# What Browser Do You Use? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 1, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217 "2011-10-01T01:25:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/41 "2011-10-01T21:24:56Z")
I switched to Firefox back in 2005 and really enjoyed it for years. Then at some point, it seemed to slow down, so I started using Safari on my home Mac (stuck with Firefox on work PCs). Lately, it seems both Safari and Firefox are just slow/buggy on both machines. I guess about 2 months ago I switched to Chrome for both and really like it a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2011, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/42 "2011-10-01T21:37:48Z")
FireFox blows out asses, because it’s bloated and slow. But I need my extensions, and Chrome ain’t gwine give it me. Plus, damned if I’m going to learn a whole new set of keyboard shortcuts (I don’t use a mouse, ever, unless forced to) just for some \*\*\*-ass browser. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/43 "2011-10-01T21:41:00Z")
> [@Jaledin](#): > > FireFox blows out asses, because it’s bloated and slow. But I need my extensions, and Chrome ain’t gwine give it me. Plus, damned if I’m going to learn a whole new set of keyboard shortcuts (I don’t use a mouse, ever, unless forced to) just for some \*\*\*-ass browser. Did you look recently? Chrome supports a lot of the same (or similar) extensions Firefox has. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2011, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/44 "2011-10-01T22:20:52Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Firefox at home. IE at work, because I am not allowed to install what I want. Same. And we have to use IE6 since one of our programs is browser based and designed only for that version. Most websites don’t quite look right on it. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/45 "2011-10-01T22:39:21Z")
I voted Firefox, but like most I use several. I have Opera on my phone, I have Safari on the Mac for sites that don’t like Firefox, and at work I use Firefox for the Web, but IE (2003 vintage) for the LAN, which has several applications that only work with IE. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/46 "2011-10-01T22:52:36Z")
> [@jabiru](#): > > IE on this computer (had Firefox and it worked well to start with but a couple of ‘upgrades’ made it impossible to use). Firefox 3.6.9 mostly on Linux Ubuntu. Sometimes Firefox on WinXP. Occasionally an old version of IE if I want to test something in particular there. Like many users, I’ve become paranoid about upgrading to new versions of anything unless I really see some need, for fear that things might just not work well, and I won’t know how to roll back. What I have now seems to do the things I need, mostly anyway, and I have little enthusiasm for fixing what ain’t broke. I’d really like to have some virtual machines, in which to try new things, like the latest Firefox. In fact, I WAS doing that. Tried the latest FF, saw it looked a little different, and before I had much time to familiarize with that, my VMWare license expired. (It was free, for classes I was taking at the local JC for the last few years, but those are done now.) No doubt I’ll need it someday soon, if I get much into the latest in JavaScript/HTML5 coding, but for now I’m only slightly beyond the “Hello World” stage of web programming. # – Senegoid ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/47 "2011-10-01T23:03:26Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I totally don’t understand the disdain for Internet Explorer. I use it and have no complaints against it. Well, it’s had a long-established mal-reputation, which is entrenched in many a user’s mind by now, and those users have had plenty of other browsers to get accustomed to all these years, so they’d (myself included) see little need to re-open their minds to the idea that IE might be a worthwhile app now. Comes now IE8 and IE9, with newer and better everything (so they say), and a new chance to establish a new reputation – but with so many minds so poisoned against IE for so long, it will essentially take until the current generation of users grows old and dies off and a new generation of IE users take our place. Such is the nature of software acceptance, if you don’t get it really right the first time. # – Senegoid ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/48 "2011-10-01T23:08:58Z")
And has anybody ever used (or even heard of) IceWeasel? It comes with some Linux distributions. Actually, I think it’s just a customized tweak based on the Firefox source. # – Senegoid ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2011, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/49 "2011-10-01T23:22:53Z")
I’ve become incredibly fricking tired of the Firefox updater constantly hassling me to update, even though my favorite addons aren’t compatible. So I downloaded Chrome, and have been using it exclusively for a couple of weeks. It’s not noticeably “better” than FF, except that it doesn’t harp on me to update. I just unpinned FF from my taskbar. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Merejane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Merejane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merejane)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/50 "2011-10-02T00:01:00Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > I used to use Firefox for everything, but ever since Chrome came out, I started using that more and more. Now that’s the one I use for everything, pretty much. My experience exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/51 "2011-10-02T00:05:15Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > Did you look recently? > > Chrome supports a lot of the same (or similar) extensions Firefox has. Yeah, so does IE. But Alt-T O gives me something in any (reasonable) Windows application that something metal, but not copper to the connects, does not. Not learning new shortcuts. And, yes, I use and like emacs on Windows fine – at least it has Tetris. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/52 "2011-10-02T00:08:43Z")
I selected other: I used Internet Explorer at work, and Firefox at home. Chrome and IE are both on standby on my home computer for the rare websites where Firefox isn’t behaving. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/53 "2011-10-02T01:55:26Z")
Primarily Firefox - I don’t care enough to change it at home, and at work I’m too attached to Firebug and the Web Developer Toolbar in their FF configurations. However, I do use Firefox PC/Mac, IE 6-9, Chrome and Safari Mac/PC on a regular basis at work too! If it works in Webkit and Gecko, it gonna work in Opera, 99.9% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/54 "2011-10-02T01:58:30Z")
Firefox, whatever the newest version is. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/55 "2011-10-02T04:03:31Z")
I answered Chrome but that’s a recent development. Both IE and FF have apparently been killed by malware that I can’t find. Both browsers are slooooooooow but Chrome is fine. ---
**Author:** ![bahia\_hombre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@bahia\_hombre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bahia_hombre)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/56 "2011-10-02T04:25:37Z")
I’ve used Firefox a lot and like it for the simple built-in dropdown tabs list but it doesn’t seem to tolerate a lot of open tabs and crashes on me frequently so now I’m using Chrome with an add-on tabs list. IE just has too much history of weak security. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/57 "2011-10-02T17:30:54Z")
The rise of Chrome continues. We have done this at least 3 times before (the last being June 2010) and the transition from (mostly) Firefox to Chrome has been: Firefox: 65% -\> 62 -\> 60 -\> 56 Chrome: 10% -\> 12 -\> 20 -\> 24 I am one who swapped from Firefox to Chrome since the last poll. I only used Firefox for a couple of months, but it kept crashing. I have been happy with Chrome but for two things: 1. Occasional sites do not support it. I then use IE. 2. Recently, there has been a tendency for the Shockwave Flash plugin to crash. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/58 "2011-10-02T20:46:44Z")
I switched to Chrome for a time, then back to Firefox. I just can’t stand having the tabs up in the titlebar. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/59 "2011-10-02T21:28:00Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > Why does the poll assume that people only use one browser? Firefox, but IE for work. Most things I encounter are written for IE. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217/60 "2011-10-02T23:38:53Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > The rise of Chrome continues. We have done this at least 3 times before (the last being June 2010) and the transition from (mostly) Firefox to Chrome has been: > > Firefox: 65% -\> 62 -\> 60 -\> 56 > Chrome: 10% -\> 12 -\> 20 -\> 24 > > I am one who swapped from Firefox to Chrome since the last poll. I only used Firefox for a couple of months, but it kept crashing. I have been happy with Chrome but for two things: > > 1. Occasional sites do not support it. I then use IE. > 2. Recently, there has been a tendency for the Shockwave Flash plugin to crash. I’ve been wavering since this poll was posted. I just now voted Chrome, since Firefox froze up _yet again_ when I opened a YouTube video. I posted about this maybe a month ago, and someone suggested to make sure that Firefox and Flash were up to date. I’ve done so, and still Firefox Freezes. I’ve tried terminating the task, and it still is just hanging there and won’t go away. I suspect it will bring down all of windows soon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-browser-do-you-use/598217.md?page=4)