What browser do you guys use?

[napilopez]

Out of curiousity, which browser(s) do you guys primarily use?

I'm always so undecisive. Opera is the only one that has all the features I want, and the Alpha snapshot of version 10 loads apes extremely quickly, but even with lots of skin customizations, its not nearly as compact as Chrome or the new Safari 4. Interestingly, for me it has the best performance in high def flash content.

Chrome on the other hand, is extremely quick, and the app overall just feels very snappy. Like when I click on a tab, that tab loads instantly. It has most of the convenience features I like(duplicate tab, restore last session, restore recently closed tabs). I also like tis tab management system, with related tabs appearing next to the eachother(I know IE does this too). It just feels very smooth and polished overall.

Safari 4 is extremely minimalistic, even moreso than chrome. Like chrome does in full screen, the tabs are part of the title bar. However, for safari they always are, while in chrome only when I'm maximized, and I rarely eve maximize anymore thanks to Aerosnap(just maximize vertically by dragging the top or bottom edge). Safari is also extremely quick, but the app itself doesnt feel quiittteeee as quick or smooth as chrome. I really dont like not being able to duplicate tabs, and that I can't restore closed tabs. However, the top sites page is pretty, and kinda brings the best of opera and chrome by automatically putting in your most frequent sites, but also letting you pin or remove certain sites. Only problem is that I can't launch them by pressing a number like I could in opera. History and Bookmarks in coverflow is totally awesome.

Although I have them both installed, IE and firefox don't make the cut for me. IE is not quite quick enough, and takes too much real estate for me, while firefox just isnt for me. I know it has extensions and stuff, but I just don't find anything particularly attractive about it for me.

Right now I have Safari as my default browser, but theres a good chance I'll switch it back to chrome. We'll see.

What do you guys use?

 

[darkassain]

hey nail
i myself use chromium (which is the real chrome betas updated to the latest nightly), Minefield 3.2a1pre (also upgraded to the lastest nightly) and both IE8 beta and Xenocode IE8 RC1 (the least used though...lol)
i dont even think of testing Safari since its not optimized code and refuses to install without installing bonjour service (which is another few megs of system mem used) this is also the reason i dont install itunes and why i hate apple software for windows (but apple software on mac flies) but its vice versa also(meaning MS software on Mac)...

 

[napilopez]

I have safari installed without bonjour, weird.

But yes, it is definitely a memory hog. Haven't noticed it much though.

I didn't know aobu minefield >_<, Imma try that out now. As for chrome, well, I have it to download the weekly builds, so thats pretty good.

 

[darkassain]

I have safari installed without bonjour, weird.

But yes, it is definitely a memory hog. Haven't noticed it much though.

I didn't know aobu minefield >_<, Imma try that out now. As for chrome, well, I have it to download the weekly builds, so thats pretty good.

what i meant is that you have to jump loops to get safari installed without bonjour as drive-by install (i seen it happened on safari and itunes) it broadcasts to the network and while it may not matter because of the *lesser* chance in theory to get hacked it does make it easier to get hacked in windows...
that and how i hate how long apple takes to get patches to the end-users (according to a security researcher it takes on average of 80-90 days to get a bug patch once apple knows....) that is staggering and is asking for trouble...

 

[smarteyeball]

Really? I just unticked install bonjour....

Hasn't shown up either

Wow, Safari is a resource hog.

 

[darkassain]

Really? I just unticked install bonjour....

Hasn't shown up either

hmm then it must have been a while since i installed safari...
now im off to strain another browser...
thanks for letting me know everyone...

 

[smarteyeball]

lol, no worries. It seems pretty good so far. (for the whole 5 mins I've used of it )

 

[darkassain]

lol, no worries. It seems pretty good so far. (for the whole 5 mins I've used of it )

now wheres that rep button...

 

[Win 7 x64]

Chrome has been my choice of browser for 2/3 months now. I find it snappy and minimalistic. I did have problems installing it on x64 but that can be fixed with a few key strokes. Firefox is becoming a bit dated in my opinion and have not installed this time round. As for apple software its a totally no go for me. i don't like the fact that (a) apple softwares take up far to much resources and (b) you need to install other apple components. Chrome seems to be all that i want in a browser.

 

[weedmonk]

I alternate between FireFox and Chrome mostly. I was on Chrome exclusively since the beta's because the speed/performance was just unbelievable. I've since reverted to FF 3.1 as its improved but I still use Chorme for Google web apps.

Safari 4 aped Chrome and thew in healthy dose of Apple iCandy. Although it's finally usable on Windows and has some promise. Not having favicons on the bookmark bar stands out for me so far.

 

[ambientmf]

Like most people, I use Firefox almost exclusively.
The main reason being I use Roboform to manage all of my logins and passwords and so far, it's not supported by Chrome.

I don't particularly like the way Chrome handles downloading, I don't know, I probably just haven't gotten used to it yet though.

If Chrome even did get Roboform support though, I don't think I'd be using FF.

 

[Romulinx2]

I use IE, Safari & Firefox. Depending on what sites I look at.

 

[smarteyeball]

If Chrome even did get Roboform support though, I don't think I'd be using FF.

That's still FF's biggest draw card. Add-ons. If the other browsers allowed such a level of customisation, there would be a lot less FF users. Until that changes, users -like myself for example- will always end up back at FF.

I feel naked without my add-ons, lol.

 

[Mark]

That's still FF's biggest draw card. Add-ons. If the other browsers allowed such a level of customisation, there would be a lot less FF users. Until that changes, users -like myself for example- will always end up back at FF.

I feel naked without my add-ons, lol.

+1 FF is the only browser I use and it is very rare that I have any problems, another great add on I use is my net usage meter that sits in my toolbar and tells me how much I have used for the month, how much I have left per day and heaps of other useful information.
The full name is Net usage item 1.2.211

 

[smarteyeball]

I do like periodically using / testing other browsers and am impressed with the latest offerings. But when you discover yet another useful add-on like the usage meter for example, you do miss all those little features in other browsers that add to your overall browsing experience.

Personally I find that I can forgive Firefox's short comings a lot easier than forgiving the short comings in other browsers.


(Thanks for the usage meter heads up MG )

 

[angryman]

I'm actually enjoying IE8

 

[weedmonk]

I'm actually enjoying IE8

Blasphemy!......j/k

 

[imacken]

Like most people, I use Firefox almost exclusively.

Eh, 'most people'???
Market share for browsers, operating systems and search engines
FF is a long way off yet being used by 'most people'.
I love the new Safari 4 Beta. Lots of great new features.

 

[napilopez]

i can't wait for Opera 10 to leave alpha and go into beta. I'm waiting for the new interface. I've been an opera users since the 90s and it pains me somewhere inside to have to use another browser .

I reverted back to chrome, as I decided it was just too annoying not being able to duplicate tabs. I also think chrome has the best tab handling overall, and is the snappiest piece of software both in terms of rendering speed(tied with Opera 10 Alpha snapshot and Safari, although minefield is extremely quick), and also in terms of moving around the app. I prefer the search bar address bar combo.

 

[Scooter70]

I love Chrome for the speed and light footprint. I was a diehard Firefox user before but now only use it at work because they locked down permissions on our machines so I can't install Chrome on it.

I'm a huge Google fan-boy. Between Chrome, GMail, Picasa, and GoogleDocs I really don't need much else for most of my non-work computing. I haven't tried a phone with Android yet but given enough time, I'm sure it'll be almost as good as my beloved Crackberry.