What Browser Are You Using?

[Omniscient]

Google just released a official new version of Chrome 4.0 and I've updated my PC accordingly. With this new update Chrome now supports extensions (AdBlock!!) and a bookmark sync which will mirror your bookmarks across any PC you use when you log in with your Gmail account.

I have been a Firefox user for a long time and while it's no longer as clean or fast as it once was my complaints are very few. I also have IE 8 installed but it very rarely gets any use, it's mostly just for very rare compatibility issues and for the occasional guest user who happens to want to use it.

A few weeks back I got my hands on a new Sony Vaio laptop and it came with IE 8 and Chrome installed and I didn't want to bother installing Firefox since it was a shared PC. As a result I started using Chrome more frequently and getting comfortable with it. I still stuck with Firefox on my desktop since the lack of AdBlock on the laptop was a shortcoming, so I suppose I was a browser bigamist for a stretch there.

Now that Chrome has AdBlock and other extensions I see little reason to stick with Firefox. I'm probably going to give Chrome a try as my full time browser of choice. We'll see if it sticks.

Note: Yes, I realize that this poll has been done to death around here but the browser landscape is constantly changing and with this reasonably significant upgrade to Chrome I figured it was worth revisiting. If it serves as an excuse to inform folks of the new Chrome version available and an avenue to discuss and compare browsers then it's served a valid purpose.

[JohnT]

IE

[gladtobeblazed]

Opera

[Beware of Doug]

Several months back I abandoned Safari, which had been getting waaaaay slow, for Firefox.

Now Firefox is slow, too.

I'm suspicious both of them fuck with the OS X Finder. Or maybe I just surf too damn much.

[Sunspace]

Firefox, unless I'm on my iPhone, in which case, I use Mobile Safari or whatever it is that's built in there.

[Omniscient]

Originally Posted by Beware of Doug

Several months back I abandoned Safari, which had been getting waaaaay slow, for Firefox.

Now Firefox is slow, too.

I'm suspicious both of them fuck with the OS X Finder. Or maybe I just surf too damn much.

Couldn't possibly have anything to do with OS X of course.

[Jophiel]

Firefox 2.x because the version of AdBlock I like isn't compatible with 3.x (or wasn't when I tried 3.x however many months ago).

[tr0psn4j]

Newest version of Firefox at home. Explorer 7 at work (NOT by choice). I'll have to update my google chrome. I'm a big fan of adblock.

[Beware of Doug]

Originally Posted by Omniscient

Couldn't possibly have anything to do with OS X of course.

Fuck with OS X, my good sir, and you fuck with me.

[Omniscient]

In order to promote more discussion I thought I'd mention what I like best about Chrome and why I'm at least temporarily ditching Firefox for it.

The biggest plus for me is how little screen real estate it takes up. On my 4:3 desktop monitor I was never really bothered by the size of the browser at the top and bottom of pages, but on a 16:9 laptop screen it became a lot more cumbersome. I really like the way the Chrome compromises on the status bar on the bottom by hiding it the majority of the time but popping up a minimal version of it when you hover over a link or load a page. I also love that they did away with the Menu Bar at the top, this isn't revolutionary since IE actually came up with this first (to much negative response oddly enough) but the implementation here just feels better.

Another plus is the use of the New Tab screen in the way it displays bookmarks and recently visited/closed tabs. It's very handy and another nice compromise to hide the persistent Bookmarks Bar on FF and IE. I do occasionally miss having a bookmarks button on an existing tab though since I don't always need a new tab. That should probably be a custom option, though an extension could fix it.

I will miss the Firefox option to delete the last hour, 2 hours or 4 hours of your browsing history. It was handy. Chrome lets you delete just the last day's history, not allowing you to crop any more discretely.

[Rushgeekgirl]

I tried Chrome. Didn't care for it but maybe it'll improve. I am so pleased with Firefox I don't really see any reason to change. I don't notice any speed issues at all, and if I need something I can only get with IE it has this handy little plug-in to open a page in IE without the hideousness of IE.

My favorite part of FF is Kidzui. There's a K on the menu and that's all it takes to set my little girl up for her computer time. She has all sorts of kids' sites to enjoy without worrying about her accidentally clicking on something bad.

[Omniscient]

Originally Posted by Rushgeekgirl

I tried Chrome. Didn't care for it but maybe it'll improve. I am so pleased with Firefox I don't really see any reason to change. I don't notice any speed issues at all, and if I need something I can only get with IE it has this handy little plug-in to open a page in IE without the hideousness of IE.

IE Tab exists on Chrome 4.0 as well, it and AdBlock are the only 2 extensions I have installed thus far.

[kapri]

Originally Posted by Beware of Doug

Several months back I abandoned Safari, which had been getting waaaaay slow, for Firefox.

Now Firefox is slow, too.

I'm suspicious both of them fuck with the OS X Finder. Or maybe I just surf too damn much.

I have both and have used Firefox a few times, but I find it absolutely no different from Safari. I don't know why I gravitate toward Safari except that I'm more familiar with its avatar or logo or whatever on my desktop and so click on it automatically.

Seriously, what's so great about Firefox? I don't see any difference at all.

[Wilson]

I was one of the last Netscape holdouts... then I was a regular IE user up until about two months ago, when my company moved their corporate standard to Firefox. So far I'm happy with Firefox. I'd used it for a bit way way back, don't remember why I ended up using Netscape more than Firefox back then.

[Chopper9760]

I've heard lots of good things about Chrome, particularly that it consumes far less memory than other browsers.

I stick with Firefox because of the addons. I love adblock and flashblock and I feel like I can't function without Snaplinks. I love the way Delicious integrates with FF too.

If there were a Snaplinks equivalent on Chrome, I'd give it a shot.

[Omniscient]

Originally Posted by kapri

I have both and have used Firefox a few times, but I find it absolutely no different from Safari. I don't know why I gravitate toward Safari except that I'm more familiar with its avatar or logo or whatever on my desktop and so click on it automatically.

Seriously, what's so great about Firefox? I don't see any difference at all.

Well, to put into terms you probably understand, what's so great about the iPhone? It's almost exactly the same thing as the Droid, Nexus One and Palm Pre, hardly any difference at all.

Well... except for Apps.

iPhone has tons of great apps because it was first to market. Firefox has a ton of plug-ins because it was first to market. Everything else is largely aesthetics, which to be fair is a perfectly reasonable yardstick.

There are some functionality and compatibility differences between the browsers (and smartphones/mobile OSes) but those really only affect a small percentage of users.

[Omniscient]

Originally Posted by Chopper9760

I've heard lots of good things about Chrome, particularly that it consumes far less memory than other browsers.

I stick with Firefox because of the addons. I love adblock and flashblock and I feel like I can't function without Snaplinks. I love the way Delicious integrates with FF too.

If there were a Snaplinks equivalent on Chrome, I'd give it a shot.

It exists.

[GESancMan]

Originally Posted by Omniscient

The biggest plus for me is how little screen real estate it takes up. On my 4:3 desktop monitor I was never really bothered by the size of the browser at the top and bottom of pages, but on a 16:9 laptop screen it became a lot more cumbersome. I really like the way the Chrome compromises on the status bar on the bottom by hiding it the majority of the time but popping up a minimal version of it when you hover over a link or load a page. I also love that they did away with the Menu Bar at the top, this isn't revolutionary since IE actually came up with this first (to much negative response oddly enough) but the implementation here just feels better.

You do know you can customize Firefox, right? This is how I have it set up, for example. Very little wasted space. I don't even remember how the default looks, though; I just remember getting rid of a bunch of stuff - but I think the top part was at least twice as large.

[whitetho]

Seamonkey rules!

[AHunter3]

Never used any of the main choices as my standard browser.

Current everyday browser is Demeter.

Before that I used Shiira.

(Demeter and Shiira are both webkit-based browsers).

Before Shiira, I used iCab.

Before iCab, we're going so far back that I was using Netscape Navigator 4.0

[TheFifthYear]

I have yet to find anything I like as much as Safari. Firefox needs a major UI overhaul (at minimum the OS X version does), and I find it a little sluggish. Chrome is ok, but I wasn't crazy about a couple things interface-wise (why are the close tabs buttons on the right?--that's how Windows should be, but on a Mac they go on the left), and it wasn't any faster than Safari, which does (nearly) everything I want. For some reason, I also don't like Chrome putting the tabs above the address bar, although I understand why they did that.

Safari isn't perfect. I would like more support for add-ons. I think they are mostly overrated, but there are a one or two I could use, I'm sure. I would miss the Top Sites feature if I were on a different browser, but I wish it were snappier to respond. I'm also not crazy about the way Safari handles editing bookmarks, but that's a pretty rare task.

By the way, Omniscient, it's a bit of a hijack, but I find your iPhone analogy misguided. To say there is no difference between the iPhone and its competitors except for apps is, imo, to not "get it" in a big way. But I'm one of those people who would never trade more features for a worse user interface. I hate when UI is dismissed as "aesthetics".

[TheFifthYear]

Originally Posted by AHunter3

Never used any of the main choices as my standard browser.

Current everyday browser is Demeter.

Before that I used Shiira.

Just curious, why the obscure choices? I've never heard of either of these, and quick search didn't indicate any killer features...in fact to be honest, looking at the reviews and screenshots, I thought: looks like Safari, but uglier and crashier.

So, I conclude I'm missing something. What's the advantage to Demeter over the big guys?

[Omniscient]

Originally Posted by TheFifthYear

By the way, Omniscient, it's a bit of a hijack, but I find your iPhone analogy misguided. To say there is no difference between the iPhone and its competitors except for apps is, imo, to not "get it" in a big way. But I'm one of those people who would never trade more features for a worse user interface. I hate when UI is dismissed as "aesthetics".

I understand this. This is the beauty of my analogy though, because my dismissing the iPhones UI and saying it's identical to the rest is the same as not acknowledging that browsers are different beyond appearances.

ETA: For the record I loathe the iPhone UI but I "get it". I think the other OSes have stolen the best parts about the iPhone OS and stripped away the negatives while adding improvements. It's basically what happened to IE.

[NinjaChick]

Chrome. It could just be that Google hypnotized me long ago, but even though the Mac version still seems a bit bare-bones, I love it.

I use Safari to watch streaming videos on Netflix, since they're not yet compatible with Chrome, and keep Firefox around just for when I need a change. Firefox seems tremendously sluggish lately, though, so I barely use it anymore.

[Chopper9760]

Originally Posted by Omniscient

It exists.

Groovy! I have no excuse not to check out Chrome now. Thanks for the link.

[Omniscient]

Originally Posted by GESancMan

You do know you can customize Firefox, right? This is how I have it set up, for example. Very little wasted space. I don't even remember how the default looks, though; I just remember getting rid of a bunch of stuff - but I think the top part was at least twice as large.

Yeah, I know how, that's very much like my FF was set up. However if you subtract the status bar at the bottom and the menu bar at the top of your image you basically cut what's left in half. That's what Chrome does. Then, when you open tabs in FF they claim more real estate, in Chrome they don't, they live in the area occupied by the title area in your screen shot.

ETA: [url=http://cid-6f56a1671655b5af.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Straightdope/chrome.jpg]Lookie at all those juicy lines of text at the bottom and I actually have multiple tabs open.

[Omniscient]

ETA: Lookie at all those juicy lines of text at the bottom and I actually have multiple tabs open.

[SeaDragonTattoo]

I downloaded Chrome, and the second time I used it my computer did an emergency shutdown and told me I had barely avoided the Blue Screen of Death.

I'm sticking with FireFox. The latest version is significantly faster and I like it a lot.

[RealityChuck]

I recently switched to Chrome after using Firefox. Firefox is slow to boot up; Chome starts immediately. It also displays pages faster.

Though I did use Firefox, it's clearly inferior to Opera.* The only reason I don't use Opera is because too many websites aren't designed for it. Chrome isn't Opera, but it's fast, slick, and simple.

I still need Internet Explorer for some web pages, but I haven't bothered with Firefox since I switched over.

*Opera is where Firefox steals all its good features.

[Sleel]

My main browser is Safari, but I occasionally use Firefox, especially for some sites that insist on IE compatibility, which FF does better. Safari has a more minimal interface, which I like. There were some things I didn't like about version 4, so I tweaked it a bit to get most of the classic interface back while keeping the stuff I did like about the new version. I run PithHelmet, which I find works better and much more unobtrusively than AdBlock on Firefox.

Originally Posted by Beware of Doug

Several months back I abandoned Safari, which had been getting waaaaay slow, for Firefox.

Safari has been faster than other browsers in most benchmark tests for the last couple of years, including a recent test, so I'm pretty sure it's just a subjective feeling.

Different browsers throw things up differently. I've noticed that Firefox prefers to show text and background first, even if text styling and images haven't loaded yet. Sometimes that makes it feel faster, but sometimes it's just annoying when it halfway loads, then blips and the whole layout changes as the other resources load. Safari renders most of the stuff and then displays it all at once.

[Hanna]

I wish I could use Chrome on my Mac; Firefox has been driving me bananas. But it looks like Chrome is only for Mac OS X 10.5 or later. My OS is too old.

I have Chrome on my Windows laptop and it seems to be doing OK.

[Headrush042]

I loved the speed and stability of Chrome when I tried it out last month, but I couldn't browse comfortably without NoScript. As soon as this gross oversight is rectified, I shall switch happily, but not a moment sooner.

[Ají de Gallina]

IE8 (and some minor Chrome us)

[blondebear]

I use IE at work and Firefox at home, so I probably spend about 10-15% more time overall on IE.

[AHunter3]

Originally Posted by TheFifthYear

Just curious, why the obscure choices? I've never heard of either of these, and quick search didn't indicate any killer features...in fact to be honest, looking at the reviews and screenshots, I thought: looks like Safari, but uglier and crashier.

So, I conclude I'm missing something. What's the advantage to Demeter over the big guys?

a) Rightclick any link ——> open in background window. An absolute requirement in any browser I'd consider using. NOT, I repeat NOT, the same as opening in a background TAB. While browsing the 'Dope or other similarly hi-volume fast-paced msg boards I may open 40-50 background windows after doing "New Posts" and then I go back and read them. 40-50 TABS is immensely unpleasant to work with.

b) I skin my OSX experience, using ShapeShifter, to look like OS 9. Safari, along with some other Apple-branded apps like QuickTime Player, is immune. I just don't like the look of native OS X.

c) Demeter's faster to load each link. Dunno why.

d) Demeter has an "Open URL in..." menu item that lets me open current URL in Opera, Netscape Navigator, Flock, Safari, RealPayer, OmniWeb, FireFox, iCab., Devonagent, Camino, Shiira, etc.; when I design for the web, I can go there in Demeter and quickly spawn comparison windows in all my other Mac browsers. (Except X-Window Mozilla and other X-Window browsers which it does not "see"). Admittedly, I could still use Firefox or Safari as my primary browser and still cash in on this feature. And so can you, btw.

e) Better (though still not perfect) support for drag-and-drop any selected text from any website to textclipping on desktop

f) I took an original dislike to Safari and Firefox for not supporting click-and-hold to show contextual menu options for a link, which iCab did, and Shiira did. Back then I browsed more often with a single-button mouse or without mouse using the PowerBook trackpad and monobutton. Demeter actually doesn't support it either but I never use single-button mice any more and really rarely browser with no attached mouse, and Demeter is actually a Shiira variant so I wasn't window-shopping for a better browser so much as hopping "slightly to the side" in my switch from Shiira to Demeter.

[Least Original User Name Ever]

Chrome almost 100% of the time now. I do use Internet Explorer if I'm not using Chrome, though.

[BigT]

Originally Posted by Omniscient

ETA: Lookie at all those juicy lines of text at the bottom and I actually have multiple tabs open.

How you like my juicy lines of text? Firefox. Fullscreen mode. Everything autohides.

Anyways, I used Firefox for one overwhelming reason: Live Bookmarks. It's just a handy way to handle minimal RSS feeds. In particular, I keep my Facebook and Gmail up there.

[Roland Orzabal]

Opera.

[TheFifthYear]

Originally Posted by AHunter3

a) Rightclick any link ——> open in background window. An absolute requirement in any browser I'd consider using. NOT, I repeat NOT, the same as opening in a background TAB. While browsing the 'Dope or other similarly hi-volume fast-paced msg boards I may open 40-50 background windows after doing "New Posts" and then I go back and read them. 40-50 TABS is immensely unpleasant to work with.

b) I skin my OSX experience, using ShapeShifter, to look like OS 9. Safari, along with some other Apple-branded apps like QuickTime Player, is immune. I just don't like the look of native OS X.

c) Demeter's faster to load each link. Dunno why.

d) Demeter has an "Open URL in..." menu item that lets me open current URL in Opera, Netscape Navigator, Flock, Safari, RealPayer, OmniWeb, FireFox, iCab., Devonagent, Camino, Shiira, etc.; when I design for the web, I can go there in Demeter and quickly spawn comparison windows in all my other Mac browsers. (Except X-Window Mozilla and other X-Window browsers which it does not "see"). Admittedly, I could still use Firefox or Safari as my primary browser and still cash in on this feature. And so can you, btw.

e) Better (though still not perfect) support for drag-and-drop any selected text from any website to textclipping on desktop

f) I took an original dislike to Safari and Firefox for not supporting click-and-hold to show contextual menu options for a link, which iCab did, and Shiira did. Back then I browsed more often with a single-button mouse or without mouse using the PowerBook trackpad and monobutton. Demeter actually doesn't support it either but I never use single-button mice any more and really rarely browser with no attached mouse, and Demeter is actually a Shiira variant so I wasn't window-shopping for a better browser so much as hopping "slightly to the side" in my switch from Shiira to Demeter.

Cool, thanks for answering.

[KarlGauss]

I'm using Firefox now, having had no luck eliminating a VERY annoying feature of Safari (my previous browser).

In this thread, I lamented how Safari insisted on interrupting me time after time after time . . . with this message:

____________________________________________________________
Are you sure you want to resend a form again?

To reopen this page, Safari must resend a form . . . blah, blah.
. . .
____________________________________________________________

Not a problem, at all, with FF.

[Philster]

Used to be Firefox 95% of the time. I like me some Chrome now and IE is needed for a few work apps. I want to punch the screen every time I have to wait for IE to open/load.

Firefox is good, but I like Chrome tab layout and "+ tab" history format. Like the Chrome bookmarking better, too.

[Dragwyr]

I was a hardcore Opera user for quite a few years (I started using it back when it was at version 3), but in the past couple of years, I switched to Firefox, mainly for the reason of compatibility (it played better with a lot of sites I browse) and the insane amount of add-ons that make browsing the web absolutely heavenly, some of which are not offered by any other browser.

[KarlGauss]

I mean there's no way that's typical of the 'population at large'*. Likewise, in the real world, where Straight Dope users are, sadly, only a tiny minority, is there anything close to 60 percent Firefox usage? Or am I just out of touch?


*whatever that means

[Headrush042]

I wouldn't be surprised if a very large chunk of IE's market share comes from the corporate world. Most people I know use IE at work and something else at home. IT departments generally won't bother vetting/approving multiple browsers unless their users require very specific functionality for their jobs.

[Omniscient]

Originally Posted by KarlGauss

I mean there's no way that's typical of the 'population at large'*. Likewise, in the real world, where Straight Dope users are, sadly, only a tiny minority, is there anything close to 60 percent Firefox usage? Or am I just out of touch?


*whatever that means

Here's the numbers from Wikipedia.

59% IE
28% FF
5% Chrome
4.5% Safari
1.7% Opera

As noted, I'm sure a vast majority of that IE usage has a lot to do with corporate users and clueless people who just use what's on the computer when they buy it.

[KarlGauss]

Originally Posted by Omniscient

Here's the numbers from Wikipedia.

59% IE
28% FF
5% Chrome
4.5% Safari
1.7% Opera

Interesting, thanks! (I didn't even think of looking in Wiki for the answer. When will I learn that everything is in Wikipedia?)

[Knorf]

100% Chrome now on my Windows box.

On my Mac, I use Safari mostly, but FF at times. Sometimes Safari just collapses in misery, for some reason I've never quite figured out.

[magnusblitz]

Opera.

[DiosaBellissima]

I used Firefox religiously at work and home, but lately it's been so goddamned crashy. It seems with every update, it crashes more. It is especially crashy on Facebook when using Facebook chat, for some reason.

So, I downloaded Chrome and have had literally 0 problems. Love it.

[Little Nemo]

I was one of the last Netscape holdouts...

But not the last one.