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Internet Browser Comparisons

One application you will use most often is a web browser. It used to be that there was no choice in the matter; as with all things, time has provided several choices. So what are the options and how do you decide? I would ask, well what do you want to do? However, chances are the answer for any Windows refugee is going to be something like: um..do stuff? No problem, I translated that for you into: Browser features to consider



Browser Features

Standard and not-so-standard features you might want to think about:

  1. Tab-browsing: the method by which you can see multiple windows tabbed into one, much like an address book has letter tabs. (How did we ever get by before the amazing tab?)

  2. Add-ons available? Add ons are little programs you can download to compliment your browser. Each add on performs a set task. Many Firefox users say they can't live without the FlashBlock Extension, which gives the user the ability to block out flash applications that play ads, videos and such.

  3. My own personal 'must have' feature on a browser is mouse gestures. This feature enables the user to move the mouse in a set manner in order to perform tasks. It is an amazing time and movement saver that I can't do without.

  4. Another feature to consider is a mail client. I like to read my mail from my browser. This can be done with extensions or as in one browser I have, there is a built in e-mail client. I prefer this to a separate email client so that I don't forget to check my mail (because I would otherwise)

  5. The inevitable issue of aesthetics. My browsers don't have to be pretty but I prefer dark themes. As long as I can get that, I am happy. I just like to change the looks of things often.

  6. Something else I have to consider is memory usage. I have a lightweight browser and one that is a memory hog. I use each for the purposes I like them for. However, if you prefer just one browser for everything under the sun, it is going to use more memory.

  7. Media: Are you a social networking junkie? MySpace and Photobucket are dear friends of yours? There are browsers for that too, so don't worry. There is a browser for all occasions!


    8. Let's talk Browsing!


Mozilla Firefox

Firefox Web Site

Firefox is the second most popularly used web browser. Many Windows Users prefer it over Internet Explorer..and rightly so. I first heard of Firefox by word of mouth, in 2002. I fell in love with the tabbed browsing at first use, of course and at the time, I enjoyed playing around with extensions, such as Foxy Tunes, a little add-on that allows you to control your media player right from the browser (definitely browser candy).

Of course, it has been 6 years since then and many things have changed. At one point, I had to stop using Firefox because it got a 'swelled head' for a while (it was a very big program there for a year or two) and some of the features came and went. For the most part, Firefox has relied on being safer and more secure than Internet Explorer and Tabbed Browsing.

Of course, most browsers can say they are more secure than IE and most use tabs as well. Firefox is still the choice of so many due to its versatility with add-ons. There are literally hundreds of choices for tweaks you can choose to customize your Firefox to do just about everything short of washing dishes.

Additionally, there are also hundreds of themes to customize the look of Firefox. The most recent version uses a lot less memory than the previous, which makes it a good choice as well. Bear in mind, however, that the more extensions you download, the more memory Firefox will use and the security level of Firefox has been less than stellar in recent years. All in all, Firefox is the second most used browser for a reason. It is good.

Opera

Opera Home Page

The Opera web browser is a discovery I made almost two years ago now, when my Firefox crashed. This was at a time (mentioned previously) where Firefox was in a less desirable state, with bloating and mild security issues. When I couldn't download a new copy of Firefox (I can't remember the reason now) I had to turn (VERY temporarily) to the old Internet Explorer 6 (I nearly cried) until I could download something (anything!) else.

I saw a little button that said Powered by Opera. Opera? What kind of stupid name is that? Of course, I could care less what it was called as long as it wasn't IE, so I downloaded it and tried it out. I was immediately amazed. First of all, I was on dialup, which is its own nightmare but Opera made it seem so much faster.

The tabs were there so I didn't have to give up anything there and the little trash button you can click on to retrieve accidentally closed tabs (no add on required) and the Amazing Mouse Gestures! (also a standard feature) I was hooked on that in less than an hour. Then there was a little bar that I put on the side, so at the click of a button (or a movement of a mouse) I could go from my favorites (bookmarks) to reading my email.

Opera has a built in email client, where you can get all your email from any email account you have from whoever! Reading and writing email, opening and closing tabs, scrolling between tabs, all with a little flick of the mouse (sighs happily). Also, it is very themeable like Firefox only you can preview the themes, then decide to keep them without having to restart the browser! Nice! Speed dial is a great feature too!

When there are no tabs, it goes to a blank page (or designed, depending on the theme) with nine squares that you can drag and drop pages into, making it like the speed dial of a phone. I don't have a lot of use for this but I hear it's quite popular. The Wand is a feature that holds passwords so that you can go to a page and click one button to log in with your info.

It is not extremely secure, so I don't recommend keeping log in info in it from websites such as banks or bill-paying. Opera's general security is very good though, often said as being better than Firefox. Opera also has widgets; these are like add ons but you can access them at a single click. They are like desklet applications on desktops.

About the only thing that I don't like about Opera is that it is a serious memory hog. This comes from keeping images and web info in a cache so they can be accessed quicker. The other thing that mildly irritates me is that Flash Player is spotty when using Opera with Linux. Flash applications tend to crash easily and freeze up the browser entirely.

All in all, a wonderful browser with a load of potential. If they can reduce memory usage in future versions, Firefox will have a major battle on its hands (er, tail).

Epiphany

Epiphany Home Page

Epiphany is the unofficial web browser of Gnome. Originally a descendant of Galeon, part of the Gecko engine family that Firefox hails from, Epiphany has begun to use WebKit engine and integrated it with Gnome. Epiphany has a few features that make it different from the rest of the pack (with the possible exception of Galeon of course).

For instance, the way Epiphany handles bookmarks is different from most browsers. It categorizes bookmarks so that one bookmark can appear in more than one category. It is rather like "tags" for bookmarks. Epiphany also uses tabbed browsing and mouse gestures, although these use the middle scroll wheel rather than the right click button.

It is designed to be integrated with Gnome, therefore it doesn't have themes, per se; it relies on the theme Gnome is currently using. It still has a nice look and there is a small list of Epiphany official extensions that come in a pack and you can merely check the ones you want to use.

There is also a page listing of third party extensions that you can choose from (wisely). All in all, Epiphany is easy to use, super-fast, yet still able to provide a very nice browsing experience. Epiphany is one of my favorite browsers, hands down.

Flock

Flock Web Site

I just recently got my hands on Flock 2.0 which is a beta. I decided to try this browser out because of the various social networking services that it attempts to integrate all into one place. First of all, Flock is from the Mozilla family so at the basic level, Flock works like Firefox.

Then the similarities go out the 'window' due to all the various features that Flock has. Flock is for the person who has 3 blogs on various blogging services, such as Facebook, Blogger and WordPress. Flock is for the person who has albums of photos on Photobucket and Flickr.

Flock is for the person who has to read the news, from several sources at the same time. All of the social networking elements are brought together in this one browser, which I have to say, I am having fun with it. In addition I have learned about services like Del.icio.us, which is a website that stores your bookmarks for you and helps you find other great sites by seeing bookmarks belonging to others, who you can talk to about common interests.

If not for Flock I never would have bothered checking this out, which is actually a service I can use, considering I have 3 web browsers full of bookmarks. Additionally, you can gather up all the contacts from sites you have scattered all over and bring them into one place. As the Flock grows, so too does the services list. MySpace is currently in the works.

Also, as Flock is part of the Firefox family, many Firefox extensions work with Flock, so the customizing fun of Firefox can be yours in Flock. I am currently testing the beta, so there are a few bugs that I expect will be worked out before the final release but I can say I am impressed with what I have so far..half the fun has been coordinating things and signing up with new serivces.

All in all, fun to use and helpful for those of us with friends, photos and our thoughts scattered to the 'four corners'. This is a browser to watch!

Galeon

Galeon at SourceForge (At the time of writing, this link is non-functional)

Most Linux distros come with Firefox these days. However, one drawback is that Firefox is a heavy browser. It requires a good deal of memory usage to function. So I decided to try Galeon. It is built with the Gecko engine common to the Mozilla family.

At first glance, it appears to be a "stripped down" Firefox. In several ways it is. The look and feel of Galeon is much the same as Firefox; however, the options are limited. One cannot, for instance, change the layout or theme.

Also missing are the extensions many 'foxers' can't live without. This can be both a pro and a con. On one hand that is great for the memory-impaired machine; on the other, it limits what can be done with it as far as everyday functionality.

The smart bookmarks are nice, relying on a 'tag' type set up for bookmarks rather than folder hierarchies, a feature Epiphany inherits. All in all, I wish I could say Galeon is a keeper. It could have been, but for the numerous (and random) crashes and deleting an unwanted bookmark had the effect of freezing my entire computer (something I haven't seen since my Windows days).

Dillo

Dillo Home Page

Dillo is a web browser that is frequently seen in the company of Linux distros meant for the memory-challenged computer or the legacy computer (seriously old).

Dillo is meant to be small and fast. It does not disappoint. There is one toolbar; it contains the navigation buttons, home, reload, file and tab menus with a handful of options and the url bar.

That's it. However, if resources are an issue or if you need a browser for specific tasks (for instance, using Dillo to navigate a famously slow or lagging website), then Dillo will get the job done. It may not be pretty but it is seriously fast!

All in all, I think this browser is highly useful and recommend it as a secondary browser, or a primary one on legacy systems.