Dcontrol
06/Mar/09, 01:21 PM
As you all know there are many different web browsers out there and we all have a preference to which one we prefer, so here's a list of a few others that you can try out if you wish to do so. You never know you may like them more than your current web browser.
Firefox 3 (http://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox-3.0.7&os=win&lang=en-GB) - Firefox 3.0 now starts up much faster than 2.0, handles memory better, and is the first official release of a Mozilla browser to pass the Acid 2 (http://www.webstandards.org/files/acid2/test.html) Web Standards test. With tabbed browsing and over 2000 free extensions (add-ons) that allow you to customize your experience, it provides the most flexibility, expanibility, and features of any browser to date. My personal choice for web browsing.
Opera (http://www.opera.com/download/) - Arguably the fastest of all the common browsers. But it's much more than that. It's feature rich, standards compliant and safe. Just as Firefox is extensible through add-ons, Opera can be enhanced using Widgets, though there are not nearly as many of these available as there are Firefox extensions. Then again, it doesn't need as many extensions because a lot of the features added by Firefox add-ons are already built into the standard Opera browser.
Safari 4 Beta (http://www.apple.com/safari/download/) - It's getting better but probably the biggest criticism of the new Safari is that it requires a lot of system resources. On Windows XP or Vista it requires a 500MHz Pentium class processor or better and 256 MB of RAM. To access the Cover Flow functionality and Top Sites, you will need a a Direct X 9.0 video card with 64 MB of video RAM. Slower PC's should probably avoid this one, but if you have a newer PC, you will have no problems.
Google Chrome (http://www.google.com/chrome/eula.html) - Google did their homework when they created this browser. It is super fast at loading pages due to it being based on the Safari rendering engine. Although the interface is minimalist, it won't take long to get used to and is very easy to use. There are two neat features that are impressive with Chrome. The first is a feature called, "Create Application Shortcut". This will place an icon on your desktop that, when activated, will open any web page you specify automatically into Google Chrome, but without the navigation and search bar. This makes that page look as if it were a program installed on your PC. The second is "Incognito Mode". Setting the browser to this mode will prevent it from leaving any trace of your web history on your computer. Though these are amazing features, there are still some drawbacks.
Maxthon2 (http://www.maxthon.com/download.htm) - Maxthon2 uses the Trident layout engine, like Microsoft's Internet Explorer, while Classic Maxthon (Maxthon 1.x) continues to support both Trident and the Gecko engine used in Mozilla Firefox . Maxthon seeks to provide many rich features and a highly customizable interface, without losing any of the compatibility of Internet Explorer.
Avant (http://dw.com.com/redir?edId=3&siteId=4&oId=3000-2356_4-10150342&ontId=2356_4&spi=143b3d3add7bf3f62aa4d5408755b473&lop=link&tag=tdw_dltext<ype=dl_dlnow&pid=11008370&mfgId=109407&merId=109407&pguid=BGLixwoPjFsAAGwJXwMAAAAx&destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.download.com%2F3001-2356_4-10150342.html%3Fspi%3D143b3d3add7bf3f62aa4d5408755 b473) - Offers expanded functionality of the Internet Explorer rendering engine but suffers from the same vulnerabilities as Internet Explorer.
k-meleon (http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/download.php) - Extremely fast to load, based on same rendering engine as Firefox but nowhere near as many add ons available for it.
Internet Explorer 8 Beta (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/?ocid=ie8_s_cb9908b0-34f4-4a90-9dab-b6ab2df4629d) - You must have been living in a cave for a fair few years if you've no clue what this is :D. Microsoft Windows default web browser.
So there you have it a few browsers to use if you ever fancy a change :)
Firefox 3 (http://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox-3.0.7&os=win&lang=en-GB) - Firefox 3.0 now starts up much faster than 2.0, handles memory better, and is the first official release of a Mozilla browser to pass the Acid 2 (http://www.webstandards.org/files/acid2/test.html) Web Standards test. With tabbed browsing and over 2000 free extensions (add-ons) that allow you to customize your experience, it provides the most flexibility, expanibility, and features of any browser to date. My personal choice for web browsing.
Opera (http://www.opera.com/download/) - Arguably the fastest of all the common browsers. But it's much more than that. It's feature rich, standards compliant and safe. Just as Firefox is extensible through add-ons, Opera can be enhanced using Widgets, though there are not nearly as many of these available as there are Firefox extensions. Then again, it doesn't need as many extensions because a lot of the features added by Firefox add-ons are already built into the standard Opera browser.
Safari 4 Beta (http://www.apple.com/safari/download/) - It's getting better but probably the biggest criticism of the new Safari is that it requires a lot of system resources. On Windows XP or Vista it requires a 500MHz Pentium class processor or better and 256 MB of RAM. To access the Cover Flow functionality and Top Sites, you will need a a Direct X 9.0 video card with 64 MB of video RAM. Slower PC's should probably avoid this one, but if you have a newer PC, you will have no problems.
Google Chrome (http://www.google.com/chrome/eula.html) - Google did their homework when they created this browser. It is super fast at loading pages due to it being based on the Safari rendering engine. Although the interface is minimalist, it won't take long to get used to and is very easy to use. There are two neat features that are impressive with Chrome. The first is a feature called, "Create Application Shortcut". This will place an icon on your desktop that, when activated, will open any web page you specify automatically into Google Chrome, but without the navigation and search bar. This makes that page look as if it were a program installed on your PC. The second is "Incognito Mode". Setting the browser to this mode will prevent it from leaving any trace of your web history on your computer. Though these are amazing features, there are still some drawbacks.
Maxthon2 (http://www.maxthon.com/download.htm) - Maxthon2 uses the Trident layout engine, like Microsoft's Internet Explorer, while Classic Maxthon (Maxthon 1.x) continues to support both Trident and the Gecko engine used in Mozilla Firefox . Maxthon seeks to provide many rich features and a highly customizable interface, without losing any of the compatibility of Internet Explorer.
Avant (http://dw.com.com/redir?edId=3&siteId=4&oId=3000-2356_4-10150342&ontId=2356_4&spi=143b3d3add7bf3f62aa4d5408755b473&lop=link&tag=tdw_dltext<ype=dl_dlnow&pid=11008370&mfgId=109407&merId=109407&pguid=BGLixwoPjFsAAGwJXwMAAAAx&destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.download.com%2F3001-2356_4-10150342.html%3Fspi%3D143b3d3add7bf3f62aa4d5408755 b473) - Offers expanded functionality of the Internet Explorer rendering engine but suffers from the same vulnerabilities as Internet Explorer.
k-meleon (http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/download.php) - Extremely fast to load, based on same rendering engine as Firefox but nowhere near as many add ons available for it.
Internet Explorer 8 Beta (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/?ocid=ie8_s_cb9908b0-34f4-4a90-9dab-b6ab2df4629d) - You must have been living in a cave for a fair few years if you've no clue what this is :D. Microsoft Windows default web browser.
So there you have it a few browsers to use if you ever fancy a change :)