Web browsers

IMBA! I now have 4 freaking web browsers.

That's 2 too many. -_-

Of course, Internet Explorer was the default browser when we first bought the pc.

But over time, I got so fed up of the non-tabbed browsing and useless popup blocker. That's when Firefox came in. (Of course IE has improved since, but still. Trauma.)

Well, I thought Firefox was the bomb. XD

Compared to IE, it's definitely a godsend.

Close to 0 popups, more speed, tabbed browsing and not to mention it doesn't screw up my html back in the days of my primitive frankenstein coding.

(Meaning I get bits and pieces of coding from here and there and modify it to my liking. Of course now as an IT student I pretty much don't stick CSS and html together anymore and screw the whole page up. Lol.)

However, ever since Firefox recently updated, I was very dulan with the whole thing.

1. I didn't like the new appearance.

2. It was somehow SO FREAKING SLOW.

My whole comp lags just to open FF.

Wtf.

And one day later, my sister excitedly told me to download Google Chrome.

So I did.

And wow, I'm impressed.

It's really fast, and the appearance has started to grow on me - I really like the clean look.

No title or status bar or unnecessary text. Just basic icons.

And also, I can search google directly in the address bar - I don't need a seperate google toolbar anymore. (:

I told Sherman about Chrome and he said he uses Safari.

I didn't know Windows could support Safari. o.O

So I was curious and donwloaded it for fun. I like some parts of it but I still prefer Chrome.

Heh heh.

I shall now rate each one individually according to factors that I deem important. :D

Internet Explorer

(old version, didn't bother to update)

Speed: Don't know, don't care

Appearance: Cluttered, too many buttons on the taskbar

Features: Didn't update, so I can't say anything =X

Pros: Html is easier to code than in Firefox. I no longer have this problem though. (:

Cons: Lots of ads and pop ups and is generally ugly

Conclusion: Abandon this! XD Go for another browser.

Mozilla Firefox

Speed: Horrible, since the most recent update, used to be alright. Chrome is still faster either way, though.

Appearance: So-so. Relatively clean. Preferred how it looked before the update.

Features: Tabbed browsing, RSS feeds (live updates to make keeping up with blogs easier)

Pros: Supports Greasemonkey! (I use one of the scripts to put emoticons in blog posts)

Cons: Laggy. The whole window hanged twice even as I blogged this. (Just switched to Chrome to continue.)

Conclusion: Good, but could definitely improve on speed. Don't really like the appearance too. I'm keeping this as my blogging browser as font coding in blogger and greasemonkey is not supported in Chrome.

Google Chrome

Speed: Miraculously fast after experiencing the FF lag

Appearance: Didn't like it at first, but I do now! Very clutter-free. Doesn't have unnecessary stuff like the title bar and the status bar only appears when a page is loading.

Features: Can search in address bar, new tab shows recently/most visited pages and bookmars,

Pros: Intuitive, organized search in the address bar, user-friendly - I got used to it within a matter of minutes, fast speed

Cons: Doesn't support greasemonkey, doesn't support RSS. However, if you have a blogger account you can still keep track of updates easily using the 'Follow Blogs' function. (:

Conclusion: My favourite browser so far, I hope they come out with more skins though. Get this if you're not a compulsive blogger/blog reader. (:

Apple Safari

Speed: Fast, but Chrome is still faster for me

Appearance: I normally like Apple stuff, but this is just too boring for me. Especially after seeing the same layout when I open my iTunes everyday. -_- However, I like the way the page load status is shown in the address bar - it colours in as it loads.

Features: Tabbed browsing, RSS feeds, IMBA bookmark organiser!

Pros: Fast, very organised and clutter-free

Cons: Doesn't support greasemonkey, I'm still a bit confused with the features, but can't seem to find out how to put the Home and New Tab icon on my task bar. I know there are keyboard shortcuts for these but I prefer clicking.

Conclusion: It's alright, but most of what I can get here, I can get on Chrome too. (: Except the lovely bookmark organiser. T_T Well, Chrome is still new - they can always create this feature in later version. :P

So, I'm now using Chrome as my default browser, but I use Firefox to blog.

Hehe. I highly recommend Chrome. It's nice to use if you're not a blogger. Otherwise stick with Firefox or maybe Safari - haven't really explored it yet but I've already taken a dislike to it.

It looks so silver and metallic and cold.

So. Boring.

*yawn*

Okay. I told Ling that this post was going to be short, but I get carried away as usual.

=_= Good night.