FireFox has just ticked over 23 million downloads, keep in mind AOL has recently peaked at only 22.2 million users. FireFox's popularity has finally been noticed by Microsoft, and as of lately there have been several major reforms in Internet Explorer, many perhaps reflecting FireFox.

Which do you use? Do you trust Internet Explorer to keep your online sessions safe? Have you moved over to FireFox because of hype, or do you feel it is genuinely a better browser?

I switched to FireFox a while ago, and I am constantly reminded that I made the right decision because of suss websites telling me I should use Internet Explorer when I browse their site, instead of FireFox. The pop-up blocker is fantastic, good enough to stop all pop-ups, yet smart enough to open them when I need them. However the download manager is quite poor. It can't resume very well whenever my wireless drops out, and it will limit my download speed to about 30kb/s, whereas if I download the same file in a download manager it will reach 120kb/s. That said, I would never return to Internet Explorer.

EDIT: Okay my poll doesn't look at cool as Estapol's... :unsure:

Errr... how about expanding this poll to include Opera?

There are a large number of web professionals out there who prefer Opera's keyboard focus over Firefoxs.

This is more focussed at the battle between FireFox and Explorer, rather than a general discussion on browsers, hence battle of the browsers as the title and the image...

Firefox for me! :D
I use it cause LeadHead recommended it to me, and cause i cbf'd doing anything else. :P

Then at least place a "neither" option in there.

It is like putting up a poll asking "Which car do you drive?"

Options: Ford

*the end*

Seriously though your question is really... do you use IE or another browser? Firefox is not the be all and end all of browsers... it does in fact, have a lot of issues that IE and Opera don't... conversely Opera has a lot of issues that IE and Firefox don't and IE has a lot of issues that Opera and Firefox don't.

Okay but maybe we could have a mod to do it because the usual Edit doesn't seem to edit the poll as well. :unsure:

Not wanting to cause a stir but it just seemed silly otherwise. :P

I use Explorer, can't say that it works flawlessly but I haven't really seen the need to make a change.

I use a mix between Netscape and Opera, though Opera is my main browser

I'm an IE fanboy. It works well and it's pop-up killer is good. I use Getright to download anything.

I'll add a "Neither" option.

Well, in case it wasn't obvious I use Opera. :P

It has the fastest rendering engine and is designed around keyboard navigation rather than mouse... something I love.

I don't know how you cannot use Firefox. It boggles the mind that some people don't use it.

I used to use Opera until I formatted, then I used that as a chance to give Firefox a fair go. Both are very good browsers, both have mouse Gestures and are one window/tabbed browsers whcih are two features I adore. (Plus they both support skins, which is nice)

Although Opera is a bit more polished in some areas (and I really do like it), Firefox has one feature which wins me over- Inbuilt pop-up blocking. It's made browsing so much more enjoyable.

As for IE? I didn't even think I need to mention it, it's just so crap. It's about time Microsoft start making improvements to it; it really is out-dated now.

I use Opera, it's awsome and almost sounds like Oprah so whats there not to like. It is just so shiny. :thumbsup:

I'm actually downloading it today! (Firefox) Cos I'm fed up of IE crashing 80% of the times I use it!! :mad:

Yeah I've moved on to using Firefox. I don't think I'll ever use IE again. I thought about Opera, but the thought of ads there seems really dumb, and I don't want to pirate it. I like firefox because of its customisation and extensibility.

Is there any stats for these forums to show the percentage of users using what browser?

aushor, closest you will get to that is the poll at the top of this page.

Not to go into Browser war mode but you do realise that Opera has had built in pop up blocking since the very first release don't you?

Hit F12 and you can choose between Open All Pop Ups, Open Pop Ups in the Background, Block Unwanted Pop Ups (ie: Anything that pops up without you clicking on a link) and Block All Pop Ups.

Silly Geek. :P

Another reason I favour Opera is because of its tabbed browsing. Unlike Firefox Opera uses a proper MDI window system. That is that each tab is its own child window and independant of others. This means you can have one window full screen, another at a custom size, another at a different size, one existing outside of the main window set and one minimised if you so wish. In Firefox that is not possible as all windows are considered to share the same qualities.

Opera Nicknames rule... that is giving your book marks a nick name. Sounds like it doesn't mean much but to get to Evolution all I need to do is hit shift+f2 and type evo. Basically nicknames are a quick way of accessing your book marks without having to use your mouse (as I said previously, my love of opera is predominantly born out of the way it is focused on keyboard control which is a much faster method of navigation) as you start typing out the nickname as soon as the letters can only match one nick name the site will open.

Normally I would only have to type e and that would be enough but I have another nickname which is for www.evilavatar.com and that nickname is evilavatar, e isn't enough to tell which one, ev isn't enough either but evo can only apply to the Evolution bookmark so I don't need to type any further.

You can also arrange your bookmarks into a folder and then give the folder a nick name. At work there are three websites I used to have to look at constantly so I put them all in a folder and nicknamed the folder 'wingara'. I could access the individual pages by typing their nickname or I could type wingara and open all three sites at one.

Sessions also get a big thumbs up. If you have a heap of sites open and you have arranged your windows in the perfect way to view them all you can save that configuration by saving the session. Then you can simply load that session at a later date and everything will be in place.

Can I also give a big shout out to the M2 mail client? I've not used a better mail system in my life. Inbuilt spam detection, an intuitive mail filter system... the list goes on and on.

And so could I but I'll stop. I just love Opera, it is just packed full of the things I want and need.

Firefox is excellent too but it is not as in line with what I need out of a browser as Opera is.

:woot: Opera has IRC?! *downloads*

Anyway, Firefox easily kicks internet explorers ass, I mean, Internet Explorer is worse than AOL. You can't get much worse than that.

Firefox has an IRC client too. You just have to look for the extension, it's called Chatzilla. That's the thing about Firefox it's got everything that IE, Opera and all the other browsers have and more. You just have to look for the extensions.

http://texturizer.net/firefox/extensions/
http://www.extensionsmirror.nl/

It does not have everything Opera does, just as Opera does not have everything Firefox has.

I've already pointed out that Firefox fakes tabbed browsing as it is not a true MDI application. It is also not as favourable to keyboard users as Opera is.

As for IRC people don't use a browser... use mIRC.

Well I'm using Opera right now, and I'm enjoying it. ^_^

Geez, ain't exactly included many options, have you? <_<

Safari for me. Easily the best browser I've ever used...and I've used a lot.

Ok, so what browsers are there?
IE6
Opera
Mozilla Firefox
Safari

Any more?

I'll change the poll tonight.

Well Safari is a bit of an odd one out since it is for macs. :P

You can do a similar thing with Firefox, simply press Ctrl + B and then type the first few letters of a bookmark.

Well I am a firefox person myself, having used since it was in the days of phoenix and firebird, and it would have to be my favourite browser by a long mile.

Yet it is still easily the best of the bunch. :P

Can you do that with bookmark folders?

I used to use opera, and thought it was fantastic, but hated how some functions didn't work on it. I've found that firefox is a great mix of opera's great interface, and IE's compatibility.

Opera all the way. Listen to Pres, he's got the right idea. :thumbsup:

so i downloaded opera last nite as i wanted to see if it was as good as elprez says it is. then i forgot all about it and went to bed.

i get home from work and see this strange file on my desktop called ow32enen754u2, seeing as how i dint know what it was i ran it, it was an opera install.

in short, im now using operah and it pawns IE and that other strange browser that i did use once along time ago in a galaxy far far away

/rant

Hang on... use mIRC? :unsure:

i'll third that!

:D

Firefox. I don't like all the glitz and glamour that Opera has and I love tabbed browsing. So gg Firefox!

http://www.howtocreate.co.uk/browserSpeed.html

An article which looks further into the speed of browsers.

I just downloaded Opera, after reading the browser speeds page.. Bye bye Firefox! But I have one problem with it, does it not support active x controls? I am having trouble getting my gmail to load on it.. :(

Nevermind, I just set it up to the Opera mail client! I love it! No regrets.

Can you get a version of Opera without that stupid ad in the corner? I hate that ad. One of the reasons I use Firefox.

If you pay for it. I used to have a code to get rid of it but it is now lost as a Hyper PM.

If you look hardenough you can get rid of the ad.

However the ad is how Opera pays for its development, in other words you will not be able to get a legit copy without the ad.