Interesting browser comparison

[Buddahfan]

Geez, foolish me.

I thought that they were going to test the security and vulnerability among the browsers both with and without addons.

 

[Gornot]

Too bad that it (IE9) doesn't have a spell check

Speckie - spell check for IE
Better than ieSpell as it automatically checks spelling, whereas ieSpell needs user input "Check spelling"

 

[unifex]

Well, I know HTML5 is far off from being mainstream, but I am glad that is around in a minor capacity. With the way things were going, more and more web sites were making a simple HTML welcome page then redirecting to a 100% Flash site. Then you have those free file/image host sites that are making their uploader area 100% Flash. A bad trend, since the Flash production suite is not free and its plugin is not as good as it was pre-Adobe. It looked like Adobe are/were trying to monopolize the Internet :/

There is one conundrum that I do not understand though, with the OS+Browser coming pre-installed with Sun Java. For such a plugin, that has minor web usage, it is extremely prevalent and poorly maintained/coded.

There's just too much proprietary software dependence going around Internet use currently, I hope to see that change just as you said. Computer security would be increased too.

As for the record of benchmarks, I found IE9 to perform near identical to Firefox 4 Too bad that it (IE9) doesn't have a spell check or default webm support. Catch up yes, but not catchup enough.

I completely agree, but unfortunately, Flash content is still very prevalent. Adobe has ruined what was once a great technology. By using open standards, we could truly get to a point where browsers were 100% a matter of opinion. We're close now, but some people also hold on to old thoughts and feelings...like anything from Microsoft is bad and evil.

Personally, I browse the internet with Flash disabled. Those blinking ads are rather annoying. I can always enable it if I get to a page with some interestign video. Now, Html5 will be harder to disable, so I definitely don't want to see any html5 ads. No, I don't like to use ad-blocking extensions.

There are a couple of "live feed" types of sites that I use and those are all Flash. That's why I prefer to keep several browsers - one for Flash, one for banking, one for general browsing.

On the contrary, java seems to be used by the majority of the sites I visit. I limit the javacript though - I hate it when they resize windows or disable buttons, in my opinion they should not be allowed to do that at all.

Now as far as the software being proprietary - I see nothing wrong with that. Firefox is the only "open source" software that works for me, and given all the money that Google pays Mozilla, it's not really different from any other software company, except for the fact that the code is open.

 

[Zirro]

I don't really notice much speed difference in real-world use between IE9 x64 vs Ie9 x32 vs FF4 vs Chrome. However they all did highlight how slow IE8 was.

I'll be glad when MS update IE 9 64bit's JavaScript engine to Chakra JIT.

I understand Silverlight 5 is going to be avaliable in 64-bit too.

 

[Klaw117]

Speckie - spell check for IE
Better than ieSpell as it automatically checks spelling, whereas ieSpell needs user input "Check spelling"

Thanks for this link. It works much better than ieSpell, but still not perfectly since the spell check system doesn't actually work until you right-click on the window (although at least you don't have to click "Check Spelling" or something like that).

 

[whs]

You imagine we would have an automatic spell checker for the reply window - with all the jargon we are using. That always bothers me in e.g. Word. I shut it off when I work on a tutorial for example.

 

[seekermeister]

For me, such comparisons don't mean too much, because all of those tests, except the one by peacekeeper, are devised by the same people that created the browsers. I know that tests can be weighed in a fashion to favor the browser that is desired. Obviously, a browser creator is not going to devise a test that makes them look bad.

I also find it curious that despite the fact that Opera tests very well on peacekeeper, not much is said about it. I just ran my own comparison, leaving out IE x64, and Chrome, which I have no desire to use, and below are my results. Though I have begun to adopt FF somewhat, I still consider Opera to be superior in many ways.

 

[Mike Connor]

These comparisons might be of some interest to "power users", (a much over-used term which has basically come to mean anybody who can switch a machine on and off without crippling it), but they are not relevant at all to most users. What most users want, (surprise! ),is ease of use.

Instead of becoming easier and more intuitive, browsers and operating systems are becoming more and more complex to set up and use. Even some quite simple things are more or less impossible for a "normal" user to achieve.

These issues are rarely addressed, or are addressed in some way that results in knowledgeable users being "nannied" and annoyed to death.

The actual speed of these browsers makes little or no difference to most people who use them, they are dependent on their internet connections, not the browser speed.

Also, there is an ever-increasing trend towards the use of "eye-candy", often to the detriment of basic function.

Personally I use Firefox, because I can set it up exactly as I want it, I don't much care about the speed, as long as it is reasonable.

Even if IE9 was ten times faster than Firefox I still wouldn't use it, because it wont do what I want.

Opera is a great deal better, but still not as versatile as Firefox.

Regards....Mike Connor

 

[severedsolo]

I also find it curious that despite the fact that Opera tests very well on peacekeeper, not much is said about it.

This is just personal opinion, Im neither right nor wrong, this is just the way I see it.

I actually quite like Opera, and for me, like you Peacekeeper results trump Firefox and IE8 every time. However, in real world usage to me at least, Opera seems noticeably slower. Not slower than IE8, which runs like a dog on my machine (haven't played with IE9 so can't comment on that) but certainly a bit slower than my regular browser, Firefox.

Now I admit that this could be because I was running Opera on default settings with no tweaking at all, wheras my Firefox is quite heavily customised, but the difference is there, plus I prefer the almost endless configurations of Firefox, with Addons and such.

The thing that REALLY put me off Opera though, was the fact that they were acting like whiny children over the "Browser Choice" thing here in the EU. Fair enough, a little competition is not a bad thing, but moaning because they were in alphabetical order so Opera was always number 5 on the list? Pathetic.

Having said that, I DO use Opera on my mobile. IMO the Opera mobile browser is the best thing since sliced bread.

Just my tuppence worth.

 

[seekermeister]

Opera is a great deal better, but still not as versatile as Firefox.

Regards....Mike Connor

How versatile that Opera is depends a lot on how well that a person knows the browser. I have found some things about Firefox that is easier to do with the right add on, but hunting through the myriads of add ons available to find the right one is a chore in itself, and there are a few things that Opera can do that Firefox can't, regardless of the number of add ons it has installed.

 

[andyparks]

Im not botherd what browser is better all that matters is i can see some porn lol

 

[severedsolo]

Im not botherd what browser is better all that matters is i can see some porn lol

:roflmao: Too true!

 

[Mike Connor]

Opera is a great deal better, but still not as versatile as Firefox.

Regards....Mike Connor

How versatile that Opera is depends a lot on how well that a person knows the browser. I have found some things about Firefox that is easier to do with the right add on, but hunting through the myriads of add ons available to find the right one is a chore in itself, and there are a few things that Opera can do that Firefox can't, regardless of the number of add ons it has installed.

That's mostly true enough. I used Opera quite a lot at one time, but once I got Firefox set up as I wanted it, I did not want to miss any of the customised features, so I very rarely use other browsers now, usually only on other people's machines where I have no choice.

Hunting through addons can definitely be a pain, but it's worth it if you get the exact setup you are looking for.

Regards....Mike Connor

 

[indianacarnie]

Well ...... Opera does all I need it to do pretty much "out of the box" , I do have a couple of extensions but thats all I do need. Have tried all the major browsers at one time or the other and a good number of the lesser used ones too. I have found very few sites that just refuse to accept my browser. For them I keep IE up to date but turned off (as a last resort) and either Chrome or FF as my standbys................. most of the time.

 

[whs]

i like Opera too, at least some aspects of it. But it sometimes has a very strange behavior. E.g. it is difficult to start from the taskbar and then I get this little window where I have to chose what window to start - completely useless. Also, when i download something, I never know whether it is doing it or not. It kind of does it completely invisible to me. And finally it is slow - slower than IE and Chrome.
I use it "out of the box" and never bothered with settings. But IE and Chrome I use the same way.

 

[Tepid]

My take on benchmarks....

They have become so over used, so mainstream that they are almost useless.

Maybe I am cynical towards them, but I remember a time where the Benchmarks are so well know (and still are) that ATI and Nvidia were suing each other every other day about how one or the other was coding their drivers to ride the rails of the benchmark and give better numbers.

If you are buying based solely on benchmarks, your gonna lose in the end.

 

[Zirro]

I'm beginning to agree with Mike Connor.
Now that IE 9, FF 4, Chrome and Opera are all reasonably quick, my browsing is limited more by the speed and latency of my internet connection.

I found IE9 and FF4 the most reliably displayed the sites I use regularly. Chrome bugged out on a couple.
I was using IE9 but when one small addon like McAfee Site Advisor adds a whole unnecessary toolbar row right across a widescreen monitor, with nearly all of it being blank space, you lose valuable screen real eastate. No free ad blocking (that works properly) for IE is a negative too.

So right now my fav is FF4, customized with addons to maximise usable screen space and with buttons where I want them. I do hope the font rendering is fixed in FF4.2.

 

[Mike Connor]

I'm beginning to agree with Mike Connor.
Now that IE 9, FF 4, Chrome and Opera are all reasonably quick, my browsing is limited more by the speed and latency of my internet connection.

I found IE9 and FF4 the most reliably displayed the sites I use regularly. Chrome bugged out on a couple.
I was using IE9 but when one small addon like McAfee Site Advisor adds a whole unnecessary toolbar row right across a widescreen monitor, with nearly all of it being blank space, you lose valuable screen real eastate. No free ad blocking (that works properly) for IE is a negative too.

So right now my fav is FF4, customized with addons to maximise usable screen space and with buttons where I want them. I do hope the font rendering is fixed in FF4.2.

If you want to get some sensible functions and lose some annoyances in IE9;

Quero Toolbar. Hassle-Free Browsing

<http://www.quero.at/>


Just as a matter of interest, here is an IE "Test Drive" http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/performance/fishIETank/default.html running on Firefox 4.0:



http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/

Regards....Mike Connor

 

[Zirro]

I tried the Quero Toolbar. It is almost right, but despite fiddling with the setup options I could not get it to work the way I wanted it to.
It seems to be based around forcing the tabs to a separate row. I don't want this, I quite like having the combined search bar and tabs on the same row as it frees up screen space.
It also needs a toggle button in the toolbar which you can click to allow specific sites to disable ad blocking on specific sites.

In FF4 I managed to get bearable font rendering with 'Anti-Aliasing Tuner' set as follows:

Enhanced Contrast: 50%
Clear Type level: 60%
Anti-aliasing mode: Clear Type
Rendering mode: GDI Natural

Same settings for both small & large fonts.

 

[Mike Connor]

I never had any problems with fuzzy fonts on my machines, but I know a couple of people who did.

Yes, the bar doesn't suit everybody, but there aren't many to choose from for Internet Explorer!

I prefer the customisation possibilities in Firefox. Much more comfortable.

Regards....Mike Connor