Which is best - Firefox, IE or other?

http://www.freerepublic.com/ ^ | 2-3-10 | self

[Former MSM Viewer]

Im getting tired of the errors and such on my IE browser. I hear Firefox is good...

Any comments would be appreciated.

[ThePatriotsFlag]

Go to FireFox, it is excellent. I you are using Norton 360, you will lose your Norton Toolbar unless you install Firefox 3.0, not higher. They’ll fix it eventually, but just so you know. (Don’t flame me on the NORTON ... I like it, it works, and never has let me down).

[Cricket24]

I mostly use Firefox but have been having trouble with it freezing up lately....not sure what that’s about.

[Egon]

that is a WINDOWS Problem not Firefox

Far be it for me to defend Windows, but in this case, you're incorrect.

From a developer's percpective, memory usage/bloating/leaks are generally the application's fault, not the operating system. There are exceptions (if you're using an OS library that has issues, or some such) but those are rare.

To this particular instance: I have a dual-boot laptop that I use constantly (XP and Ubuntu Linux) and I have a Mac Mini that I use at home. FireFox is a memory hog on all three platforms.

[papasmurf]

Depends on how YOU define best.

I have become a FireFox advocate, but, YOU might love the OffByOne web browser.

I also advocate for Thunderbird email client, and the Lightning Calendar and Task plug in. YOU may like Outlook better.

[Egon]

I was looking at Linux, it was free, then not... where can I get it? Thanks

http://www.ubuntu.com/

Download it, burn it to a CD, boot from the CD and try it out. If you like it, you can install from the same CD.

[antisocial]

“At that time, I use the task manager to kill the process and restart.”

What is a task manager and how do I get one?

[Egon]

What is a task manager and how do I get one?

I have a Task Manager. I also refer to her as the Budget Committee.

[CedarDave]

not knowing anything about Firefox, am i to assume it is complete with all the necessary add-ons one would need to use?

There are literally hundreds of add ons for you to chose from. Everything from security enhancements (NoScript) to an online dictionary (not used too much by me as Firefox checks spelling as you type) to addons that make use of this forum and bb forums much easier (BBCode, BBcodeXtra). The latter two make posting URL's, images, italics, etc. as simple as a keystroke. But my advice is not to load up with too many as they could cause a problem interacting and maybe a crash.

[novemberslady]

I use both IE and Firefox.
Firefox seems faster most of the time.

I'm using Windows 7 right now, and would like to try Google Chrome.
Can anyone tell me if it's faster or crashes?

[CedarDave]

I’ve tried Firefox a couple times, and go back to IE because of those sites that are IE dependent and can’t run on Firefox. You can easily try Firefox and go back to IE if you don’t like it.

I use an addon called IE View which opens pages in IE through Firefox menus.

[CedarDave]

What is a task manager and how do I get one?

Under Windows (XP at least), you do Ctrl-Alt-Delete and it brings up all your running applications. You can use task manager to kill a frozen application instead of rebooting the entire computer.

[WestwardHo]

Thank you, I’ll give that a try!

(I use an addon called IE View which opens pages in IE through Firefox menus.)

[Tribune7]

I've used Firefox on my Mac for well over a year before very recently switching to Safari.

There are still some things I miss about Firefox but Safari is far more faster.

I would not have anything to do with IE even if I had a PC.

[wildbill]

I use Maxthon which is based on IE engine but is infinitely better and more customizable to your preferences. It never locks up and is quick.

I also use Opera which is very good and fast.

I tried Firefox but found it loaded up and slowed and was not as customizable on the features like tabs. But that was a couple of years ago so maybe that’s improved.

[RJS1950]

I’ve never found it to be any more integrated with the OS than any other browser. I teach IT subjects in the classroom and online at a small conservative university and use all of the browsers for one thing or another. I’ve found or am aware of no browser that does not have flaws, significant or otherwise and my colleagues who deal directly with operating systems and browsers also use all of the major browsers at one time or another. I primarily use IE and Firefox and have had no security problems with either. Keep up on the patches and updates and most problems are precluded.

[RobRoy]

I confess I use IE at work because it allows me to access my shared drives through the Sharepoint site. Firefox is not as integrated with the tools and is a real nuisance for that. I use Firefox for all my other web related activities at work though.

[KateUTWS]

I am using a beta of an add-on called Memory Fox that helps to release the memory. Seems to work fine. I have 3 tabs open and am using 38,000K.

[KateUTWS]

Available here:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/53880

[IDFbunny]

I like Chrome and prefer it over Firefox after I got used to the different layout.

[TomGuy]

Memory Fox

Downloaded and installed it. It does seem to handle the memory leaks.

Thanks. [Firefox should make something like that stardard on their next release.]