# Should I replace my browser? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 12, 2002, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-replace-my-browser/118605 "2002-07-12T13:02:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-replace-my-browser/118605/1 "2002-07-12T13:02:05Z")
I’ve been using Netscape 4.5. Lately, some graphics-intensive sites won’t load. I visited one of these sites at work, using IE, & it worked fine. My brother the tech-head says I need a new computer. I dunno. Is there a problem with Netscape in general? Is my old browser **too** old? Help? ---
**Author:** ![Amazing\_Tiki\_God](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazing\_Tiki\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazing_Tiki_God)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-replace-my-browser/118605/2 "2002-07-12T13:13:50Z")
Assuming your computer is a pc just update to the latest edition of IE. The newer Netscape 6.something really lacks the goodness that was once Netscape 4.whatever number this is. With the update to the new IE version 6.I don’t know what number I am everything should work fine. Unless those graphics intensive sites use Flash or some flavor of the Macromedia Shockwave stuff then you’ll need to download that. But your brother the tech head isn’t much of a tech if he recommends getting a new computer to fix a problem with images not displaying. ---
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-replace-my-browser/118605/3 "2002-07-12T13:31:14Z")
Let me first of all agree with **Tiki** , that a software update is probably a good idea, unless you’ve got a very old/odd computer. Let me also toss in a question about IE. I was just told by a client that he did not see our progressive jpegs incrementally displayed by IE6. Can it be true that the most popular browser dows not support such a basic feature? (Personally I use ‘konqueror’ under linux/KDE, and while it does not show PNGs incrementally, it does with pjpegs.) ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-replace-my-browser/118605/4 "2002-07-12T13:37:16Z")
I found a new web browser the other day, 32Bit Browser. Its tiny, like less than one meg & its very fast & not bloated like Netscape & IE (I have both of those on my computer too). You can get it from [http://www.electrasoft.com](http://www.electrasoft.com) Some days the net is just slow & you can’t get all the images, thats life. ---
**Author:** ![nahtanoj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@nahtanoj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nahtanoj)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-replace-my-browser/118605/5 "2002-07-12T14:31:27Z")
Try mozilla at [http://www.mozilla.org](http://www.mozilla.org) . I think its great. nahtanoj ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-replace-my-browser/118605/6 "2002-07-12T14:58:48Z")
Version 4 Netscape browsers have poor support for CSS, which many websites now use for layout and design control. It’s up to you, really. If you’re happy with what you’ve got, don’t change. On the other hand, alternative browsers are often free and easy to get hold of (just pick up a PC magazine with a free CD-ROM sometime). Personally, I would recommend Opera 6.04 (available to download from the company’s website). It’s faster and more featured than IE. However, occasionally it falters around complicated JavaScript or multimedia plug-ins. IE6 is probably your best bet for a consistent browsing experience and not being unable to access certain sites (whether that’s because IE6 is good, or because designers know it’s in widespread use and design specifically for it, is an interesting point but not entirely relevant to your question!). ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-replace-my-browser/118605/7 "2002-07-12T15:17:37Z")
Are you not able to see a lot of a page, or are there actually “broken image” place markers (a box where an image should be, only with an X or something in it)? If you’re using NS 4, the problem with some pages just might be poor HTML. IE is more “forgiving” when it comes to HTML, as in it will assume you meant to put the end tags in for tables when you didn’t really put them in. NS 4 will just not show the page, or the part of the page with the bad table. ---
**Author:** ![Pythagoras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@Pythagoras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pythagoras)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-replace-my-browser/118605/8 "2002-07-12T17:31:17Z")
I highly recomend opera: > **[Opera Web Browser | Faster, Safer, Smarter | Opera](https://www.opera.com)** > > Get a faster, better browser. Opera's free VPN, Ad Blocker, integrated messengers and private mode help you browse securely and smoothly. Share files instantly between your desktop and mobile browsers and experience web 3.0 with a free cryptowallet. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-replace-my-browser/118605/9 "2002-07-12T19:16:12Z")
- - - NS 4 is a dog, due to its non-standard CSS lunacy it’s probably the worst-supported browser you can run now. - IE 6+ is functionally the best browser. I have Mozilla 1.01, Netscape 6.something and Opera (5?). I enjoy using Mozilla the most and rarely use the other two, but all three simply don’t support all the plugings correctly the way IE 6 does. - What’s really annoying is when people use flash for website menus (all you get with a non-suported browser is a blank, non-responsive panel). You gotta switch to IE6 just to navigate the site at all. - DougC ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-replace-my-browser/118605/10 "2002-07-12T22:36:53Z")
Latest is Netscape 7.0 they put in a multiple page viewer that some guy made, so I guess they bought him out. Clever idea, what you see is several websites on the same page.