A few years back only two or three good browsers are there. So it is not a tedious task to find a better browser for you. But now things are changed. Big players came into the market and the browser war started. In the olden times most users used Internet Explorer(IE), like them I’m also a big addict of IE, later I found some interesting browsers like Netscape, Opera etc. Once I used opera, I loved it, a cool browser. In 2003–2004 the opera v7/7.5 are paid versions. So most people depend on the IE- the default browser in Windows. One thing that I hated it was it’s slow webpage load time, the attacks of malicious scripts. I noticed several times that some toolbars and malicious scripts are automatically installed on the browser, and showing unwanted messages or links. There are a lot of such scripts and toolbars are available for IE. The thing that opera attracted me so much is, the browser itself loads faster, load webpage easily.Block/unblock images with a click of a button, inbuilt download/transfer function, bookmarking feature etc. At that time I have only a 56Kbps internet connection. It is too slow, so IE takes too much time to load, so I decided to switch over to opera. I turned of the Images, then the webpage loads easily than earlier, once the webpage loading completed, I turned on the Image button to cached, and manually select the images that I need and right click to ‘Reload the Image’. So only the image that you need is only displayed (Still I use this function, and it is a boon for those people having a slower internet connection-Google chrome lacks the reload image option on right click).
The second thing that I noticed is tabbed browsing, I loved it, that is a good feature we can save a lot of time. Opera is pioneered in tabbed browsing concept. We can do multiple works at a time. Later I used Firefox, Flock Safari and finally chrome. In the meantime I checked a lot of experimental and other browsers, even I tested one software, which helps to make a browser- your own browser! In short, the three things which we are expected more from a browser-Speed, security, Page display, privacy, and additional functions.
Speed
For some users ‘Speed is the king’. For them I thought Safari and chrome-both use the WebKit engine- are the fastest, Opera is another option, it also loads pages fast. Firefox takes more time for a cold start than others, one can also use Speedy fox-which reduces the start time for Firefox.
Security
The most malicious virus enters the computer through a browser. So it is advisable to use a browser with good security options.
Privacy
Safekeeping your track on the internet like cookies, search entries and visited sites history are all important. A good browser has options to clear it easily after browsing or like a Private Browsing. The best thing that I found is in Firefox- Start Private browsing (ctrl+shift+P).
Page Display
The browser can easily display plug-in like Flash, Shockwave and silver light.
Additional Functions
Some browsers offer a lot of functions. For example- opera supports mouse control, password manager, integrated mail client, opera unite etc. You can add add-ons or extensions to your browser to improve its feature. In Firefox, you can use Scribefire add-on- a blog editor tool, the same is available for chrome also.
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Conclusion
The war is going on, so each new versions comes with new feature and facilities. The most innovative browser is opera- it introduced a new concept- opera unite. Most eye-catching browsers are Safari and Flock. Firefox appears to be the most balanced browser. It has a good number of add-ons, which keep it’s extensibility and functionality up. chrome is still at it’s starting phase, lacks a lot of features like Image reload option, Print preview etc. But I found that Gmail services appear to load faster in chrome than any other browsers. The new version of IE is far better than it’s predecessor, but studies showed, it weakens in the browsing market, people are not much interested in IE, most of them look for new browsers. New versions of these browsers will provide better browsing experience, security, and privacy. Wait and keep watching the war and don’t forget to upgrade with each new release to keep you safe in the online highway.
