Internet Explorer 9 or Google Chrome?

[erin-x]

I just got an email saying that I should update to internet explorer 9 but my friend says I should get google chrome. I have no idea what one to use...

Any input would be great :) x

[bibblebub]

Opera is another to consider

[erin-x]

He said something about firefox? aswell.... i didn't know all of these different ones existed tbh x

[ChuckFickens]

Try them and see what you prefer. you can have as many different browsers installed as you want and simply chose which one to use by selecting the appropriate icon.

(you can only have one default system browser set, but simply set that once you've decided which on to use)

[bibblebub]

I use Firefox (the range of add-ons make it work the way I want), then next in order of preference Opera, Chrome and lastly IE.

[erin-x]

What kind of add-ons bibblebub?? x

[bibblebub]

There are thousands for Firefox https://addons.mozill...efox/?browse=featured but other browsers also have them available.

[Buenchico]

The most popular browser among the 'regulars' here in AB's Technology section is almost certainly Firefox:
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/new/
It's the simplest to customise (by, for example, installing a British English dictionary for spell-checking, or by using Adblock Plus to make this page load far more quickly).

Chrome is also popular (and it's quickly developing a range of add-ons similar to those for Firefox).

Internet Explorer is generally despised and derided. (There have been lots of reports lately of IE9 almost grinding to a halt when trying to load Answerbank pages).

For the fastest loading, try K-Meleon:
http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/

As Chuck say, you can have as many browsers as you like on your computer. Try them out to see what suits you best.

Chris

[erin-x]

Thanks for all yor help guys :) My friend has just told me that I will lose all of my saved favourites.. never even thought about that.. It means though that I won't change until I finish college but it gives me plenty time to mull it over :) xx

[bibblebub]

They each save favourites / bookmarks separately in their own data folders, so you shouldn't lose any. You could always back them up if you have any doubts.

[Buenchico]

Please tell your friend that he doesn't know what he's talking about!

If you install Firefox you'll be asked whether you want to import all of your bookmarks from Internet Explorer. (You can do it at the time of installation, or any time thereafter). They'll still be in IE but, with just one click of your mouse button, they'll be available for use in Firefox as well.

I've not used Chrome but I'm confident that the same will apply there as well.

[erin-x]

I will Chris! It's not very often he is wrong haha! I will have a better look around then.. i'm doing a big piece of work just now so it won't be tonight.. xx

[AlBags]

Firefox is about the most flexible browser out there that is well suppoirted, has few problems and is a lot quicker and safer that IE.

[beso]

The only one you really want to avoid is Safari. Its security certificate management is inferior and its developers very lax about issuing fixes for its vulnerabilities.

In March they took three weeks to issue the fix for the unauthorised certificates released by Comodo while all the other major browsers were protected very quickly.

[beso]

Unfortunately browser choice is somewhat religious for some people and claims of speed superiority for one over another are often repeated but rarely verified.

I saw bench mark comparison between Firefox and IE7 a few years ago and it showed conclusively that the speed advantage attributed to Firefox at the time by its devotees was a myth. Maybe it has changed now but I wouldn't believe it unless I saw it properly tested.

Much of the security criticism against IE was based on IE6. The worst were when IE8 had already been released. Meanwhile anyone still on Firefox 2 was also vulnerable because unlike Microsoft, Firefox had stopped releasing patches for the previous version and insisted that users upgrade.

It has long been the case that some sites work better on Firefox and others on IE. It depends on what kind of idiosyncratic code the developer used to get the effect they wanted. Browsers have often included features long before they became standards and developers went ahead and used them, often unwisely.

Many pages still include conditional directives to render a different style sheet under IE8. Unfortunately they still trigger in IE9 which is compliant to the standards that were introduced in the meantime. Consequently the page does not render properly in IE9 with the IE8 directive.