IE7 vs Firefox vs Opera..........

[Xploda]

Just a question about what is the most stable and secure browser out there at the moment? I hve been using FF for ages but lately I've found it buggy and it crashes multiple times during the day. I only have one add on installed which is the PDF viewer.
I don't use IE7 that much at all, it looks nice and works but I'm a little concerned about how secure it is.
I downloaded Opera this morning and must say that I'm really happy with it, it is fast and has some cute little functions like Speed Dial.
Any thoughts about which is better or does it come down to personal preference?

 

[JonathonWally]

Mosaic

 

[Marc]

Xploda said:
Just a question about what is the most stable and secure browser out there at the moment? I hve been using FF for ages but lately I've found it buggy and it crashes multiple times during the day. I only have one add on installed which is the PDF viewer.
I don't use IE7 that much at all, it looks nice and works but I'm a little concerned about how secure it is.
I downloaded Opera this morning and must say that I'm really happy with it, it is fast and has some cute little functions like Speed Dial.
Any thoughts about which is better or does it come down to personal preference?

Opera is reguard as the most standards compliant brower (around 90%) while IE is the least of the three (well v6 was at around 55%).

Problem is that quite a few websites for institutions like banks have been written so suit Microsoft's interpreation of the standards. The result is you can have problems accessing them with Firefox (which I don't have any problems with) or Opera.

Opera does a good job of emulating IE so you can use it in situations where Firefox can't access a site (I have a client that has issues with IE on the Australian Taxation Office website with Firefox (doesn't work with Firefox) and IE (somewhere along the lines a Java update has fracked things up) so she uses Opera which works well.

 

[JonathonWally]

Marc said:


Opera is reguard as the most standards compliant brower (around 90%) while IE is the least of the three (well v6 was at around 55%).

You mean Acid2?

 

[Marc]

JonathonWally said:

Marc said:


Opera is reguard as the most standards compliant brower (around 90%) while IE is the least of the three (well v6 was at around 55%).

You mean Acid2?

No it wasn't acid2. It was passed on the HTML standards as layed out by the W3 consortium. It was article on slashdot about 12 months ago.

 

[BCI]

Opera certainly diplays Acid correctly, and has done so for several versions.

 

[Avengers Unlimited]

Just out of curiosity, I tried the Acid test in Safari and it worked.

I've been using Opera as my default browser for years and it's never let me down. Like Marc said, some sites written for IE won't work, but with Opera you can "mask" or "identify" Opera to look like IE and those sites will work.

Security and pop-up blocking is on par with Firefox, so Opera is my recommendation.

 

[JonathonWally]

BCI said:
Opera certainly diplays Acid correctly, and has done so for several versions.

Yes, hence why I asked if he was refering to the Acid2 test

 

[BCI]

I use it because it adapts easily to my wishes. I've changed keys so "r" is a page reload, I've changed the menus so the right mouse button shows all open pages. Quick access to all important functions, I like that.

 

[trowa0300]

Long time Opera user here. Began using it intermittantly with version 5 and exclusively since version 7. The things I love best about Opera are the small memory footprint, the speed at which it loads pages, the mouse gestures, and the fact that I get all the capabilities that are touted in firefox in a single package without having to go looking for plugins.

 

[Xploda]

Ok, Opera wins. The past couple of days have convinced me as have the replies.
Thanks guys.

 

[Charlie Kelly]

It all depends on the type of user you are. If you’re someone who wants no fuss and doesn't want to use any advanced features then IE7 is the best choice. IE7 has much improved security over previous versions and now includes tabbed browsing and as IE is the most used browser by far, all web sites are expected to work with it.

However if you are a power user you may want to use the more advanced features of the other browsers.

Charlie

 

[TimelessTrek]

I used to be a die-hard IE fan who resisted Firefox like crazy. Then, after using it for awhile and getting used to the tabs, I had a hard time going back to IE6. Then, when IE7 came out I thought I'd ditch FF forever. At first, I really liked the new UI.

But now that I've used it for awhile I will tell you that I simply like FF better overall. I always feel safer using it and I kinda like that it doesn't have Microsoft's touch anywhere on it.

Personal preference on the security issue, I suppose (never had problems w/ either) but from a useability standpoint, Firefox just seems to be more efficient and reliable.

 

[Canadave]

Just for the record, you can download IE Tab for Firefox, so if you ever run into compatibility issues you can just render a tab in IE. Works like a charm.

 

[TimelessTrek]

Coding a very simple site tonight and discovered IE7 apparently can't handle anchor tags properly or consistently where Firefox has no problem.

Instead of wasting time trying to find some assinine unknown solution, I just created a "Best Viewed With Firefox" graphic and stuck it at the bottom of the pages

 

[BCI]

TimelessTrek said:
Instead of wasting time trying to find some assinine unknown solution, I just created a "Best Viewed With Firefox" graphic and stuck it at the bottom of the pages

Not good. You have to make a page that works with all browers equally. Keep the HTML and CSS simple, and use the HTML validator to check for errors. Things that work in one browser only must be avoided.

 

[Deleted 2]

Or just use tables for layout. They're well and consistently supported amongst virtually all browsers released after 1996, and with a little effort, it's easy to make them readable for blind internet users as well (hint: don't use vertical columns for text and sidebars).

The best thing about CSS is that you're under no obligation to use it.

 

[Cicero]

BCI said:

TimelessTrek said:
Instead of wasting time trying to find some assinine unknown solution, I just created a "Best Viewed With Firefox" graphic and stuck it at the bottom of the pages

Not good. You have to make a page that works with all browers equally. Keep the HTML and CSS simple, and use the HTML validator to check for errors. Things that work in one browser only must be avoided.

No, you don't. I really don't care whether IE users can view a web page properly in Microsoft's browser, and would feel no compunction in checking a page against only Firefox, Netscape, Opera, and Safari. If Microsoft can't be bothered to comply with standards, then I'll not worry about anyone who can't be bothered to not use their browser.

 

[Deleted 2]

^ Whether IE does not conform to the standards is debatable. IE obviously conforms very well to some w3c standards. Just like all the other browsers. There is no browser that conforms to all w3c standards, or that correctly supports all the w3c standards it claims to support.

You can also debate the quality of the standards. For years, they were highly ambiguous, and there was no reference implementation. Their behaviour is often non-obvious; Note how many sites about web design speak about "CSS Hacks" or "CSS Tricks"--the language often needs to be coaxed into doing what the developer wants.

What it boils down to is that it's trivially possible to make a standards-compliant website that's easily readable in all browsers. As long as you stick to certain standards.

 

[BCI]

You cannot make a page that is 100% according to standards. The way a GoogleVideo is embedded on a page by their code is marked as invalid by the W3C-validator. But - consciously excluding or crapping on parts of your target audience is stupid. The web is for all, not just those using the correct program. I test with Opera, K-Meleon, IE version 6, and occasionally, Lynx32.

And had I not convinced my father in buying a Mac, I would have never become aware of a big problem my page had with these things. Testing with as many browsers as possible is really the key. Just as you have to play music on many different speakers and players to perfect the mix.