# Persuade me to ditch Internet Explorer in favor of another browser **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 19, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-to-ditch-internet-explorer-in-favor-of-another-browser/506969 "2009-08-19T17:23:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-to-ditch-internet-explorer-in-favor-of-another-browser/506969/41 "2009-08-20T21:48:38Z")
I will say, however, that I pretty much hate what IE has become. Not with any seething passion or anything, but I do really dislike some of the bold, but shoddy or conceptually flawed design choices MS has forced on the user (not just in IE, but in Office and its OS offerings too) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-to-ditch-internet-explorer-in-favor-of-another-browser/506969/42 "2009-08-20T21:50:22Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I’m not going to try to persuade the OP to use my favourite browser - I just don’t see the point. 😕 Why not, for Mithra’s sake? I was LOOKING for passionate accounts. Or at least enthusiastic ones. It’s not like the thread was titled “IE roolz, FF droolz.” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-to-ditch-internet-explorer-in-favor-of-another-browser/506969/43 "2009-08-20T23:03:13Z")
Like I said, I don’t see the point. My opinions can be waved away or countered. If you try product X and like it best, nobody can argue with that. Most of my reason for using Firefox is that IE is horrible. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-to-ditch-internet-explorer-in-favor-of-another-browser/506969/44 "2009-08-21T06:42:47Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Like I said, I don’t see the point. My opinions can be waved away or countered. If you try product X and like it best, nobody can argue with that. > > Most of my reason for using Firefox is that IE is horrible. I can understand that. With all the impassioned advertisements for Firefox in this thread, what would be the point of another. Now, if you liked a different web browser, that would be different. I recently reinstalled XP after getting tired of having to constantly “fix” things in Linux (Ubuntu). I tried using Chrome as my main browser, but I realized I missed my favorite extensions. I’ve had too many page rendering problems in Opera to use it. So I went back to Firefox. Firefox really only starts up slow for me when I’ve installed a bunch of extensions. But, because I love my extensions, I use the Firefox Preloader, which gives you the same advantage as IE6 had, that is, loading most of the browser when Windows started. Since I almost never shut down my computer, FF now loads faster than Chrome. I don’t know whether Vista’s ability to preload programs you use frequently is better than the dedicated program, though, so it may be unnecessary on Vista machines. The one thing that still bugs me is that Greasemonkey scripts that used to run really fast on sub 3.5 versions of Firefox now run like snails. As do live bookmarks if you are loading a page, as page rendering has priority over even menus, now. I’ve had to shut off many that ran on all sites. Also, Firefox seems much faster on Linux. I always found that weird, when it is the Windows version that has the speed hacks. Still, Firefox is still the best one out there. I’m still considering downgrading to 3.0, though. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-to-ditch-internet-explorer-in-favor-of-another-browser/506969/45 "2009-08-21T07:48:06Z")
To the OP: Have you tried IE 8? That browser is so crappy in so many aspects that I don’t even want to have anything to do with it. Protected mode, super tight security (disable cookies by default!) and compatibility view. Everyone has been talking about Firefox, I like that one too. But Opera is no slouch either. ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-to-ditch-internet-explorer-in-favor-of-another-browser/506969/46 "2009-08-21T13:33:44Z")
Here’s a little [speedup](http://www.everydayloopholes.com/archives/firefox/) for Firefox. Works! ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-to-ditch-internet-explorer-in-favor-of-another-browser/506969/47 "2009-08-21T14:13:13Z")
> [@CrazyChop](#): > > To the OP: Have you tried IE 8? That browser is so crappy in so many aspects that I don’t even want to have anything to do with it. Protected mode, super tight security (disable cookies by default!) and compatibility view. I was using IE 8 before I switched to Firefox after beginning this thread. Perhaps it’s a reflection of my surfing habits, but I haven’t seen a huge difference in performance; the sites I visit most frequently are text-heavy, like the Dope, the Internet Sacred Text Archive, talk.origins, and so forth, and in none of these are ads a huge bother. But I think Firefox is more sensible in its alt-key layouts, and that actually matters to me. I didn’t try Opera yet; I got busy at lunch yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-to-ditch-internet-explorer-in-favor-of-another-browser/506969/48 "2009-08-21T14:47:53Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > There are ad blocking solutions available for Chrome, such as AdBlock: > [The original high-tech mountain man](http://stevenpratt.com/2008/09/06/google-chrome-adblock-plugin/) > > As for me, I’m Chrome all the way (except for on my Mac, where I"m stuck with Safari for now). I tried Firefox, but that program is almost as slow and bloated as the piece of shit browser it was originally designed to replace. > > Chrome is lean, boots-up fast, loads pages even faster, and has a brilliantly designed minimalistic UI (its drag and drop tab functionality is second to none). I can’t recommend this browser enough. > > I used to be happy with Safari…even the 4 beta worked fine for me. Now the final version gives me the beach ball of doom at least once every couple of hours, forcing me to force-quit it. I’m counting the days until the Chrome version of Mac is ready–I’m on the developer channel and it’s almost there; once it gets bookmark managing, I’m switching over permanently. Yeah, that proxy thingy didn’t work for me. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-to-ditch-internet-explorer-in-favor-of-another-browser/506969/49 "2009-08-21T16:55:11Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I didn’t try Opera yet; I got busy at lunch yesterday. At least you have the manliest excuse ever. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-to-ditch-internet-explorer-in-favor-of-another-browser/506969/50 "2009-08-21T17:11:11Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > Yeah, that proxy thingy didn’t work for me. There are several alternatives out there, try Googling it. Example: > **[How to Block Ads in Google Chrome](https://lifehacker.com/how-to-block-ads-in-google-chrome-5046529)** > > One of the biggest reasons most Windows users are sticking with Firefox over Google Chrome is its extensibility—and the most popular Firefox extensio ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-to-ditch-internet-explorer-in-favor-of-another-browser/506969/51 "2009-08-21T19:05:45Z")
**Skald** , I went through the process of choosing an IE alternate a couple years ago. What I found worked well for me was to check out each browser for a few days, explore available add-ons and settings, and really just live with it for a while. I did this with FF, Opera, and even Safari for Windows, and wound up choosing FF because of the depth of add-ins, and the ease of using the IE Tab for pages that need to be rendered in IE (although I understand Opera has this capability now too, without resorting to reg hacks and scripting trickery). Chrome wasn’t available when I made this choice, but from what I’ve heard (and based on some of the feedback here) it might be worth looking at depending on how you browse. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-to-ditch-internet-explorer-in-favor-of-another-browser/506969/52 "2009-08-21T19:13:04Z")
> [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](#): > > I wound up choosing FF because of the depth of add-ins, and the ease of using the IE Tab for pages that need to be rendered in IE (although I understand Opera has this capability now too, without resorting to reg hacks and scripting trickery). Opera has had this capability since before Firefox existed, without reg hacks or scripting trickery. ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-to-ditch-internet-explorer-in-favor-of-another-browser/506969/53 "2009-08-21T19:51:12Z")
Former Firefox user here. I’ve switched to Google Chrome. It loads up a hundred times faster (hyperbole before anyone nitpicks) than any other browser I’ve used. Pages load fast, it seems quite secure and I like the minimalistic feel to it. If you want customisation and lots of extra features, then Firefox is the best option. It has more ad-ons you can shake a stick at. But if you’re like me and yearn for simplicity and speed, then Chrome is the way forward. I even find the default home page useful: Having nine of the most visited sites in your favourites displayed as thumbnails. Means I can quickly get everything I want open at one time. I have mine modded to look black, so it matches Vista. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-to-ditch-internet-explorer-in-favor-of-another-browser/506969/54 "2009-08-21T20:05:00Z")
The OP is taking the right approach by just loading up the browsers and trying them for awhile. These days all your bookmarks are retained and switching to something new is painless. On the Mac side Safari is the default, but I tried FireFox and Opera and stuck with FireFox. It was largely an issue of which browser worked best with my favorite websites. My financial site (Vanguard) didn’t like one of them. Safari, I think. My chess site didn’t like another. My wife plays games at Pogo, and Firefox doesn’t get along with FireFox. Microsoft doesn’t really support IE for Mac anymore, and so that’s mostly out. And with all the tales of security problems (due mostly to IE’s widespread use) I don’t web surf on my Windows machine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persuade-me-to-ditch-internet-explorer-in-favor-of-another-browser/506969.md?page=2)