, together with a similar look on iCloud (iWorks) is also sweet. As is the bookmark sync between between the Dell and the Mac.

Perhaps from sensing my thoughts or maybe from reading this post on Pages for iCloud where I first composed it, the nice people at Google also conveniently turned on the "Show Apps Shortcut" option -- with no direction from me -- showing the link on my bookmarks bar to the Chrome layout most similar to iCloud.

Firefox I will still use daily to read the news and my RSS feed. It is still most convenient to add items to Zotero with just one click or two.

Safari I will still use and set up primarily for the iPad. I added an Iowa State theme yesterday to try to salvage more Mac-based usage. https://gallery.brandthunder.com/en-US/gallery/All/Safari

But it probably makes most sense for me to focus my web usage primarily on both Chrome and iWorks. A more focused, more exclusive approach is also consistent with Chrome's simple, yet highly functional layout.