Chrome remains my personal preference although IE11 is certainly an improvement on previous versions which always felt significantly slower compared to other browsers.
Firefox seems to have really lost its way. Hopfully Mozilla can stop the decline otherwise it risks being another Netscape in a few years time.
If Chrome could be as responsive as IE11 now is, and scaled better to High Res screens, then it would certainly remain my #1 choice - it'll always have a place on my system, as there is just some functionality that can't easily be duplicated with IE.
Must admit, apart from on Android I've not tried Firefox for years. The Android version was, I reckon, possibly better than Chrome on the tablet, much more functionality and more stable, but I prefer Chrome on the phone.
As someone else alluded to, in these cases, it's simply a case of picking whichever one is LEAST BAD
It is for you it seems, some of us really couldn't care less about such small differences in start up time. I suppose if you only browse for 30s and then exit then it's significant but I tend to use the browse for longer than that and just leave it open.
Moved over to fully using IE a few months back and not having any issues with it, IMO it's a very nice browser
Used to only use Chrome (still have it to see what changes are made in it), but I don't like many of the new features being added so wanted to stop using it as my main bowser
I'm bemused by the fact you can't add Google Toolbar to Chrome, I love it on IE, type something in the search bar and then click on the YouTube button and we go straight there. Had a Wikipedia button that did the same but can't find that anymore - the others open a separate search box underneath which is awkward.
Still finding Chrome a messy browser, have to choose between speed and usability.
I don't get all the hate for internet explorer .... I prefer it to chrome on my laptop because all the writing on chrome is really tiny etc
You can amend text size by going to the font settings in any web browser you use.
Another thing I noticed is that most people aren't aware of the ClearType option in Windows, which has been around since maybe Windows XP. ClearType does make web text easier and cleaner to read. To enable ClearType:
Pre-8: Start > Control Panel > Display > Appearance > Effects > select 'Use the following method of smooth edges of web fonts' > click on a drop-down menu (where it says 'standard') > select 'ClearType' > OK.
8 / 8.1: type 'Cleartype' in Search > click on 'Adjust ClearType text' > tick 'Turn on ClearType' > follow a series of tests to find which suits you best > OK.
Which is fair enough, but all I'm saying is that most people these days wont give anything Microsoft the time of day, and wouldn't even entertain it under any circumstances.
I find that a silly attitude. I use whatever suits my wants/needs best. Sometimes that is MS, sometimes not. E.g., I think MS has the best developer tools, Google has the best [consumer] cloud, Mozilla has the best browser. I have a Windows Phone but an Apple iPad.
I suspect if W8 had been made by Apple, the reaction to it would have been very different
Possibly, although Apple has its fair share of haters too, as does Google. though in general both are deemed "cooler" than MS.
I guess it comes down to what is important, speed or features. I find I don't really use many of these extensions and value speed and performance over many things... I can still use the rivals if I need the functionality they offer.
I happen to value features and usability higher than speed. Especially as some of those features render speed irrelevant for my work patterns. Example, in Firefox I can navigate to previously visited pages (which is what I mostly do when visiting the address bar) way faster than I can in Chrome because the Awesome bar is superior - often takes just two or three key presses to display the page I want). So if Chrome really does render the page more quickly it becomes irrelevant for my needs.
But if all you care for is raw speed then I can see how another browser might take your fancy. As it happens I don't think any browser is better than all others in all respects. It's one reason why I have four browsers installed. Technically five, as I have two versions of Opera - 12.16 and Opera 20 (based on WebKit/Blink).
It is for you it seems, some of us really couldn't care less about such small differences in start up time. I suppose if you only browse for 30s and then exit then it's significant but I tend to use the browse for longer than that and just leave it open.
Ditto, this was the only real difference I could acknowledge and on my current box it's hardly worth bothering about (and it's not SSD, to answer a previous question). Then I just leave the browser running all day, so it doesn't matter then. Plus, if I do close Firefox and relaunch I hardly have to wait forever.
You can amend text size by going to the font settings in any web browser you use.
Another thing I noticed is that most people aren't aware of the ClearType option in Windows, which has been around since maybe Windows XP. ClearType does make web text easier and cleaner to read. To enable ClearType:
Pre-8: Start > Control Panel > Display > Appearance > Effects > select 'Use the following method of smooth edges of web fonts' > click on a drop-down menu (where it says 'standard') > select 'ClearType' > OK.
8 / 8.1: type 'Cleartype' in Search > click on 'Adjust ClearType text' > tick 'Turn on ClearType' > follow a series of tests to find which suits you best > OK.
I tried both of these things but it still didn't look good as in IE. I thin because I have a high resolution screen.
PS, I'm not talking about the metro version of IE. Don't know anything about that. Never used it. Looks crap. Always just use the desktop version of everything..... But that's a different discussion altogether.
I'm bemused by the fact you can't add Google Toolbar to Chrome
Well, the Chrome philosophy is to shun toolbars. Most of its users seem to prefer that - or at least judging from the forums. One of the attractions of Chrome was its "clean" look..
As for Google Toolbar specifically, the argument is that most of its features can be replicated by various extensions. This was the official reason for withdrawing it from Firefox, for example. It's true but the key word is most. I've yet to see any combination of extensions that replicates all that the GT did. I used to use it on Firefox but have now gotten used to it not being there.
I tried both of these things but it still didn't look good as in IE. I thin because I have a high resolution screen.
PS, I'm not talking about the metro version of IE. Don't know anything about that. Never used it. Looks crap. Always just use the desktop version of everything..... But that's a different discussion altogether.
Well, OK. Best to leave it as it is since it's working for you, then.
Well, OK. Best to leave it as it is since it's working for you, then.
He's right though, chrome, whether clear type is enabled and optimised or not, simply doesn't scale to a high dpi screen as well, resulting in distorted UK elements and blurry text in comparison. It's one of those things you'll have to use to appreciate.
I love chrome but it's clearly slow and a bit ugly compared with ie11. It'll remain to have a place though for those times when it becomes the best option for whatever reason.
I don't get all the hate for internet explorer .... I prefer it to chrome on my laptop because all the writing on chrome is really tiny etc
IE was the most pervasive and non compliant browser out there so everyone else had to reverse engineer to cope with all the sub standard code out there.
At least they never succeeded like they did with that ever format changing Microsoft Word.
Somehow consumer choice really did win out when it came to web browsers.
These days the problem is more about removed features limiting both the web and web apps.
Ditto, this was the only real difference I could acknowledge and on my current box it's hardly worth bothering about (and it's not SSD, to answer a previous question). Then I just leave the browser running all day, so it doesn't matter then. Plus, if I do close Firefox and relaunch I hardly have to wait forever.
That's because it's in memory after the first launch. Anyway, just thought I'd say what differences I've found with them after timing them.
I assume you mean the UI hasn't changed in 3 versions. Under-the-hood it has changed a lot. IE11 supports significantly more HTML5 spec than IE9 did. Not to mention better CSS conformance and rendering speed improvements.
Yes, the UI, it is horrid. I never really liked IE anyway, but over the last 3 versions the UI is worse than ever.
I don't think Firefox is as slow as it was in the previous release. It's still not quite as fast as Chrome is though. The Firefox makers need to work on making it as light as they possibly can. That's always been Firefox's weakness, the fact that it always felt sluggish. It would be nice if it performed like an F1 on a race track. If the makers of it succeeded in doing this, they could very well see their browser increasing a lot in usage again. They'll have to do something though, because its usage is decreasing rapidly according to the statistics of most used web browser. Chrome is well ahead of the once two most popular ones.
firefox is still sluggish even on Linux, but it is better on linux than in windows. it have not always bee firefox weakness, version 2 compared to IE was quick, even version 3 was not that bad, but version 4 and above is where it started to fall apart.
The problem is they add more and more to these browsers, even chrome is starting to do it now with their Google now, i hope it don't come onto the clones.
If these browser producers want to add things to them, then use plug-ins and let us decide.
Which is fair enough, but all I'm saying is that most people these days wont give anything Microsoft the time of day, and wouldn't even entertain it under any circumstances. I suspect if W8 had been made by Apple, the reaction to it would have been very different
I admit, I never liked IE, but it got nothing to do with the fact it is produced by MS, i suppose I started off on windows with Netscape and just carried on using Netscape until it became firefox. I only went to Chrome or a clone of Chrome because Firefox started to get slower
There are many Apple users who don't like Safari, so it is not a Apple v MS thing. myself i think it is about time this providing a browser in a Os is stopped. Most people will just use what is there and will never find what else is available. I noticed that Ms seems to not have to put a browser choice on windows 8, how did they get away with that?
I guess it comes down to what is important, speed or features. I find I don't really use many of these extensions and value speed and performance over many things... I can still use the rivals if I need the functionality they offer.
For me is the lay out as well as speed, also I got 3 plug-ins which I need, but they work on the three main browsers.
firefox is still sluggish even on Linux, but it is better on linux than in windows. it have not always bee firefox weakness, version 2 compared to IE was quick, even version 3 was not that bad, but version 4 and above is where it started to fall apart.
The problem is they add more and more to these browsers, even chrome is starting to do it now with their Google now, i hope it don't come onto the clones.
If these browser producers want to add things to them, then use plug-ins and let us decide.
Firefox used to be quite quick a while ago, it's just within the last year that it's became sluggish. I don't know what they've changed in the rendering department but they need to change it back. Chrome seems to throw up items on the screen one after the other. Firefox has gotten better, but it still gives the impression that it's struggling a bit though.
Firefox, Chrome, Torch all work very fast with me. I use FF for general browsing, Chrome for downloading (very good built in download manager) and IE for on demand viewing.
Comments
If Chrome could be as responsive as IE11 now is, and scaled better to High Res screens, then it would certainly remain my #1 choice - it'll always have a place on my system, as there is just some functionality that can't easily be duplicated with IE.
Must admit, apart from on Android I've not tried Firefox for years. The Android version was, I reckon, possibly better than Chrome on the tablet, much more functionality and more stable, but I prefer Chrome on the phone.
As someone else alluded to, in these cases, it's simply a case of picking whichever one is LEAST BAD
Whatever... It's still quite a big difference.
It's 6.25s, I don't know about you but I waste a lot more time than that during the day. Responding to the post has already wasted many times that.
Used to only use Chrome (still have it to see what changes are made in it), but I don't like many of the new features being added so wanted to stop using it as my main bowser
I use a mixture of IE and chrome as sometimes a website plays up on one but not the other....
Still finding Chrome a messy browser, have to choose between speed and usability.
You can amend text size by going to the font settings in any web browser you use.
Another thing I noticed is that most people aren't aware of the ClearType option in Windows, which has been around since maybe Windows XP. ClearType does make web text easier and cleaner to read. To enable ClearType:
Pre-8: Start > Control Panel > Display > Appearance > Effects > select 'Use the following method of smooth edges of web fonts' > click on a drop-down menu (where it says 'standard') > select 'ClearType' > OK.
8 / 8.1: type 'Cleartype' in Search > click on 'Adjust ClearType text' > tick 'Turn on ClearType' > follow a series of tests to find which suits you best > OK.
I find that a silly attitude. I use whatever suits my wants/needs best. Sometimes that is MS, sometimes not. E.g., I think MS has the best developer tools, Google has the best [consumer] cloud, Mozilla has the best browser. I have a Windows Phone but an Apple iPad.
Possibly, although Apple has its fair share of haters too, as does Google. though in general both are deemed "cooler" than MS.
I happen to value features and usability higher than speed. Especially as some of those features render speed irrelevant for my work patterns. Example, in Firefox I can navigate to previously visited pages (which is what I mostly do when visiting the address bar) way faster than I can in Chrome because the Awesome bar is superior - often takes just two or three key presses to display the page I want). So if Chrome really does render the page more quickly it becomes irrelevant for my needs.
But if all you care for is raw speed then I can see how another browser might take your fancy. As it happens I don't think any browser is better than all others in all respects. It's one reason why I have four browsers installed. Technically five, as I have two versions of Opera - 12.16 and Opera 20 (based on WebKit/Blink).
Ditto, this was the only real difference I could acknowledge and on my current box it's hardly worth bothering about (and it's not SSD, to answer a previous question). Then I just leave the browser running all day, so it doesn't matter then. Plus, if I do close Firefox and relaunch I hardly have to wait forever.
I tried both of these things but it still didn't look good as in IE. I thin because I have a high resolution screen.
PS, I'm not talking about the metro version of IE. Don't know anything about that. Never used it. Looks crap. Always just use the desktop version of everything..... But that's a different discussion altogether.
Well, the Chrome philosophy is to shun toolbars. Most of its users seem to prefer that - or at least judging from the forums. One of the attractions of Chrome was its "clean" look..
As for Google Toolbar specifically, the argument is that most of its features can be replicated by various extensions. This was the official reason for withdrawing it from Firefox, for example. It's true but the key word is most. I've yet to see any combination of extensions that replicates all that the GT did. I used to use it on Firefox but have now gotten used to it not being there.
Yeah. Its also the size of the icons and buttons at the top that come up tiny.....
He's right though, chrome, whether clear type is enabled and optimised or not, simply doesn't scale to a high dpi screen as well, resulting in distorted UK elements and blurry text in comparison. It's one of those things you'll have to use to appreciate.
I love chrome but it's clearly slow and a bit ugly compared with ie11. It'll remain to have a place though for those times when it becomes the best option for whatever reason.
At least they never succeeded like they did with that ever format changing Microsoft Word.
Somehow consumer choice really did win out when it came to web browsers.
These days the problem is more about removed features limiting both the web and web apps.
You didn't have to respond to it.
That's because it's in memory after the first launch. Anyway, just thought I'd say what differences I've found with them after timing them.
True, I wasn't blaming anyone other than myself:).
Yes, the UI, it is horrid. I never really liked IE anyway, but over the last 3 versions the UI is worse than ever.
firefox is still sluggish even on Linux, but it is better on linux than in windows. it have not always bee firefox weakness, version 2 compared to IE was quick, even version 3 was not that bad, but version 4 and above is where it started to fall apart.
The problem is they add more and more to these browsers, even chrome is starting to do it now with their Google now, i hope it don't come onto the clones.
If these browser producers want to add things to them, then use plug-ins and let us decide.
I admit, I never liked IE, but it got nothing to do with the fact it is produced by MS, i suppose I started off on windows with Netscape and just carried on using Netscape until it became firefox. I only went to Chrome or a clone of Chrome because Firefox started to get slower
There are many Apple users who don't like Safari, so it is not a Apple v MS thing. myself i think it is about time this providing a browser in a Os is stopped. Most people will just use what is there and will never find what else is available. I noticed that Ms seems to not have to put a browser choice on windows 8, how did they get away with that?
For me is the lay out as well as speed, also I got 3 plug-ins which I need, but they work on the three main browsers.
Firefox used to be quite quick a while ago, it's just within the last year that it's became sluggish. I don't know what they've changed in the rendering department but they need to change it back. Chrome seems to throw up items on the screen one after the other. Firefox has gotten better, but it still gives the impression that it's struggling a bit though.