Best Web Browser?

As a budding 'surfer' (back in the days when surfing the web still seemed mysterious and vaguely appropriate), I never took to Internet Explorer. I think it was because every time I opened a link in a new window it always managed to position it somewhere annoying on the monitor. Then again, maybe I just preferred the Netscape Communicator loading button. Either way, from the beginning I was a fan of using programs that didn't come with Windows, and it's a trend that I've followed to this very day.

It's not that I enjoy jumping on (or off) the Microsoft bandwagon - they're too easy to hate and it's even easier to forget that Windows has provided most of us with the majority of our computing experiences to date. It's just that if there are features in parts of Windows that annoy me, I turn them off, or find ways to do what I want without being driven into a blind, keyboard ruining rage... damn you, Office Assistant Paperclip!!!

Of course, Netscape is now defunct (though I still amuse myself with a Netscape skin now and then), and at any rate, if I shove nostalgia to one side and let honesty step in, I stopped using it years ago. There is, to my mind, a very obvious replacement, but there are quite a few browsers out there vying for a bigger share of the market. As far as the number of users is concerned, Internet Explorer is and will no doubt remain the King for a long time, but what genuine alternatives are there?

Mozilla Firefox

In my opinion, nothing will beat Firefox. They can rip off ideas but they'll never take its crown.

Recently in the headlines for setting the Guinness World Record for the most downloaded software in a day, Firefox does what I want it to do without irritating me about it. It introduced me to the idea of tabbed browsing, it's fast, it lets me choose if I want to view content or not and it has a large community making the applications I want. The idea behind Firefox was to create a stripped down browser that users could add what they liked to it, and for that alone it beat Internet Explorer hands down. I've never been able to look back since I discovered tabbed browsing. In short, it's great, and it saddens me that it still only has a market share approaching 20%. Looked at in another light, however, when you consider that the vast, vast majority of PC's come with Internet Explorer installed as standard, this is quite a feat, and one that will no doubt impress further as Firefox 3 gains momentum.

The jury is still out somewhat for Firefox 3 - it looks better than Firefox 2, I like the big back button and the new browsing options. But it just doesn't feel different enough, and I've come across a few irritating styling issues with it that didn't crop up with v2. Still, I'll be used to it before long, and a few small glitches here and there are to be expected with any new release.

Opera

Opera is a very close contender to Firefox in my mind. Maybe Firefox 3 will lose out to it in the long run, but I just can't get my head around the position of the home button in the browser (mainly because I don't trust the Google toolbar , and I never will) - it's not mixed in with the back, forward and refresh buttons. I like a very minimalist browser, and Opera isn't set up to have that one button where I want it. Small annoyance, I know, but there you are.

That said, I love Opera's style, it seems very quick, I appreciate the ease of installing new apps (doesn't require restarts), and I think the speed dial is a marvellous thing, a far better way of using bookmarks. I like the little page previews that pop out of the tabs and for some reason I like the name. The ability to set up automated page refreshing is nice, too - it's uncluttered, modern, and I like it, a lot. Home button! Why!

Maxthon

Maxthon is a free browser that is based on Internet Explorer. That is, it effectively runs a heavily modified version of it. And by heavily modified, I mean a lot, lot better.

Maxthon is quite close to Opera in many ways. Like Opera (and Firefox 3) you can use mouse gestures to perform simple tasks, but unlike both of them, Maxthon draws your gesture on the screen and this makes it a lot easier to work out what you're doing. It is full of little innovations that I like - for instance, if you highlight some text and then drag and drop it anywhere on the page, Maxthon 'Google's' it immediately. You can rearrange the toolbars and buttons with a drag and drop as well, and it has a nice, clean look and a decent speed. Sadly, it seems a lot of the community behind Maxthon is based in Asia, and so for that reason alone it comes behind Opera - just. For now!

Flock

Just as Maxthon is based on Internet Explorer, Flock is based on Firefox. The browser itself seems to be overly graphical to me, so I find it annoying, but Flock is a bit different to most web browsers. A self-styled 'Social Web Browser', Flock is designed for those who just can't get enough Facebook, Blogger and YouTube in their lives.

And this is where Flock comes in to its own. A special sidebar displays all the latest social network updates once you've logged in to your accounts, and it enables you to upload large amounts of photos and videos to sites. It also lets you drag and drop text, links etc to your pages, and has a built in Blog editor (drag and drop again!).

So, for me, it's a bit over the top - but if your primary use for the Internet is blogging or hanging around on a social network, Flock is a browser you should definitely consider. The potential is quite astounding.

Internet Explorer

Love it or hate it, Internet Explorer is still the King, Queen and Jack of Web Browsers. I hate it less with each successive version, but the fact that every single browsing experience feels like a chore doesn't go away. I use it for Windows Update (grr) and irritating forays into Hotmail that require me to paste links into a better browser. And by the time they fix it I'll still be using something else - even the tabs idea is badly implemented. I'd rather use Safari.

Safari

No I wouldn't. My Safari experience: I want to install Safari. No, Safari, not QuickTime. I don't use QuickTime if I can help it, go away. No, I don't want to install iTunes. I don't have an iPod. And I don't want to install iTunes and QuickTime. No. Yes. I want to install Safari. Thank you. That was quick, ah, good. Do I want to search for updates. Okay, why not. Oh. Do I want to install QuickTime or iTunes.

Close. Uninstall. Last place.

So. All round I can't recommend any web browser as much as Firefox. I'm interested by Maxthon, and like to dabble with Opera, and I think the idea behind Flock is excellent (it's also based on Firefox, so I like it a little bit more). Though it will always be a case of horses for courses - some people actually prefer Safari...

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1324265

Advantage Of Ace Explorer v2.0

Surf the Web Faster! This browser was built for speed. You will get less  crashes and lockups with this browser. World class engineering and design - this browser is the best on the planet! Rock solid performance - includes memory enhancer that outperforms all other browsers in it´s class. Best of all it is 100% Free - No Adware, No Popups, No Spyware - just one great browser for you to enjoy!

Here are some of the advanced features of Ace Explorer:

    * Super fast browsing architecture!
    * Built-in Popup Killer based on intelligent identification
    * Ability to turn on/off Flash Animation
    * Access to major search engines with Quick-Search Bar
    * Integration with online translation engine and dictionaries
    * Site Group: Open and save a collection of sites as a group
    * ScriptPad: Built-in VBScript/Jscript/HTML/Text editor
    * You can change the Skins to your color preference
    * Rock solid performance over all other browsers

Source: http://www.download3k.com/Internet/Browsers/Download-Enigma-Browser.html

How to Have a Safer Internet Explorer

Internet users all over the world could already be in billions. Even after so many years had gone by, people are still fascinated on using the Internet because it is provides both knowledge and entertainment. These days, you can find almost anything you need and want to know from the Internet: stores that offer rare merchandise, articles with useful information, news from different countries, and whereabouts of friends and relatives.

However, along with these goodies that you get from the Internet, a bunch harmful data also lurk in all corners, always waiting for the right moment to attack. These are codes, files, or scripts that are created for various purposes: steal your secret passwords, shoot you with irritating advertisement; and worse, take over and control your computer.

You can eliminate these threats through these 2 simple steps:

1. Update the version of Internet Explorer you use to version 7. Or if your browser is the Internet Explorer, get one now. It is very easy to set up. You can find a free download from the Microsoft's website. After installation, you may need to reboot your computer.

2. The first time you run the Internet Explorer 7, a small window will appear with an option to turn on the anti-phishing filter. Click this feature's button and click "ok". Your browsing experience will be safer from now on.

Now that you have an updated version of Internet Explorer

With Internet Explorer 7, you'll experience tab browsing. You don't need to open separate windows anymore. Just add a new tab for each website you visit.

The Internet Explorer 7 is designed with an advanced technology of anti-phising and other additional security features. This browser guards your computer and automatically blocks any suspicious websites.

How does the anti-phishing feature provide security and safety to your browser? A new feature has been added to Internet Explorer 7 to enhance the shield of your browser regarding the SSL certificates. This is simply illustrated like this: if the background is green, the website you're visiting has a valid SSL certificate; but if the background is red, the SSL certificate is illegitimate and most probably a phishing site. The moment you see a red background, leave that site at once.

Every time you surf the Internet, always check the background color of the url. By making sure that it is always colored green before you browse a website, you will be securing your machine from getting infected with Trojan.

Your Internet Explorer can remain safe with regular updates. Check the Microsoft website for the latest version of the Internet Explorer. Your computers operating system will always be safe if you're responsible enough to provide the utmost protection that a secured Internet Explorer can provide.

Source: http://goo.gl/cTkQv

Why it is Time to Upgrade From Internet Explorer 6

Yet another major site, this time Google, has announced that they are no longer going to support Internet Explorer version 6 for the services on their site like Google Docs and others. The reason is because there are major security flaws in the browser that can lead to attacks on the server which Google does not want to deal with any longer. If you are using Internet Explorer 6, it is time to upgrade to a newer version.

Not only are there issues for servers that you visit with this browser, you are extremely vulnerable using this old browser. There are security holes in it that version 7 and version 8 have long since fixed. If you are using Internet Explorer, or any other browser, make sure that you have updated it. If not, you are just asking to be taken advantage of. When Microsoft drops support of older versions of the browser, you will never get security updates ever again.

Many people may be unaware of the issues that browsers have since it is something they have always used. The thought is that at one point you were safe, so what is the point of upgrading? People who make malicious files like viruses and spyware look for holes in your browser. While it might have been safe at one point in time, once the holes are found, the browser is no longer safe.

If you want to avoid extra spyware issues on your machine, do your best to keep your browser updated as well as updating things like your Flash plugin which can leave a browser vulnerable as well. It will take two minutes to help a wide variety of the servers you visit to not have to be open to problems that are caused by your extremely old browser.

An alternative is to also consider getting a different browser than Internet Explorer. There are other popular browsers like Firefox, Opera, and Chrome to consider.

Source: http://goo.gl/NFaPl

The Battle of The Browsers - The History and The Future of Internet Browsers

With Internet Explorer 8 now available, can Microsoft hope to retain market dominance over fierce open source rivals such as Mozilla's Firefox or the feature packed Opera web browser? Can history give us a clue to what the future of web browsers/browsing might hold? How did Netscape Navigator go from having a dominant 89.36% market share of all web browsers in 1996 and yet only 3.76% by mid 1999.

Let us take a journey that will begin long before even the intellectual conception of Internet Explorer, that will glance at its long defeated rivals, examine the current browsers available and will end with a prediction of what the future of browsing will offer us - and which browser(s) will still be around to offer it.

People often think that Internet Explorer has been the dominant web browser since the golden age of the internet began. Well for a very long time now it has indeed been the most popular browser and at times been almost totally unrivalled. This was mainly a result of it being packaged free with Microsoft Windows, in what some would later call a brutal monopolisation attempt by Microsoft. The last few years however have heralded the arrival of new, possibly superior browsers. Mozilla's Firefox has been particularly successful at chipping away at Explorers market dominance. So where did it all begin, and why were Microsoft ever allowed to have a hundred percent market dominance?

Origins

The truth is they never did have total dominance, but at times they have come very close. Microsoft actually entered the Browser Battle quite late on. Infact a man named Neil Larson is credited to be one of the originators of internet browsers, when in 1977 he created a program - The TRS-80 - that allowed browsing between "sites" via hypertext jumps. This was a DOS program and the basis of much to come. Slowly other browsers powered by DOS and inspired by the TRS 80 were developed. Unfortunately they were often constricted by the limitations of the still fairly young internet itself.

In 1988, Peter Scott and Earle Fogel created a simple, fast browser called Hytelnet, which by 1990 offered users instant logon and access to the online catalogues of over five thousand libraries around the world - an exhilarating taste of what the internet, and web browsers, would soon be able to offer.

In 1989 the original World Wide Web was born. Using a NeXTcube computer, Tim Berners-Lee created a web browser that would change how people used the internet forever. He called his browser the WorldWideWeb(WWW), which is still likely to sound familiar to internet users today. It was a windowed browser capable of displaying simple style sheet, capable of editing sites and able to download and open any file type supported by the NeXTcube.

In 1993 the first popular graphical browser was released. Its name was Mosaic and it was created by Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina. Mosaic could be run on both Unix, and very importantly, on the highly popular Microsoft Windows operating system (incidentally it could also be used on Amiga and Apple computers). It was the first browser on Windows that could display graphics/pictures on a page where there was also textual content. It is often cited as being responsible for triggering the internet boom due to it making the internet bearable for the masses. (It should be noted that the web browser Cello was the first browser to be used on Windows - but it was non graphical and made very little impact compared to Mosaic).

The Browser Wars - Netscape Navigator versus Internet Explorer

Mosaic's decline began almost as soon as Netscape Navigator was released (1994). Netscape Navigator was a browser created by Marc Andreessen, one of the men behind Mosaic and co-founder of Netscape Communications Corporation. Netscape was unrivalled in terms of features and usability at the time. For example, one major change from previous browsers was that it allowed surfers to see parts of a website before the whole site was downloaded. This meant that people did not have to wait for minutes simply to see if the site they were loading was the actual one the were after, whilst also allowing them to read information on the site as the rest of it downloaded. By 1996 Netscape had almost 90% market dominance, as shown below.

Market Share Comparisons of Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer from 1996 to 1998

Netscape IE

October 1998 64% 32.2%

April 1998 70% 22.7%

October 1997 59.67% 15.13%

April 1997 81.13% 12.13%

October 1996 80.45% 12.18%

April 1996 89.36% 3.76%

In these two years Netscape clearly dominated the internet browser market, but a new browser named Internet Explorer was quickly gaining ground on it.

Microsoft released their own browser (ironically based on the earlier Mosaic browser which was created by one of the men now running Netscape), clearly worried about Netscape's dominance. It was not so much the worry that it would have a 100% market share of internet browsers on their Windows operating system, but more the worry that browsers would soon be capable of running all types programs on them. That would mean foregoing the need for an actual operating system, or at the most only a very basic one would be needed. This in turn would mean Netscape would soon be able to dictate terms to Microsoft, and Microsoft were not going to let that happen easily. Thus in August 1995, Internet Explorer was released.

By 1999 Internet explorer had captured an 89.03% market share, whilst Netscape was down to 10.47%. How could Internet Explorer make this much ground in just two years? Well this was down to two things really. The first, and by far the most important was that Microsoft bundled Internet Explorer in with every new copy of Windows, and as Windows was used by about 90% of the computer using population it clearly gave them a huge advantage. Internet Explorer had one other ace it held over Netscape - it was much better. Netscape Navigator was stagnant and had been for some time. The only new features it ever seemed to introduce were often perceived by the public as beneficial for Netscape's parent company rather than Netscape's user base. (i.e., features that would help it monopolise the market). Explorer, on the other hand, was given much attention by Microsoft. Regular updates and excellent usability plus a hundred million dollar investment would prove too much for Netscape Explorer.

2000 - 2005

These years were fairly quiet in the Battle of the Browsers. It seemed as if Internet Explorer had won the war and that nobody could even hope to compete with it. In 2002/2003 it had attained about 95% of the market share - about the time of IE 5/6. With over 1000 people working on it and millions of dollars being poured in, few people had the resources to compete. Then again, who wanted to compete? It was clearly a volatile market, and besides that everybody was content with Internet Explorer. Or were they? Some people saw faults with IE - security issues, incompatibility issues or simply bad programming. Not only that, it was being shoved down peoples throats. There was almost no competition to keep it in line or to turn to as an alternative. Something had to change. The only people with the ability and the power to compete with Microsoft took matters into their own hands.

Netscape was now supported by AOL. A few years prior, just after they had lost the Browser Wars to Microsoft, they had released the coding for Netscape into the public domain. This meant anybody could develop their own browser using the Netscape skeleton. And people did. Epiphany, Galeon and Camino, amongst others, were born out of Netscape's ashes. However the two most popular newcomers were called Mozilla and Firefox.

Mozilla was originally an open sourced project aimed to improve the Netscape browser. Eventually it was released as Netscape Navigator 7 and then 8. Later it was released as Mozilla 1.0.

Mozilla was almost an early version on another open source browser, Firefox. With it being an open source the public were able to contribute to it - adding in what features it needed, the programming it required and the support it deserved. The problems people saw in Internet Explorer were being fixed by members of the open sourced browser community via Firefox. For instance, the many security issues IE 6 had were almost entirely fixed in the very first release of Firefox. Microsoft had another fight on their hands.

2005 - Present

Firefox was the browser that grew and grew in these years. Every year capturing an even larger market share percentage than before. More user friendly than most of its rivals along with high security levels and arguably more intelligent programming helped its popularity. With such a large programming community behind it, updates have always been regular and add on programs/features are often released. It prides itself on being the peoples browser. It currently has a 28.38% market share.

Apple computers have had their own browser since the mid 1990's - Safari - complete with its own problems, such as (until recently) the inability to run Java scripts. However most Apple users seemed happy with it and a version capable of running on Windows has been released. It has had no major competitor on Apple Macs, and as such has largely been out of the Browser Wars. It currently holds a 2.54% market share and is slowly increasing.

Internet Explorer's market share has dropped from over 90% to around 75%, and is falling. It will be interesting to see what Microsoft will attempt to regain such a high market share.

Opera currently holds 1.07%.

Mozilla itself only has a 0.6% market share these days.

The Future of Web Browsing

Web browsers come and go. It is the nature of technology (if such a term can be used), to supplant inferior software in very short periods of time. It is almost impossible for a single company to stay ahead of the competition for long. Microsoft have the advantage of being able to release IE with any Windows using PC. That covers over 90% of the market. They also have the advantage of unprecedented resources. They can compete how they wish for as long as they wish. So there is no counting IE out of the future of web browsing.

Safari is in a similar position, being easily the most popular Mac web browser. Its long term survival is dependant upon Apple and the sale of their computers.

These are the only two browsers that are almost guaranteed another five years of life, at least. Firefox may seem like another candidate, but the public is fickle, and one bad release, or if it seriously lags behind the new Internet Explorer 8 for long, could easily see its popularity quickly descend into virtual oblivion.

However, it seems likely community driven browsers, such as Mozilla and Firefox, will be the only types of browser capable of competing with the wealthy internet arm of Microsoft in the near future.

As for web browsing itself, will it change any time soon? Well it already has for some online communities. For example, if you want to buy clothes you could try entering an online 'world' creating an online virtual You to go from 'shop to shop' with, looking at products and trying/buying what you see. Some 'worlds' allow you to recreate yourself accurately including weight and height and then try on things apparel such as jeans to give you an idea of how you would look in that particular item.

Will 'worlds' like this destroy normal web browsers such as IE ? - It seems unlikely. Traditional web browsers provide such freedom and ease of access that it is hard to see any other alternative taking over. However they are part of the new, 'thinking out of the box' wave of alternatives that some people will find attractive, and really who knows what the future will bring.

Source: http://goo.gl/nt5Vw

The Top Things You Should do Before Calling Technical Support

How many times have you called a friend or technical support to solve a computer problem? Have you had problems describing your problem? Have you just told a tech person – It does not work without giving them anything else? Everyday some of my customers say that an application does not work, or their monitor was not on, or their printer did not print. Many of these were operator trouble. The top ten things listed below will benefit you and the person supporting you.

1. Reboot (turn off your computer and turn it back on) your computer. Sometimes computers get confused and it tries to do something that resulted in an error. If you restarted the computer and the error does not come back you just saved yourself a phone call.

2. Gather some information about your computer before calling for help. What operating system, how much memory, what applications were open, what was the exact error message, and what were you trying to do.

3. If the problem is with one of the hardware components of your computer, is it turned on? If it is your printer is the ready, online light on? Is there a light on the monitor? Did the keyboard come unattached while cleaning? Check all cables, making sure they are in the right slot and fit snug.

4. Is the error message reproducible? Every time you do “x”, “y” happens.

5. Are you calling because you forgot your password? Forgetting password is up to 34% of all support calls. Remember your password. Use a program on your computer to remember your password and keep it safe.

6. Check the vendor’s site and type in the error message. Many times the problem was reported before and the vendor’s site might have the answer.

7. Did you run anti-virus and spyware removal software to see if anything malicious was installed?

8. Run disk cleanup and defrag your hard drive. This can also lead to problems.

9. Go into Internet Explorer and delete the Internet temp files and history files. This can lead to problems, even though Internet Explorer might not be the problem.

10. If the problem is connecting to the cable or DSL modem, restart the modem and the computer it is attached to. If you also have a router you should restart that as well. There might have been noise on the line, or a fluctuation in signal or electric. Restarting all components may solve the problem.

Source: http://goo.gl/Q00t4

What is the Best Browser For Surfing the Internet ?

Now that Internet Explorer is no longer the default browser on the Windows operating system, it maybe time to have a look at using another browser to surf the internet.

A browser is a program that enables you to view pages on the World Wide Web. You're using a browser now to read this article. And if you didn't know you're using a browser, I expect you're using the Internet Explorer browser! (It's the little 'e' symbol you click when you want to search for something.)

Ok, so why would I want to change my browser?

Well, all browsers have one common purpose and that is to enable you to view web pages. However, they all have pros and cons. The main disadvantage for Internet explorer is speed. It can take forever to open and a long time to open web pages. If this is causing you frustration - it's time to look at installing a new browser.

There are a lot of browsers out there. Below I've selected the main (best?) five and reviewed each. This is my personal opinion and you may find that what works for me, doesn't work for you. Personally, I like things to be simple to use and fast and not ask me stupid questions constantly or interrupt telling me about processes I have no interest in. I'm a pretty irritable person!

The five I have selected are: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera.

Internet Explorer - Still the most popular browser on the net but why?

While IE8 is no doubt a far superior browser to it's predecessors, it's still a very average browser, IMHO. Yes, it has a new navigation bar. Yes, it's better designed. Yes, it has tabbed browsing and so I'm informed it's much better with plug-ins and security. But, I don't care. It's so slow, I've had time for a wash and change by the time it's booted up. For this reason alone, I only use it when I absolutely have to. E.g. to check what a site I have designed looks like for most of the web population.

Firefox - Don't believe the hype

Firefox has been growing in popularity for some time. I have been using it for several years. And I can tell you that it is definitely the best browser for customising your web experience. There are thousands of plug-ins and add-ons allowing you to run split screen browsing, dedicated applications for social networking, language translation and to change the background colours of the browser. And do you know what? I don't care about that either.

Personally, I want to get onto the internet as soon as possible. If I want to check my Facebook page I'll log on. Ditto Twitter. In fact, I have these applications on my iPhone. So, I let them update me on that. My computer - I just want to get on and do some work as quickly as possible.

And here is the main problem with Firefox. While it used to be a pretty cool, fast browser, it's now bloated and slow. From my experience it's no quicker that Internet Explorer. And that's a cardinal sin for a browser.

Source:http://goo.gl/iP5U0