You might not pay that much attention to what web browser you use. Most computer users seem to just use whatever was bundled with their computer. If you haven’t looked at new web browsers lately – you’re probably missing out.
Even if you’re not especially tech savvy, you’ll find modern web browsers like Google Chrome, Apple Safari or Mozilla Firefox offer a much better user experience than Microsoft Internet Explorer or other more antiquated browsers. (see my note at the end of this post on IE)
Why upgrade to a new browser?
Speed: Chrome, Safari and Firefox are all much faster than older versions of Internet Explorer. There’s not too much difference between Chrome, Safari and Firefox any more, though Chrome “seems” faster to me (this might be due to Google’s new “Instant Pages” feature which pre-loads the top Google search result so it loads quickly).
Security: The most secure browser today by far is Google Chrome. Each year, hackers at the annual “Pwn2Own” conference try to find vulnerabilities in each browser. This year (like in 2010), Chrome was the only browser to make it through the test. Google constantly releases new versions of Chrome to stay ahead of hackers. Firefox and Safari are also relatively secure – though not quite to the same extent as Chrome.
Standards-compliance: Firefox, Chrome and Safari are all highly “standards compliant,” meaning each can render the latest HTML code standards to ensure web sites look as they should. This is a good thing for everybody.
Extensions: Chrome, Firefox and Safari all make it easy to install extensions to add new features to your browser. For example, I have an extension installed to integrate the bit.ly URL shortener service with my browser for easy tweeting. Firefox offers the widest variety of extensions, though Chrome is close behind. There are a few extensions out for Safari, but nowhere near as many as on Firefox or Chrome.
Interface: Firefox is almost completely customizable, so you can make your browser look just the way you want it to. Google Chrome lets you customize your browser’s “skin” with different backgrounds, some by famous designers or artists. Apple Safari doesn’t allow for much interface customization – but definitely looks slick.
My favorite of these three is Google Chrome. But don’t just take my word for it! Since each is free, and since most of the time you spend on a computer is likely while using the web, it’s really worth trying a few different browsers to find the one you like best. I can almost guarantee you’ll like any of these more than Internet Explorer though!
Let me know what you think in the comments!
(INTERNET EXPLORER NOTE: The newest version of Internet Explorer – IE 9 – is much better than previous versions, but still lags behind Chrome, Safari or Firefox in terms of standards compliance, update availability and speed. It’s also only available for Windows, unlike the other three options)
