We all know of the top browsers, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera and Safari, but which one is best for you?
Let’s start with Internet Explorer. It’s Microsoft’s answer to the web browser. As most of Microsoft’s products, it is compatible with hundreds of plugins, so you’ll never have a problem with a lack of ad-ons. IE is not an amazing browser, but it’s easy to install and browses the internet, providing all the necessary browser functionality.
While IE is somewhat ideal for some, as it comes pre-installed with Windows, it really isn’t the perfect choice. It has many problems, the biggest one is speed, and Internet Explorer is extremely lacking here. Compared to most other browsers, this isn’t the best one, but if you need simple internet and don’t want to download new software, you can stick with IE.
Now we move on to Mozilla Firefox. Firefox is slightly like IE, but certainly better. Like Internet Explorer, Firefox is compatible with many plugins and ad-ons, and it must be said that this makes the window in which you view website’s content very small, though this can be customised. It is definitely faster than IE, though it can be beaten by some other browsers. It is ideal for you if you need a very customisable and rather fast browser. It’s not ideal for everyone, but as far as the browsers go, it’s one of the best.
Google Chrome, a relatively new browser made by Google. It would immediately seem that Google’s products will be well suited to the internet, and indeed, Google has done it. Their web browser is certainly extremely fast, so if you need browsing speed, this is the one for you. Chrome is however, not so compatible with ad-ons, so really, it’s only for browsing, Google boasts that theirs is the fastest browser, and though that can’t be said for sure (some other browsers also say this), many people believe that Chrome is super fast.
Opera is a fast and quite compatible browser. It combines the best of both worlds, providing good speed, and good ad-ons. That is not to say it is the best, but it is definitely well balanced. Opera does seem to not be as popular as the other browsers, though exactly why is unclear. Either way, Opera is ideal if you will be doing a lot of browsing, but also want to run a few advanced web apps. Some of the better features of Opera include allowing you to host a server, and to invite others to multi-user apps hosted on your computer.
Safari is another browser of the speedy kind, competing with Chrome in the top two here. And much like chrome, it doesn’t have many ad-ons to install, in fact there is very little to separate the two. However, being made by Apple, Safari naturally sports rather flashy graphics, so it can be a slight bit intensive on the processor. Don’t use this if you have an ancient or slow computer. Apart from that all that can be said is that, as with Chrome, many say that this is the fastest browser. Which truly is the fastest does really depend on circumstances, so the choice is yours.
IE is the basic browser, not much there, but it is constantly improving. Mozilla is improved and great for ad-ons. Chrome and Safari are the fast browsers, sporting similar look and feel. Finally, Opera combines both worlds for a balance between speed and ad-ons.