Ron Schenone

IE, Opera, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and More – What Browser Do You Use and Why?

Posted by on Feb 15, 2011 | 108 Comments

Reader Buffet asked me a question about upgrading to IE8:

When IE8 first came out, the Internet was rampant with horror stories of people who had downloaded and installed the final release only to have it wreak havoc on their systems and plague them with problems! Have the issues been addressed and corrected? In your opinion, should I feel safe upgrading from 7 to 8? Thank you very much for your time.

I responded to Buffet that I knew that IE8 worked well in Windows 7. My wife uses IE8, which she prefers, on her Windows 7 box. I also knew that Microsoft had fixed the original problems that many experienced and that it should work OK for him. I also said to make a restore point, which is always a good idea no matter which software you install.

But I refrained from adding in my reply to dump IE8 and use Firefox or Chrome. I haven’t used any version of IE for at least five years. I have used both Firefox and now Chrome exclusively on my personal systems. On the Cr-48 notebook I am testing for Google, the only option is Chrome. On my personal laptop, which dual boots Windows 7 and Linux Mint, I have also switched over to Chrome.

Do I recommend that everyone switch over to Chrome? Absolutely not. We all have our favorite software that we use and basically all of the browsers do the same thing: open up Web sites to us on our computers. But I have mentioned this before and I will say it again. It is the feel of the software that dictates which one I use. But in this case with my choice of browser was the issue that one particular add-on I used failed in Firefox. In Chrome the extension worked fine, so I switched browsers.

Now my question to all of you is: which browser do you use and why?

Comments welcome.

  • Dick

    Firefox. As discussed before on this blog, I will switch at the first sign that Firefox is causing problems. I would probably switch to Chrome which I keep on my system now. The only down side for me, is I’ve become so used to the interface and add-ons I’ve installed. If I have to I will use IE8 which is also on my system but never used except for MS updates.

    As for speed of browsers, I can’t tell the difference. I would have to give the edge to Chrome, but it’s not enough to cause me to change browsers. My computer is already so much faster than I am that anything more is “gilding the lily”.

  • Nyan Tun

    I prefer Firefox or Internet Explorer to Chrome. In Chrome, there is no “Open With” option as in IE or Firefox. The files are downloaded to the download folder instead of Temp Folder. I use the file one time only, so there are a lot of unneccssory files in my download folder. It takes me a lot of time cleaning these files. But in Firefox & IE, the file can be downloaded to the Temp folder and I can use it with my favourite softwares (view, edit or something else). I don’t need to manually delete the downloaded files. Chrome is fast, but the difference is only a few seconds if we are using high speed internet. But it takes me a couple of minutes cleaning the downloaded files no matter high speed internet or dial-up.

  • Dick

    Nyan Tun – You can set Chrome to download wherever you wish by clicking the options button (little wrench upper right) and selecting “Options” and then the “Under the Hood” tab. Scroll down a little and there is a “Downloads” section. Set it to wherever you wish and even have it ask you each time you download.

  • Buffet

    How ’bout this Ron – I downloaded and installed IE8 then restarted earlier this morning. Now when I open IE and click ‘about’, it still says it’s 7??? I downloaded directly from Microsoft, in case you were wondering.

    • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

      Hi Buffet,
      Sometimes 8 install has issues. Try this link:
      http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949220

      See if this helps or not and let me know.

  • Buffet

    Ron, I clicked the link and tried the procedure in safe mode. It didn’t work. I’ve decided it’s more trouble than it’s worth. I’ll just stick with 7. Thank you.

    • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

      Hi Buffet,
      I think that is a smart move. If it did install it would be only a matter of time before you had issues. :-(

  • JP

    I would like to use the IE9 RC but there seems to be a bug with Flash with the 64 bit version, where Flash just keeps on crashing the damn thing. As of now, I use Chrome.

  • http://post.ryanoshea.com/ Ryan O’Shea

    Firefox. I’ve used them all–extensively. IE is right out, even IE9, which honestly is just lipstick on a pig. Safari’s only redeeming feature is WebKit, which is part of most of the other choices. Safari’s add-ons are terrible; the interface is clunky, slow, and painful to use; and despite its moderately fast rendering engines, it’s slow as molasses in everyday tasks. Opera is fast, but has some really weird font rendering issues, and the lack of good add-ons is definitely not beneficial.

    Chrome and Firefox are just about equal in terms of standards support, speed, and add-ons. Firefox 4, at least. With the new UI, revamped JagerMonkey JavaScript engine, extensive HTML5 support, and keeping all the things that made Firefox of old amazing, Firefox 4 my best choice. I’ve switched back and forth between Chromium and Firefox for about a year, and every time I come back to Firefox.

  • http://www.virtuallin.com Cheryl Allin

    I’m in love with my Chrome and totally abandoned Firefox once Chrome released Extensions. It’s so clean, fast and productive. The only wee issue I have with Chrome is the oddest thing; when I’m working in the backend of Joomla and paste text into the editor or HTML screen, Chrome pastes it twice. Highly irritating. Some of my favorite Chrome extensions are Feedly, PageRank, Instapaper, Quora, Firebug, LastPass.

    Great post!

  • http://lockergnome.com/aaron Aaron Herman

    I use Google Chrome as my main browser, because it works well with my plugins, and because it’s fast! Then if for some reason I can’t use Chrome, I go to IE 9 RC, because it integrates well with Windows 7.

    Nice article, by the way!

  • http://www.chip.com.tr SiSL

    As developer, while I have all of major browsers installed, I prefer myself using IE9 day after day for my personal browsing… It feels slick, from cold start… I don’t know, may be it is because very much looking part of OS and don’t feel like it is ported from some other OS and emulated… Chrome, Firefox and Opera gives that very impersonal feeling I guess…

  • http://my.opera.com/pandesris pss

    I have tried IE, Safari, Firefox, Opera, Chrome, etc. But since this year, I always use Opera. I love it, it’s simple, I have a blog there. Its interface is so cool.

  • sirnh1

    Opera. It’s the only ‘real’ customizable browser. I can basically drag ‘n drop any button to any play I want to. I can easily set the tabs to be on the sides or on the bottom. Opera link syncs my bookmarks to my mobile without me noticing that link is turned on. Great mouse gestures support build in (the mouse gestures extensions for firefox, etc… just don’t seem to work nicely at all…). You can have private tabs and private windows (other browsers only have private windows). Still the best build in feed manager. The only browser that has an actual ‘good’ speed dial implementation. Opera has no problem with having 50 tabs open at the same time (yes, happens often with me), while other browsers seems to start have all kind of problems…

  • Daniel Morey

    Opera. I used IE6 years ago and the change to IE7 was a vast improvement, but there was little I could do to customize the way I could use it. I’d heard about Firefox and all of it’s add-ons and tried that but it just looks awful to me. It’s the least polished of the top 5 (in the visual department). I tried Opera 9 (or 10) at that time and loved how everything flowed (ability to open windows in new tab or background tab) but the websites I went to just didn’t show correctly. When chrome came out I was all over it. It was fantastic, especially when the extensions came out. I was happy with this but I still had a hidden love for Opera. When the latest version of Opera came out, with it’s new UI and much better rendering engine I jumped at it. My websites showed correctly and the UI looked better than ever. It even has extensions now, although it needs a few more (hopefully time will solve that). I still have Chrome installed on my computer, but for now Opera is my baby.

  • http://www.dei.unipd.it/~marcatof Flavius

    In this period I use Chrome as default browser. It’s fast and the sync is just awesome. Opera would be a nice alternative since I like its features even more, in particular the easy sync with the mobile version. Anyway its low compatibility with Google Services is so critical for me than I won’t switch. Come on Opera keep it up!

  • Andylee Sato

    As a very intensive internet-user I went for Opera 3 years ago and never regret my choice. I fire up one program and have my mails in a full-featured mail-client (14 Mail-addresses, so web interface is not an option), my Tabs are stacked according to topics (I usually have around 200 tabs open) and the browser features all the functionality I basically need + I can add some that I personally benefit from like lastpass and so on by extensions.
    There are a few things I never use in Opera like the IRC-Client (anyone still using IRC?) or Opera Turbo, but these features remain silent in the background and so I just removed their buttons so they are no longer taking space in the browser window.

  • http://my.opera.com/faramir2 faramir

    I’m using Opera Browser on my laptop. Opera has very good build-in mail client. I like Notes feature on Opera which is linked with my account, so wherever I am, I have access to my thoughts. Opera has link service which can also synchronize bookmarks. I’m also using OperaMini on my cellphone – I can surf on the way. Thanks synchronizing bookmarks I can start read my favorites everywhere. Now, with extensions, Opera can do even more… And everything run smooth and fast! :)

  • Tasos

    Opera has been around for so many years, why dont you check it out?

    This is the fast, reliable and extensible browser you have been looking for. Chrome just happens to have better promotion and hype thats all.

    Opera has the best password manager, the best syncing service, it has skins, extensions, widgets, chat, mail client, fully featured rss reader, bittorrent client. A full suite not just a browser. And this suite has less than moderate memory consumtion, it runs fast and its fun to work with.

    Only downside is, that its not free as in freedom…. yet.

  • bumi

    opera. its fcking awesome!!!11!

  • http://www.dobreprogramy.pl/Jaahquubel_ Jaahquubel

    Hello!

    I use Opera at home and work. Sometimes, when I have to use a browser at my university, I have to choose between IE and Fx. With any of these two, or with Chrome, I feel like I had my hands tied. I want to do something, and it’s impossible without spending time on downloading extensions and configuring.
    With Opera I have everything I need out of the box.

  • http://my.opera.com/valeksandrov/blog/ vesko

    Opera 11 & IE8.
    Opera feels very responsive, while IE comes in handy when clicking on this “copy to clipboard” hyper link does not work with anything else but IE

    OR

    when Opera (fails to render site properly | is banned from a site). It’s hard to imagine the level of “browser discrimination” out there. It feels like 90s, not like 2011…

    Shame on you Internet society! Shame on you!
    Just kidding. :-)

  • Bugfixer

    I always use the lastest version of Opera. The advantage of Opera web browser is the excellent work flow. Speed dial, instant search, mouse gestures, feed reader and the integrated mail client are a few examples for a good work flow. The Opera web browser is not a simple web browser like Firefox, Chrome, Safari or IE. Opera web browser is a all round software solution to have a perfect work flow on the web. Opera is fast and demonstrably the most secure web browser. Opera web browser is more than a browser, it’s a best way to explore the beautiful world of the world wide web.

    Opera Software – The best experience

    More information about Opera visit “www.opera.com” or “www.my.opera.com/desktopteam/blog”

  • http://www.dopanic.de.vu makepanic

    I use Opera for my daily browsing.
    It has everything out of the box, like EMail, IRC, Synch, Dragonfly and so on. Also got Chrome and FF on my Ubuntu Notebook, for testing websites on different browsers.

    Chrome starts faster than Opera, but i miss some features i got in Opera. FF starts slowly (3.x) and i don’t like the ui very much + add-ons makes him slower.

  • http://www.willherring.com William Herring

    I use Opera because of its speed and the integrated mail client. I have to use Chrome for Netflix because Netflix says it doesn’t work with Opera and I haven’t found out why, For everything else, Opera is number one for me.

  • Mimdala

    It’s gotta be opera. Crome and Firefox are nice, but they get slower and clunky with add-on, whicha re required to make them usable in any way. Opera competes and beats them in many if not most benchmarks, and it come with any and every extension out of the box and ready to go. It is a much more complicated browser, so be sure to have a little time to figure it out, but once you have, it is a total internet package.
    Also, opera is an innovative browser. So if any new technology hits the web, either opera will have it first, or they will be the ones who actually developed it (tabs, speeddial, integrated search, deleting data, mouse gestures and so on).

  • pasp

    Opera – I`ve been using it since 1996 and it never let me down.
    Mouse gestures, speed dial, high speed – that`s all inside and no plug ins required.

  • glache

    I use Opera because it’s fast and lightweight, yet has everything I need without the hassle of extensions. It also has an extremely customisable UI. If I don’t use a feature (e.g. Opera Link) I can simply remove the button. If I decide I want to use Opera Link in the future, I can re-add the button with just a click of the mouse. I have so many favourite features, but just to list a few–mail client, Turbo, tab stacking, notes, revamped security badge….

    So yes I love Opera :)

  • altarius

    i use opera, because all other browsers under linux are a pain in the ass (damn slow, or missing quite a lot of features).
    i check out all other browsers regular but every time i find features that made browsing quite comfortable (eg returning to speeddial when closing last tab…haven’t found a option to do this in ff or chrome).
    yes – firefox can be manipulated by addons, but i personally prefer a browser, which is ready, when it’s installed and not hours later, due to searching addons, installing them an restarting the browser. (and making the browser slower with each one of them)

  • Ted

    I’ve used Opera for 10+ years.
    Opera has always been ahead of its competitors and has invented many features that have afterward been copied by others.
    Opera doesn’t show off with eye candy interface. It is focused on user efficiency. It doesn’t require dozens of ever-autoupdating plugins to work.
    Unparalleled native features: block content, reload every, reopen closed tabs, custom search, password management. Also a good feeds reader, mail agent.
    Note that I still prefer MDI windows (embedded floating windows) and never use tabs – Opera supports both modes!
    A major flaw is the bad support for Opera on many web sites, which is the only occasion when I switch to Firefox or IE. It is better with Opera 11, but I really don’t like the new interface – so I’m still stuck on version 10.01…

  • Suntana

    I have a very old HP 6730 computer with a 598 MHz Celeron Processor, 256 Meg of RAM and AOL Dial Up Internet.

    Opera Browser is the only Browser that can handle my setup.
    Firefox, Chrome and IE 7, which my AOL uses in the background, all cough, gag and puke when trying to render pages. Firefox usually requires 3 or 4 clicks of the Reload Button before it eventually renders pages in their entirety.

    And I really like Opera’s Extended Progress Bar, which gives one a much better realistic feel of the progress status of the loading of content. When using say, Firefox, its simplistic Progress Bar makes me wonder more whether it’s locked up or the loading speed is Petering Out.

  • Luchs

    I prefer Opera over other browsers. It’s biggest advantage for me are the built-in mouse gestures. I tried Chrome once which has at least an extension for mouse gestures, but they don’t even work on empty tabs. I might try Firefox 4 when it’s finished, just for comparison (I think the last Firefox I tried was version 2 or something and I just didn’t like the UI layout back then).

  • Gloorian

    I prefer Opera. I tried Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer and I can’t stand of them (except Firefox that I use in second browser) In Opera, I like the customs searches in the adress field, the rapidity, the community and the possibility to customize it (editing of ini files).

  • Usman Haider

    i use opera, the best web browser on earth for every device.
    i used it for first time on my pentium 1 mmx and was amazed by loading speeds on dial-up, firefox eats all resources. m using opera 9 on my pentium 4, still using dial up but.have not used any newer version but opera has my vote.

  • http://violetarosales.com Violeta

    I’ve been using Opera for 5 years. I’m a web developer and i find Opera very useful, because it has build-in all the things I need from a browser, for instance: mouse gestures, dragonfly, tab stacking, pined tabs, speed dial, see??? Everything I need. Plus, its faster, safer and cuter.

  • Mick

    I use Opera and have for some time. I use it because it is fast, secure, and leads all the other browsers in features.

  • Robert Snyder

    I’ve been a Firefox user for a long time now but I must admit that IE9 has me intrigued. I love the Add-On model for Firefox but I also long for the day when we can dump Flash for good and IE9 can get us to the promised land, baby!

  • Buffet

    Ron, for some reason now, my ‘right click’, ‘save picture as’ won’t work now??? This is after using System Restore to take me back to before I attempted the IE8? EVERYTHING ELSE seems to work. What could possibly have happened? Any suggestions?

    • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

      Buffet, whats your OS?

  • Buffet

    …..make that ALMOST everything – The “delete” key on my keyboard won’t work???

  • Buffet

    XP Home. I can’t open “Internet Options” in the control panel? Should I try disc check?

    • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

      Wouldn’t hurt.

      Do you have any previous restore points before you tried the upgrade?

    • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

      I would also turn off your firewall and anti-virus program temporarily and see if if ‘save picture as’ returns.

  • Buffet

    I just tried ALL of the above – none of it helped! Still no Save Picture As, and I cannot open Internet Options? Should I try to restore from an Acronis backup?

  • Buffet

    Ron, my Acronis True Image says ACCESS DENIED when I try to open it. I’m starting to get worried!

    • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

      Man if I didn’t know better I would swear it sounds like a critter on your system.
      Let us do this. Download Malwarebytes, update it and run via Safemode. Lets
      make sure the system is bug free first.

      I have bronchitis and I’m going to hit the sack. Haven’t slept well. I’ll be back in the am to
      check with you.

  • http://likeacheese.com.ar leito

    I started to use Opera long time ago, before that I was using Firefox, and so long before IE until it 5.5 version. the reasons? I am a web developer and I started like most people using DHTML on IE, but with time FF began to be more popular and Microsoft JS didn’t work very well on all browsers. FF was the first choice but for sure Opera have more compatibility with web standars, so if I make code for Opera it works well on any browser that supports standars (as anyone have to do) Why I don’t mention Chrome? because it is doing the same as Microsoft, trying to implement his own code, out of standars, adding more features, yes, but for himself, and I don’t like that. I hope my english could be understandable! :)

  • Relgoshan

    Buffet: That’s terrible to hear!! I can honestly say I’ve never had trouble with IE8 since updating to it (XP SP-2 and SP-3 computers). So I am a little surprised to hear about your problems.

    Personally I fall in with the Opera-heads. Too useful in my work, and the only browser for my Eee 701 running Leeenux. (runs smooth at 450MHz, looks good at 800×480, all features function and I can have more than twenty tabs open with 512MB mem and no swap file)

  • Karri

    Opera mini, Its the fastest mobile browser!!! LOVE IT

  • Nyan Tun

    Dick – What I mean is like this photo.

    http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/522/firefoxpa.png/

    I can choose any programs to open a file without downloading it. The program may be photo editor, pdf viewer, video player, … (In this screenshot, the program will be ‘Opera’. I got the image from the web anyway.) But in Chrome, it only supports google related applications. That is why I don’t like Chrome.

  • Buffet

    Used Malwarebytes in Safe Mode. Found and deleted a couple things. Still cannot open Internet Options (and same other problems as well). Been researching most of the night and everything seems to indicate my failed attempt at IE8 is to blame. Too tired to continue. Will resume my efforts after work tomorrow. Thanks for all your help. Hope you rest well and feel better. Any further suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

  • David

    I use pretty much every browser, but Opera is my default browser of choice followed by Chrome. Firefox, Safari and IE9/8/7/6 I only use for testing purposes. To me the key features of Opera are its reliability, speed, low memory consumption, session management and debugger ‘Dragonfly’, just to mention a few. :)

  • http://yahoomail oghenekohwo

    I have been using opera for good 9years. And it has not dissappointed. I must say a very big thanks to opera communities. Thanks for be there for us. May God bless the opera communities in Jesus name.

  • http://www.dawidpajak.com/ sdr

    Opera for life :) I use Opera for about 4 years now, since version 8.5.

    I love it because it has everything I need out-of-the-box, it’s really FAST, innovative, highly customizable and it has elegant interface.

    I love Opera Link, notes, (new, compact) pinned tabs, (multi-account) password manager, history of closed tabs, tab stacking, custom search engines integrated into address field, private tabs, download manager, mouse gestures. I use all this high quality features every day. They are created by professionals, but… when I need something more I can still install some simple extensions ;)

    And last but not least – I love Opera community. It’s elite :) Thank you.

  • André

    I have IE9, Opera, Chrome, Firefox, Safari and IE6 (IE tester) installed.

    I use Chrome for surfing the web and Firefox for work, which is web development. The others are mostly used to check for cross browser issues. But also get their occasional spin on the interweb.

    I Use Chrome since the feel is the best of the bunch. It feels fast, hassle free and it doesnt take up too much screen estate.

  • Esteban

    I use Opera, Opera is the best web browser, and some times firefox with “download helper add-on” for download videos *tube sites (some times)

  • LarryLaffer

    Easy: Opera is my 1st choice for years now.

    It’s fast, stable, customizable, has so many things already built into it, there is hardly any need for extensions.

    1 tab, 5 tabs, 60+ tabs, it doesn’t slow it down.

    Notepad built into it, mouse gestures, sessions (save an Opera window with numerous tabs and the history of those), sticking to web standards, e-mail client, RSS feed reader, extensions, ad-blocker, customized searches, multi-functional address bar, no need to be an artist to efficiently use keyboard shortcuts (smart layout), ultra-fast back and forth browsing…just everything it offers.

    And on top: it’s not used by the majority = less likely to be targeted.

    Of course I did try SRWare Iron (Chromium fork) and FireFox but having to add so much to them to get the Opera experience ….neah…better use Opera straight away.

  • Joker

    I use Opera 11.01 because it is the best browser ever.

    As fast as Chrome and packs in way way more features.

    An IRC client, CSS applier, Opera Dragonfly for web-development, Ad-block and No-script out of the box, Sync through all platforms and mobile, Opera Turbo – which is a one click proxy and saves bandwidth, Mail client built-in, fully customizable UI, Opera Unite which can act as a small web-server for sharing files, a decent download manager which can also download torrents and lastly despite all these features, it is very small-light-and-sleek.

    It has extensions too now. ;)

    Best browser is Opera.

  • Ledanalf

    I have all major browsers installed, and I test things on all of them, but for everithing else Opera is my default browser. It’s really fast, I can open a lot of tabs (and stack the related ones) and works better that Firefox with 2 or 3 tabs open!

  • David

    Chrome. I love it, it’s fast, fully customizable, i love the extensions and the apps, it’s perfect. My second choice is Opera.

  • Ivan

    I use Opera! Since 9.64 version, when i definitely dropped IE. Opera fitted perfectlly my needs, and every new version surpasses my expectations! I already tested Firefox and Chrome (everybody saying “hey, Chrome is perfect!”), but i thought just nice. Firefox is fast, but it hasn’t so many features as Opera. Chrome has A BIG MARKETING (it’s developed merely by Google, wich owns the most acessed pages in the world!). I agree that it’s a great browser, but anything is better than IE!. A simple message in google.com saying “Try a faster browser” or something like that, is enough to make millions of new downloads (old dissatisfied IE users). I’ve never used Safari, cause i don’t like Apple and a few people reccommend it (they say that Safari has just a pretty face). I love Opera, and today my life is easier and faster thanks to this browser! Sorry about my english, i’m brazillian! Regards!

  • Mark

    I’ve tested all the browsers and Opera is definitely the fastest and generally the nicest to use. And now with extensions there is nothing holding it back compared to the others.
    One test you can try is simply scrolling a website up and down with the Windows Task Manager CPU Usage showing. Opera generally uses half the CPU of other browsers and its scrolling is so smooth compared to everything else.

  • Chrisanthos Nonis

    I’m using Opera for long time now, the reason that I’m using Opera is because has everything I want in a package which is run very smooth and fast. Unlike other browsers Opera has everything you want, you can add more add ons and still fast.
    I’m using any new version of other browser just because I love to learn new software and use always the last, and until now I can’t switch to another browser.

  • MarkG

    I use Opera, why? It’s the fastest, the most secure, and the best featureset of all the browsers bar none.

    It doesn’t have the advertising juggernaughts of Microsoft, Google or Apple behind it, so it’s relatively unknown, but that certainly does not make it inferior in any way.

    Most of the features the big boys are now touting, Opera users have been enjoying for years.

  • experttease

    Opera, it attracted me from Firefox about 5 years ago when I found a website which listed all the extensions in Firefox that Opera covered in functionality without extensions. Since I had been having problems with memory usage it was a no-brainer to try it out, I haven’t looked back. The only real problems early on were with GMail support, but when they enabled IMAP support for clients I immediately set up Opera to handle it and began to use its excellent email client ‘M2′. The killer feature was mouse gestures though, no other browser supported it, though I started using it as a Firefox extension it was a breath of fresh air using it natively supported in Opera. This has meant that for a very long time Opera has been the fastest real world browser: no more pointing and clicking!

  • http://Opera Joe M

    I have had no luck with I E, Fire Fox Does a good job ,slow starting but good,Safari nice built for Apple,But i have found Opera fast ,easy to work with the pin method, and scrolling shows whats in this pin.tab.Cant get Opera mail to work.So many options and choices it’s real hard to have just one.

  • mlnay

    +1 to nice words for Opera. This opera is worth seeing. It’s somewhat The Other. Opera’s interface and features are attractive, addictive and intuitively obvious. I prefer gadgets and apps extending my possibilities and opening my mind. And Opera is for me :)

  • muttsfan

    I use Opera! it’s fast, light on system resources, has everything out-of-the box without being bloated and is very secure. It comes with extensions now too, but you honestly don’t need them. Most importantly of all, It looks good. As beautiful as a cute Norwegian girl lol XD

  • Buffet

    Man, this turned into quite a thread! Relgoshan – Thanks for your concern. Thanks to Acronis and my rescue disk, and, most importantly Thanks to you Ron. Being blessed with mostly brawn and very little brain, I need all the help I can get! LOL.

  • Alex

    OPERA!!! It’s fast, and stays fast! It gives me lots of space to see the page I’m on, rather than all of the toolbars and stuff you get from other browsers. And it’s fast. And it looks nice. And it’s fast. And it has a few nice features added you don’t get otherwise.

  • jonesy

    I use Opera as my main browser on both Linux and Windows; starting using v4.x on Win98. Also used Netscape (later Mozilla, then Firefox) for idiosyncratic sites, and kept IE for Win updates.
    My main system runs Ubuntu with WinXP in a virtual machine – with Opera as my main browser. On Linux, Opera is default, on Win, it’s Firefox.
    I used IE once on my Win7 laptop to download Opera and Firefox.
    Back when, my favorite for some years was Deepnet Explorer, which used IE rendering engine and a few of its dll’s.
    After three tries, a bit of fun, and a bit more of frustration, I will not use Chrome.
    Over the years I’ve tried maybe two dozen browsers, on Atari ST, Windows, and Linux, including a few text-only for newsgroups, and Opera is my favorite for modern times.

  • HAHAHA

    Opera <3

  • http://luminarious.tumblr.com luminarious

    I’m using Opera since forever because.. mostly because I’ve used it forever.. :P

    It’s fast enough
    I can block adds
    I can add feeds straight to Google Reader
    My bookmarks are always synced and backed up
    It has note-taking functionality
    It has some nice skins

    But, somehow, to my friends and relatives I recommend Chrome because they just need to browse and search.

  • http://techiethakkar.blogspot.com Nimesh

    For personal use – Opera, For Office use – IE.

    Opera has so many features that none other browser has.
    http://my.opera.com/davidtsunamy/blog/show.dml/22355742

    Check the opera fan blog who has also ported Opera as an OS.

  • http://www.bdtechie.com Nasif

    I was a big fan of Chrome but left chrome because of partial loading of images. Now I am using Opera and completely satisfied with it. And yeah, they support extensions ! Hopefully more extensions will be release within few months :)

  • Slim Makaychapuley

    Well I don’t have a laptop but use a blackberry storm 9530 and I suff the web very well through my phone, I have the bb browser, operamini 5.1 and the bolt browser installed in my phone. I always use the operamini whenever I browse the internet because of its interface and it’s easy-to-use. I use the bb browser to download and I kind of never use the bolt browser……… I don’t know why! I would like to try the fennec for mobile phones, skyfire and safari whenever they’d develop them for blackberry device, and also if google will ever build a chrome for bb……

  • http://www.cyberstream.us Eli Mitchell

    Opera! While building my website, cyberstream.us, I tested it in all major browser engines. In the process of building the website, I developed a subconcious preference for Opera. It is an incredible browser. It renders pages fast. It is a small program (much faster than Firefox and IE). The download package is less than 10MB. Most other browsers are around 30MB, and are capable of less than Opera. Firefox’s download is about the same size as Opera, but it runs much slower. I love Opera Mail, too. Having feeds and email integrated alongside web browsing is an extremely streamlined system. And it doesn’t even tax Opera’s speed much! Opera also makes it extremely easy to add addons. They install in seconds, and don’t usually require a restart, like Firefox. Opera also has a sleek interface. It may take some getting used to for FF and old IE users, but it is much cleaner and gives you more browsing area. If you don’t like the interface, Opera allows you to make it look like FF with the menu bar, etc. And have you seen some of those cool Windows 7 aero skins? Omelion, for example. I could go on longer, but you get the idea. I’m impressed with Opera.

    I’m sure Opera would be one of the most popular browsers if everyone knew about it and tried it. That’s why I put ads for in my blog posts.

  • Ron

    I have 128MB 735MHz desktop pc and opera is the only browser that can withstand this environment without slowing down. Opera rocks!!

  • http://www.epicure.demon.co.uk Chris Hughes

    Opera – used it for over ten years. I have IE8, IE9, Chrome, Firefox and Apple Safari,,,, but I USE Opera.

  • http://www.cyberstream.us Eli Mitchell

    I love Opera! While building my website, I was mainly using Firefox, but I was testing it in all other major browser engines. I began to gravitate toward Opera. It is much faster than other browsers, and has many more features. The interface is clean, and you can rearrange the bars/menus infinitely! I like Opera mail, too. Having web browsing, feeds and email all together is great.

  • K P S Virk

    Well, as its already been said by a number of my friends that this browser war is not going to end. Every browser comes out with some feature/s that push it ahead of the other browsers. And like every one else I too have my own experiences with the web browsers that i would like to share.
    I have used IE6, some older versions of Firefox and Opera. Let me admit, IE is slow to load pages, while Firefox, no doubt is a bit faster and more customizable than IE has its own problems like-the add-ons make it heavy which i think causes high CPU and memory usage and at times it crashes and some times one of the add-ons don’t work.
    I don’t want to sound partial or biased but I must admit that Opera has the quality of an ”artist”, I feel Opera works with ease in spite of it being customizable… my PC doesn’t show high memory or CPU usage alerts when I work with Opera… it is as light as a flower, it is aesthetical, smart, its friendly and its fast like a stealth bomber. While the Chrome is too ‘cold’
    Somehow I Love Opera, it is made the way a browser should be made, it communicates with the user.

  • K P S Virk

    Well, as its already been said that this browser war is not going to end. Every browser comes out with some feature/s that push it ahead of the other browsers. I too have my own experiences with the web browsers.
    I have used IE6, some older versions of Firefox and Opera. Let me admit, IE is slow to load pages, while Firefox, no doubt is a bit faster and more customizable than IE has its own problems like-the add-ons make it heavy which i think causes high CPU and memory usage and at times it crashes and some times one of the add-ons doesn’t work.
    Without sound partial or biased, Opera has the quality of an ”artist”, I feel Opera works with ease in spite of it being customizable… my PC doesn’t show high memory or CPU usage alerts when I work with Opera… it is as light as a flower, it is aesthetical, smart, its friendly and its fast like a stealth bomber. While the Chrome is too ‘cold’
    Somehow I Love Opera, it is made the way a browser should be made, it communicates with the user.

  • juby.t.mathew

    IE 9 WILL BE A REAL CHALLENGER FOR OPERA & GOOGLE CHROME.FIREFOX IS FAST&SIMPLE.OPERA IS REALLY GOOD WITH LIGHTNING SPEED AND FASTER DOWNLOADS.GOOGLE
    CHROME IS STEADY&STABLE.I PREFER OPERA 11 WHICH IS REALLY FANTASTIC!!BUT WAITIN FOR IE 9 TO LAUNCH ITS FINAL.

  • Abdur

    I have started off by using IE, when it was a bit too slow, and had lots of viruses catered towards it, I moved to firefox. Firefox worked fine for a while, but then again it became a huge memory hog, so I had to find alternatives.
    I then tried Opera (I still don’t know how I found it). It was blazing fast, way less of a memory hog, and had a ton of features right out of the box.
    Currently, I use the mail client extensively, Opera Unite. Widgets, Notes, Mouse gestures, and most of all Opera Link.
    Opera link allows me to link up my phone and the browser, it is amazing.

    The url filter is also amazing. Being able to block specific elements is awesome.

    Opera Dragonfly makes debugging code much much easier.

    I have tried chrome, but its lack of features made me switch back to Opera.
    I am so used to Opera now that whenever I use other browsers, I attempt to use mouse gestures etc, which obviously are not available.

    This is why I believe Opera is the best browser, and it is why I choose it over the others.

    Have a nice day.

    Abdur

  • gorcq

    I use Opera. I use it mainly because it is customizable, but also because it just works better than IE, Firefox or Chrome.

    I admit that Firefox has one advantage over Opera, which is that it has live bookmarks; however, since the Opera menus are all stored in editable text files, a simple (OK, reasonably simple) Perl script allows it to imitate this. Meanwhile, Firefox takes an insanely long time to load on every system I have ever tried it on. Right now, I have Windows 7 running on a 2.9 GHz, dual-core processor with 4 GB of RAM, and Firefox takes as much as three minutes to load. My mother has an older computer and it can take ten or fifteen. But on both computers, Opera loads in under a minute.

    I still keep Firefox around, for use on the occasional site that refuses to function properly in Opera. They’re getting rarer. I tried Chrome a while back and un-installed it within ten minutes, because after having used Opera for such a long time, it seemed highly inconvenient to be unable to add buttons and links to the toolbars. Opera seems to do everything Chrome can (except having a built-in PDF reader, but Foxit works fine for that) and doesn’t look like the top of the window got chopped off. Much more convenient.

    I’m not going to talk about IE, because some people might be offended by my language.

  • gorcq

    Somehow, the last paragraph got cut off my post above, so here it is again:

    In conclusion, Opera can do pretty much anything, even if you have to show it how, sometimes; Firefox is clunky but occasionally necessary; Chome seems like a gimmick, a play-browser for æsthetics-challenged children; and then there’s IE, which, as I said, I’m not talking about.

  • http://www.dinodisign.com Leriston Sinaga

    I prefer Chrome and Opera as the second… Chrome is great and easy to use and more after Chrome released the extension. After Opera come with the new release, it gave some advantage that Chrome can’t do best in opening some websites.. For IE, haven’t use it for years…

    Go Chrome and Opera…

  • http://www.cyberstream.us Eli Mitchell

    I am so used to Opera now that whenever I use other browsers, I attempt to use mouse gestures etc, which obviously are not available.
    ___________________________________

    So I’m not the only one that does that…

  • http://divita.eu/ Philip Seyfi

    Opera as my primary browser, but I also tend to have Chrome and IE9 launched alongside.

  • João Patrício

    I use OPERA, it’s always ahead…

  • Chris

    Firefox (beta 4), Opera 11 and sometimes IE9. FX for its functionality through addons, Opera because it is simply beautiful and IE which is the best browser MS has produced so far. I regret the fact that some providers (like Gmail) block certain browsers, which is why I do not use Chrome and I disagree with Apple’s obsessive control policies, which is why I do not use Safari. Firefox and Opera are the only browsers that are independent, the latter of which I find a caress to the eye, the IBIS inspire Transparent skin in particular. Opera is associated with very stylish designers. The new extensions that are available for Opera 11 can become very useful!

  • Nigel

    I’ve used just about every browser and decided to stick with Opera because it is very customizable, fast, and comes with a lot of “stuff” straight out of the box. Sticking with Opera, and looking forward to the next version… whenever that is

  • smartydix

    Well…I use Opera because it’s simple, yet so powerful! It’s not simple as Chrome and it’s not so complicated as Firefox. And still has lots of more options than Firefox. IE…I just don’t like it.

  • jimmy

    I like opera but many sites do not support it and I have to revrt to MS Int explorer. However I mostly use SLIMBROWSER which runs on MSIE = has heaps of skins and is easy to use tab browsing and handy facilities –

    Not well known but hasbeen around for years – ive used it for about 5 and recommend it .

  • vivek kumar

    i think chrome is the best.it works fine and its look is very attractive and gorgeous.

  • Kate

    I’ve used IE, Firefox, Chrome and Opera over the years and I’ve tried many of the others for a few weeks. My ultimate favourite is Firefox, which I’ve been using since Version 2. Chrome is fast, but I find images don’t display correctly on some sites, some of the extensions I use cause it to crash, and its a nightmare to uninstall. I occationally use IE8, but i’m not all that keen on it, same for Opera. All in all I always have firefox and IE installed (You can’t get IE off windows machines, but it makes a good back-up browser) and I default to firefox for almost everything. If someone asked me to reccommend a browser, I’d tell them either Firefox or Chrome are your best bets, the numerous extensions make them invaluable for everyone.

  • maRcin

    Once I tested Opera 6… and now is my primary browser :) I’ve tried many others but Opera is the best. Some times I use chrome though.

  • Chris C.

    I currently use Opera, Firefox and Google Chrome. I discarded IE a few years ago and found all the others to be much better, including Safari. At first I preferred Safari, but I slowly moved over to Chrome, Firefox and later Opera. Opera was the only browser that would download on my old computer and work, so it was the browser of choice. I really like Firefox for its customization abilities, and I like FF and Opera b/c you can save your tabs when you quit. Opera has the very nice bar that displays the loading process, and its speed dial is the best, as well as having the ability to create folders of tabs that are open(:D). To me Chrome is very nice as it is quite simple, but I had a bug where I couldn’t paste anything into it, so that turned me off a little. While I’ll be totally honest and say that I’m not quite savvy about extensions and the full possibilities of Opera, Chrome and FF, I’m learning. And they are far better.

    However, I am currently using Wikipedia to research other, lesser-known browsers just to see what they’re like. It will also be interesting to see what IE 9 and the new Google Chrome operating system do to shake up the business.

    PS: @Buffet: Abandon ship! Leave IE for something else. :D

  • REP

    Firefox and opera are preferred. Firefox by default. It’s quick reliable and convenient. At least up to 3.6. Opera has always been a favourite except for some website incompatibility, but why do browsers all seem to want to clutter and complicate things. I want clean, simple and fast. There is plenty of software about for blogging and uploading photo’s, if that’s what you want.
    I have not used IE for years. Last on I loaded was unstable so I gave up. I have tried Safari and Chrome. Could not see any advantage in either, so i uninstalled them.

  • REP

    PS. Firefox and Opera have both, Firefox particularly, have adopted a very childish tone. I don’t want to join a playgroup or a “community”, Grow up!

  • Florian Thomas Hofmann

    I use opera and chrome (second screen). Opera does Email and complicated things and chrome does a lot of everyday tasks because chrome does not crash as regularly as Opera, my favorite. The best with opera is that it is innovative but You don’t have to install apps – just You can. So its better then firefox that does nearly nothing without add ons and better then ie, that is full of advertisements from every installed software and lacks such functions like search-shortcuts for every search field that You can find in the web.

    I like Operas Email, Opera link (since I use several computers). On iPad I use safari since Opera Mini 6 is not released yet.

  • Phaze

    Easyily Opera, so fast, reliable, nonlag-interface.

    It’s so incredibly customizable, and I’ve used it since Opera 7. Love this browser, love it.

    The second best, is stainless for mac, also, IE is the laggiest, and most vulnerable to viruses, using it on a daily basis almost ruins it, plus the Trident engine hasn’t been updated since IE6, plus IE pushed Netscape Navigator with illegal actions, there’s dozens of YouTube videos.

    OPERA FOR LIFE ~

  • Nasif

    I use chrome because its fast and easy. Doesn’t eat up that much ram. But some problems like Aw, snap! The page crashed, when Uploading You have to click the file 2 times ( I Dont know the reason). But its fast. 2nd is opera.
    Nice

  • Clemens Mickler

    I’ve tested like every single Browser (and every fork). I know the advantages and disadvantages of the engines: Trident, Gecko, KHTML, Webkit and Presto. Opera always was ahead, but right now, I see Webkit or Gecko slightly ahead in supporting CSS3 for example. Or MathML. Or HTML5.

    Opera still gives me the best user experience. When I am not satisfied with it, it is not due to the browser, but the creator of one specific web site, who uses standards-incompliant code.

    I use Firefox and Chrome as well. Safari, IE and Konqueror are out of the league. Mainly, because I work both on Linux and Windows and these browsers wont work on both systems easily.

    Many of Operas advantages were mentioned before. But I as a developer love other feature too, such as right click -> Open With (choose other browser), right click -> Validate (validates HTML), right click -> Inspect Element (opens Dragonfly-debugger), custom search (e.g. “php query” in the address bar searches php.net for “query”, “html query” searches in selfhtml.org and so on). And most importantly: If your website works in Opera, it works in any other browser (recent version) as well, since it is truly standards compliant.

    Right now, it lacks support for newest features of HTML5 or CSS3. But I’m sure, Opera will support them as soon as necessary.

    Firefox needs too much extensions. I don’t like to use an extension, to give the browser features, which I expect the browser to have anyways. When Firefox came out, everybody loved it because it was so slim. But now, everybody adds tons of features until it is overburdened. And if not, it simply lacks important features. Same is true for Chrome.

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  • Vic

    Well, in my case I don’t have a computer on my own – it’s me, my mobile and my USB stick. I use portable applications on my USB stick and buy data plans for GPRS Internet connection using my mobile as a modem or browsing directly on my mobile. Sometimes I go to cybers for broad band usage. As I use many computers with diverse settings and most of the time browse in slow connection, I have to use a lightweight web browser that works right away on all PCs at any connection speed and runs from my USB stick at one click, and if I find something while browsing on my phone I want to keep it and retrieve it easily from anywhere. So imagine how practical I find the Opera@USB + Opera Mini combo. I love its all-in-one approach and feel very comfortable with it.

  • Ryan Farmer

    I’ve always been a user of Mozilla, from back when they were in the 0.6.x Suite milestones, and right up until Firefox 3.6.x, but it’s no longer a truly great browser on Linux.. Instead, I’m horrified to say that Firefox / Xulrunner is becoming the IE of Linux, or at least some distributions or configurations. It’s slow, it’s buggy, everything installs, it, it’s hard to get rid of it.

    Firefox 4 is still a good browser, on Windows, and that’s the problem. In seeking to utilize Microsoft’s proprietary DirectX API, it has left Linux users with slow XRender (not OpenGL unless you use Nvidia with proprietary Nvidia drivers) acceleration that in many cases is choppier than Firefox 3.6 was.

    On Linux I’m using Chromium 11.x (following the Dev channel), because it’s the only browser on Linux (as far as I can tell) which really taps into the graphics hardware (all hardware, all drivers that support OpenGL).

    It’s unfortunate that if you force Firefox 4 to ignore its OpenGL blacklist and use your drivers anyway, you get screen corruptions, whereas Chromium is smooth as silk. I’m not sure Mozilla can toss this second rate crap at Linux users and expect to stay relevant on this platform. (It also doesn’t do real well on the BSDs or Mac).

    That having been said, at least neither of them are IE….

  • Alex Kwok

    I’m currently using Opera 11, but I do switch from time to time if I think that Opera is getting too slow or doesn’t have the features I want. I used to work on Chrome mainly, but I’ve found that the huge number of addons and extensions I installed was causing my computer to slow down (since there’s the window processes and the addon processes). Same thing with Firefox, just like Chrome I love the addons I have on there, but the plugin manager process slows my system down whenever I leave it and firefox running for long periods of time. IE9 I only use for when it’s needed through federal application sites, etc.