Name Your Favorite Browser

[SyrenSong]

I'm curious about what browsers people prefer to use and why.

As a web designer, I think it's very important to design for multiple browsers. Sometimes people choose their browser because of a disability. Sometimes it's the browser that came with preloaded on their computer. Sometimes it was downloaded for one or more very specific reasons.

Oh, and if you have a specific version you prefer, I'd like to know why that version is better than the others.

So, what's your browser and why? An interested designer wants to know!

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Syren

[SyrenSong]

Ooops! I forgot to add Opera. My apologies to all the Opera users out there! ;)

Syren

[TheWebDoctor(tm)]

There are tons more browsers out there than the top dogs everyone knows about.

IBM HomePage Reader is low cost and performs well.

Windows Platform: K-Meleon

Cross-Platform: Firebird, Beonex, Pheonix

Mac Platform: Camino

*nix Platforms: Aphrodite, Galeon

IBM Web Browser for OS/2

There are tons more. http://browsers.evolt.org/ and http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_I..._web/browsers/.

But I know Syren listed only a few to be brief.

My personal favorite is Firebird for its small load and footprint on my system resources. Plus the ability to support the other languages IE doesn't even come close to supporting. But knowing I have to support IE in my designs I limit the advancements in some sites.

[PBITech]

Opera 7.11.....Thanks :)

Jim

[jScott_Harris]

I'm not picky on my fav, but I'm picky on what it supports. I'm a huge fan of PNG's. They do things other formats only dream about. So it sucks that IE doesn't support their transparency features. Opera does probably the best job i've seen for Windows, and I've never seen a problem on any Linux browser. (But really, who wants to design on linux? GIMP sux!)

[SyrenSong]

But I know Syren listed only a few to be brief.

Yeah. I really hated to pick and choose. Especially since I knew I was going to leave out quite a few that are more popular with designers than with the average web surfer, but I had to start somewhere.

***********

I'm not picky on my fav, but I'm picky on what it supports. I'm a huge fan of PNG's. They do things other formats only dream about.

You're right about PNG files. But since I try to program for older browsers, as well as newer ones, I try to avoid using PNGs, in spite of all their promise and what the future holds. ;)

One of my favorite features for Mozilla and Opera is the ability to disable popups! But Google's toolbar is only available for IE, so far (and several other toolbars as well).

As for Opera, I've seen a few problems with some Opera versions and lack of support for iframes. That causes problems for some sites I've visited. I don't know if the problem extends to Linux, though. Have you noticed anything like that?


**********

Thanks for your responses so far, folks. I really appreciate the input!

Syren

[J_Paul]

I'd have to say that my fav is probably IE, not because I use it all the time, but because most of the population of the internet uses IE as a default. For me it's about designing for the most popular browers, so IE tops the chart aye?

All your browser are belong to us

[SyrenSong]

I'd have to say that my fav is probably IE, not because I use it all the time, but because most of the population of the internet uses IE as a default. For me it's about designing for the most popular browers, so IE tops the chart aye?

Yeah. IE tops the charts, but how do you deal with other browsers? Do you test at all for compatibility? Or are folks using other browsers left totally on their own?

I've had sites crash my entire computer to the point of needing a complete restart, simply because I'm not using IE.

Just because IE comes with the Windows software, it doesn't mean you have to use it. Any more than you've got to keep using the same tires that came with your car originally, even though you know there are better brands out there.

Along the same lines, why else would auto detailing shops and the J.C. Whitney catalog be so popular? ;)

Syren

[J_Paul]

Syren,

I usually test in Netscape and IE and things tend to work in the other browsers as well from there.

I suppose over the years I have learned to minimize my coding so that it will show properly in each browser without problems. I occasionally have some huge problems here and there that I have to work out. But it's most works.

[TheWebDoctor(tm)]

Well for those IE fans out there, let me point you to this article http://www.okec.org/news/standards.htm. I'm not pointing it out simply because I was interviewed by this State organization, but more so that it will point out views from others.

IE offers nothing, at this point, on the Windows platform. The only thing it offers is a thorn in the side of visitors who choose better software.

I've gone on record stating that I will not be a patron of businesses that develop for IE only. I also do not recommend the services of those companies.

Now for the exciting news. IE is not tops. Let me explain some things that people simply do not pay total attention to.

There are tons of browsers out there. Of those browsers many of them mask themselves as IE so that those poorly written scripts will work in their browsers. Take as an example Opera. Take again the example of JAWS and IBM HomePage Reader.

Those are three top of the line browsers and assistive technologies that can or do mask themselves as IE. While JAWS is based upon the IE engine, it is not IE.

AOL is returning to the IE engine. However, it is not IE.

Therefore, it is easy to see that there isn't anything that developing for IE which provides importance or demands for developing for that browser.

When a person states that IE is the #1 used browser I end up defeating that argument because they can't prove it's IE visiting their site. The only show server logs where the visitor used a program that identified itself as IE.

Now, for the really cool part of this and an even more or less surprising piece of work. Many of the email harvesters use the IE mask so that they can get by the blocks or redirects that would otherwise prevent them from capturing email addresses off a site.

Seems a one-sided, shorted vision of something that people just don't understand. Even the top of the line logging tools like WebTrends can't tell the difference.

At any rate, I hope those that read the article appreciate it.