J
Jeff T
What's the "best", spam-free, fastest browser?
M
Mayayana
| What's the "best", spam-free, fastest browser?
That's a big question, and everyone has their personal
opinions. Why not try them yourself? The basic
options boil down to three:
1) Internet Explorer and hybrid browsers that use an IE
window.
2) Mozilla "gecko" browsers such as Firefox, Pale Moon,
K-Meleon
3) Browsers based on Apple's WebKit, such a Chrome and
Safari.
IE has very limited support. The last 3 versions won't
even run on Microsoft's own XP. It was always designed
primarily for corporate use. It's also got both pros and
cons due to being closely tied to Windows. That, alone,
is a giant topic. Pros are generally flexibility in doing things
like writing HTAs. Cons are that IE security is poor due
to the tie-ins and the security settings are virtually unusable.
The other browser "engines" are open source, but the
browsers that embody them vary. For instance, Firefox
is Mozilla Corporation's main offering. Pale Moon is a leaner
version of exactly the same thing. K-Meleon is a very
similar offshoot.
Likewise, Chrome and Safari both use
WebKit but I don't think either is open source. I've never
heard a good review of Safari from Windows users. Chrome
is popular and Google is known for high quality work, if
you don't mind using the browser of the sleaziest spy
operation online...which is a big if. I think there's an
open source version called Chromium, but I haven't tried it.
Another aspect of this is customizability, which varies
a great deal. But customizing is only a factor if you know
how to do it and are willing to take the time. Firefox
customized can be a very different browser from Firefox
"off the shelf".
One other point that seems worth stressing to me:
The media and the browser makers are constantly
obsessing over exactly how fast each browser is, which
is pretty much irrelevant. Most lag these days will be
due to the speed of servers, not the speed of loading
the page. Likewise, quality of rendering isn't likely to
vary much between any of the non-IE browsers.
(IE has always been incompatible, even with other
versions of itself. So some pages are better in IE and
some are worse, depending on the knowledge and
intentions of the web designer.)
If you find you're using a browser that seems too slow
you probably have other problems, like a slow Internet
connection or a fondness for websites that don't function
very well. If you find that it's intolerable to wait 1/4
second to 1 second for a page to load then you definitely
have other problems.
That's a big question, and everyone has their personal
opinions. Why not try them yourself? The basic
options boil down to three:
1) Internet Explorer and hybrid browsers that use an IE
window.
2) Mozilla "gecko" browsers such as Firefox, Pale Moon,
K-Meleon
3) Browsers based on Apple's WebKit, such a Chrome and
Safari.
IE has very limited support. The last 3 versions won't
even run on Microsoft's own XP. It was always designed
primarily for corporate use. It's also got both pros and
cons due to being closely tied to Windows. That, alone,
is a giant topic. Pros are generally flexibility in doing things
like writing HTAs. Cons are that IE security is poor due
to the tie-ins and the security settings are virtually unusable.
The other browser "engines" are open source, but the
browsers that embody them vary. For instance, Firefox
is Mozilla Corporation's main offering. Pale Moon is a leaner
version of exactly the same thing. K-Meleon is a very
similar offshoot.
Likewise, Chrome and Safari both use
WebKit but I don't think either is open source. I've never
heard a good review of Safari from Windows users. Chrome
is popular and Google is known for high quality work, if
you don't mind using the browser of the sleaziest spy
operation online...which is a big if. I think there's an
open source version called Chromium, but I haven't tried it.
Another aspect of this is customizability, which varies
a great deal. But customizing is only a factor if you know
how to do it and are willing to take the time. Firefox
customized can be a very different browser from Firefox
"off the shelf".
One other point that seems worth stressing to me:
The media and the browser makers are constantly
obsessing over exactly how fast each browser is, which
is pretty much irrelevant. Most lag these days will be
due to the speed of servers, not the speed of loading
the page. Likewise, quality of rendering isn't likely to
vary much between any of the non-IE browsers.
(IE has always been incompatible, even with other
versions of itself. So some pages are better in IE and
some are worse, depending on the knowledge and
intentions of the web designer.)
If you find you're using a browser that seems too slow
you probably have other problems, like a slow Internet
connection or a fondness for websites that don't function
very well. If you find that it's intolerable to wait 1/4
second to 1 second for a page to load then you definitely
have other problems.
R
R.Wieser
Jeff,
Que up the "mine is best" wars. :-\
And why the heck do you need a *fast* browser ? Most of the time the dumb
thing is waiting for you to click the next link ... Also, for internet
connected software the connection speed is the deciding factor, not the
program..
Suggestion: do a google search (for "free browser" perhaps ?), download and
try a few and than select the one you like best.
And a remark: although the current version of some browsers might not match
your above specs, its quite possible that a bit older version still might
(all three of them).
Regards,
Rudy Wieser
-- Origional message:
Que up the "mine is best" wars. :-\
And why the heck do you need a *fast* browser ? Most of the time the dumb
thing is waiting for you to click the next link ... Also, for internet
connected software the connection speed is the deciding factor, not the
program..
Suggestion: do a google search (for "free browser" perhaps ?), download and
try a few and than select the one you like best.
And a remark: although the current version of some browsers might not match
your above specs, its quite possible that a bit older version still might
(all three of them).
Regards,
Rudy Wieser
-- Origional message:
V
VanguardLH
Jeff said:
Hmmm, "best", hmmm, oh, I know ...
Lynx. >;->
- Doesn't waste time interpreting Javascript.
- Can't waste time retrieving Java applets so no Java security issues.
- Doesn't spend time downloading images. It's a text-only web browser.
- No time loading add-ons since it doesn't support extensibility.
- No add-ons means no Flash content, either. No .sol Flash cookies.
- Very light on resources (memory and disk).
- No .txt cookie files, no DOM (local) storage.
- Multi-OS support.
Spam-free. What does that mean? Any site, even in plain text, can put
any content on their site, including what you might deem as spam. If
you're instead saying the web browser has its own spam content, where in
whatever web browser that you've used did you see it has spam?
You need to spend a hell of a lot more time listing your criteria that
defines your concept of "best" to convey to others just what "best"
means to you. Unless you were attempting to initiate a flame war where
users qualify their choice to assuage their ego for that choice, even
you know your post was inane.
N
Nil
What do you mean by "spam-free"? That's not a concept that applies to
web browsers.
H
Hot-Text
Jeff T said:
For Fastest
A TEXT Browser
is Number One
No Browser
is spam-free
For Who
is One Spamer
P
Paul
Hot-Text said:
Good point.
That makes "Lynx" the best browser
Fast, and image free.
Also, totally unusable. Modern web pages
look terrible in there. Only the early web
rendered in a usable way.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Lynx-wikipedia.png/800px-Lynx-wikipedia.png
I had to use Lynx, as my only available browser at work
for several years. On a Unix box. They would not
provide us with a real browser.
Paul
N
Nil
I still use Lynx or links or elinks when I want to check out a
potentially dangerous site, or when I use my shell account via telnet
or ssh. I also like to test-view my own web pages with one of those
text-mode browsers to make sure it makes sense in that context.
J
JJ
Perhaps he meant those crapwares that are included in software installers.
AFAIK, none as it. Only unworthy ones, might.
P
philo
To add to what has already been said , Maxthon is well liked by many
Windows users, it's a "new and improved" shell for Internet Explorer.
Interestingly enough, there is also a Linux version .
J
JJ
Here's a list ordered by web engine's performance.
Blink engine (better version of WebKit):
- Chromium. The older versions. Newer versions seem to always include
built-in apps. Version 35 and probably all newer ones don't work properly in
Windows XP.
WebKit engine:
- K-Meleon.
- Otter Browser. (work in progress)
Gecko engine:
- Palemoon. The last version that still support Windows XP.
- Firefox.
Trident engine:
- SlimBoat.
Presto engine:
- Opera v12.
Note:
- Nothing is perfect.
- Some browsers claim to use WebKit, but infact they use the whole Chromium
framework. i.e.: either a fork, or built on top of it. Those that are built
on top of Chromium will never be faster than Chromium.
J
JJ
I liked Maxthon until I found out how intrusive it was. Much worse than
Chrome. But I've no doubt of its performance.
H
Hot-Text
Paul said:Good point. That makes "Lynx" the best browser
Also, totally unusable. Modern web pages
look terrible in there. Only the early web
rendered in a usable way.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Lynx-wikipedia.png/800px-Lynx-wikipedia.png
I had to use Lynx, as my only available browser at work
for several years. On a Unix box. They would not
provide us with a real browser.
Paul I set up Browser Opera/9.80
As my Text Only Browser
But I do use Lynx for DOS
H
Hot-Text
"Bill in Co" <[email protected]>
wrote in message
Look it's all in the browsers that willing to support XP
For Internet Explorer said that that will not support XP
Wall I like Opera for it support 98
But Love my Netscape it support 3.1
As life go You go for the one that give the Best support
Who Knows Firefox support Xp
I hope to see Opera for it support 7
wrote in message
Look it's all in the browsers that willing to support XP
For Internet Explorer said that that will not support XP
Wall I like Opera for it support 98
But Love my Netscape it support 3.1
As life go You go for the one that give the Best support
Who Knows Firefox support Xp
I hope to see Opera for it support 7
M
Mayayana
| So for WinXP users, does that means its only a shell for IE8 (since that's
| the highest you can go in IE with XP)?
|
Yes. See here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxthon
I've never used it, but it certainly doesn't look very
appealing to me. It wraps IE, which I'd never use
online, along with other browsers. As I understand it,
the appeal is getting webpages displayed in the best
suited browser. In my experience that's simply not
necessary. I haven't used IE online since about 2000
and don't have trouble viewing webpages. The other
"features" of hybrid browsers are lots of minor features,
as described in the link above. The basic idea seems to
be to blend lots of handy things into the design that
people may not otherwise know how to accomplish, or
that require work in other browsers. (The list includes
things typically done in Firefox with extensions, but
not actually part of Firefox.)
| the highest you can go in IE with XP)?
|
Yes. See here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxthon
I've never used it, but it certainly doesn't look very
appealing to me. It wraps IE, which I'd never use
online, along with other browsers. As I understand it,
the appeal is getting webpages displayed in the best
suited browser. In my experience that's simply not
necessary. I haven't used IE online since about 2000
and don't have trouble viewing webpages. The other
"features" of hybrid browsers are lots of minor features,
as described in the link above. The basic idea seems to
be to blend lots of handy things into the design that
people may not otherwise know how to accomplish, or
that require work in other browsers. (The list includes
things typically done in Firefox with extensions, but
not actually part of Firefox.)