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Browser War II

Entry 954, on 2009-02-27 at 21:02:00 (Rating 2, Computers)

Today I read a blog entry on ZDNet which briefly discussed whether the latest browser war - let's call it BWII because the original browser war (BWI) was won my Internet Explorer - is good for users. The conclusion seemed to be that it wasn't because its hard to choose, and maintaining multiple browsers is too difficult. But the blogger then said he preferred Firefox which is the major cause of the latest browser war, so I can't really make much sense out of that. Still, the standard of editorial comment at ZDNet isn't exactly the best!

Of course you will want to now what my opinion on the subject is and I will offer it here. One thing that most experts agree on is that the most widely used browser, Internet Explorer, is also the worst (at least its the worst of the common and popular browsers). It seems to me then that any challenge to that horrible product's dominance must be a good thing so that would mean that BWII is also a good thing.

Unlike most computer geeks I don't actually like Firefox that much. Sure, its a good browser, but I would only rank it third behind Safari and OmniWeb. Of course, I'm a Mac user so I'm not necessarily a good example of a typical user.

I also disagree that maintaining multiple browsers is too hard, but again I'm a Mac user so the issue isn't as critical to me. I don't have to worry about IE for example, except when I start up Parallels and run Windows (which I do very rarely) then I usually have a pile of updates to install. But that's just another cost of using Windows, isn't it?

I do use multiple browsers but they are assigned to specific tasks so there is minimal confusion. I use OmniWeb as my main browser because I like the extra functionality it has, especially the way tabs are displayed down the side of the window which makes having 30 different web sites open easy.

And for the last few days I have been using the Safari 4 beta as my programming browser. That is the browser I use for testing web sites and web databases I am creating. I use it for that because it has good standards compliance, it is the browser most of the users of my programs (Mac users) will probably be using, and it has good debugging tools built in. I use a lot of Javascript so the fast engine in Safari 4 is very welcome!

I do use IE occasionally to test if my sites work properly on what is still (regrettably) the most widely used browser in the world. But I shut it down again quickly after testing because it really is hideous! A PC user was using one of my databases and complaining it was slow. I knew it wasn't so I had a look at her computer and discovered she was using IE. I installed Safari instead and now the database is 10 times faster. Its also more reliable and looks better.

If it takes a browser war to remove IE from its position of dominance, to introduce some better browsers, and to move the whole web environment ahead I say: let the war begin!

Comment 1 (1896) by Bill on 2009-03-03 at 15:12:54:

One thing you haven't taken account of is the web sites that only work with Internet Explorer. You can rave on about Microsoft as much as you like but the fact is that IE is the only browser which can be used to work with certain sites. That's why many people take the sensible option and get a PC instead of a Mac. Its just about being practical.

Comment 2 (1898) by OJB on 2009-03-08 at 21:35:14:

Yeah sure, you're partly right anyway. Because Firefox has become popular on PCs web designers now have to make their sites work with other browsers too. Also, with IE 8 being such a disaster: it doesn't support standards well and it isn't backward compatible either - the worst of both worlds - I think the dominance of IE is over.

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