Suggested BrowsersAs you may have noticed, not all browsers are the same. Not all browsers are standards-compliant either. Some browsers break the rules only slightly, while others run them over, shift to reverse gear and drive over them back and forth until they are reduced to a bloody pulp. And afterwards they'll claim they just jumped right in front of their car. Having spent too much time surfing on the web on various operating systems, I think I have a pretty good idea of which browsers are best for which operating system. I give you my browser chart: WindowsI used to recommend Internet Explorer 5 here, since (all Microsoft-loathing aside) it's a decent browser and it gets the job done without the hassle of installing another browser. However I have since fallen in love with FireFox, and would recommend this browser to everyone. It's fast, it's light-weight, and it's secure. Whereas I used to get 10's of new adware threats every week when I was still using Internet Explorer, this has now been reduced to zero according to Lavasoft AdAware. Another good browser is FireFox's bigger brother, Mozilla. It uses the same rendering engine as FireFox but is more mature and carries a lot more features such as mail, newsreader, IRC client, and more. As of version 7.x, Opera seems to have caught on with todays standards and is probably preferred on slower machines. MacOS 9 and earlierFirst of all, I suggest you upgrade to MacOS X if possible. If that's not an option, you have three browser options.
Browsers not to use are Opera (still only at 6.0 for the Mac), Netscape Communicator 4.7 or earlier, and the worst of them all: iCab (extremely fast, but that's because it can't do anything). MacOS XMy preference on this platform goes to the Konqueror-based Safari. It's fast, standards-friendly, and as we have come to expect from Apple software has some very nice features and little things that make it a bliss to work with. It has reached a very mature status now and I use no other. Other alternatives are Firefox, Camino, or if your machines is up to it Mozilla. The same comment on Netscape 7 in the MacOS 9 section applies here as well. While Internet Explorer 5.0 will work fine here as well, there really is no reason to use this bug- plagued software on MacOS X, what with all these wonderful alternatives. If you've got the cash, you can try OmniWeb. It now uses the Safari engine, and many users swear by its featureset and user-friendly interface. Linux/*BSDOn UNIX based platforms I still prefer Mozilla and Firebird. However you might prefer Konqueror on slower machines; while it has its little quirks, it is fast and will only improve now Apple is working on the engine thanks to its work on Safari. The Mozilla based gnome browser Galeon works nicely too. On x86 Linux (or maybe even *BSD with ELF binary support) you could also use Opera 7.1 or newer. It's fast, it seems standards-friendly (as of 7.x), but I must add I dislike the interface and the annoying banner. Other platformsMozilla is available on most platforms, including BeOS, Solaris, HPUX, OS/2, and many others. It may be a tad sluggish on some systems, but it does its job and it does it extremely well. My point?My point is that there is absolutely no reason to be using a sub-standard browser. There is choice enough on most platforms, and Mozilla is available on nearly every platform so you at least have that option. It is getting a real pain in the hind quarters for web developers to support al the various browsers, and this shouldn't be necessary. If people would just use standards-compliant browsers 70% of all the sorrows of most webmasters would be gone. The other browsers should either follow or cease their existence. I honestly can't be bothered with them anymore. Most people should be able to view this site properly and as intended with their browser. The few who can't, that's either your loss or mine.Evinyatar
Original release: May 20th, 2003. |