Sunny Man’s Blog

October 18th 2006

(0) Browsers at War

Internet, Life, Misc., Technology

A web browser is one of the most important pieces of software on any computer today. The web browser now plays an integral part of the life of any computer and is, in my experience, one of the most used pieces of software used on my computer. The ‘market’ has been flooded with browsers in the last couple of years with forks of Mozilla Firefox appearing here, there and everywhere. Mozilla Firefox has undergone immense changes, Opera has become free and is available for mobile devices and is spreading into other devices such as the Nintendo DS and the Wii. While all this has gone on, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer has been building up until the official release of Internet Explorer 7 sometime this week or next week. So, with those three main contenders, is there room for the likes of Flock or Netscape?

Getting It Known

I bet that those who are reading this, when you saw the image above, automatically knew what each logo was and which browser it was connected to. This shows how much each of these 3 major browsers have come. I was introduced to Mozilla Firefox by a friend but I can’t remember when and I’ve asked several other people if they could remember when they switched to their current browser of choice and they can’t remember either. The fact is though that all the people I talked to had used or knew about all three browsers - Opera, Firefox and Internet Explorer. The difference is why each browser is known. Internet Explorer is obviously packaged with all Windows operating systems and so is known to all Windows users. But Opera and Mozilla Firefox are a different breed. Their popularity is due to their communities and the amount of freedom they provide the user. Both of them rely on user contribution and the user’s creativity to fuel them. Although Opera not so much, they each use these factors to their advantage.

A Photo Finish?

Before the end of 2006, both Internet Explorer 7 and Mozilla Firefox 2 are to be released - a major milestone for both browsers. But, I pose the question whether both these browsers are losing steam. Microsoft took the route of offering public betas and release candidates of this version of Internet Explorer which generated a lot of attention but Mozilla hasn’t really been in the spotlight. Sure, they let users’ names appear in the credits of version 2 but it’s not even close to what happened with the release of Mozilla Firefox 1. That was an amazing release. If you can remember back to the 9th November 2004, Mozilla held a live webcast and IRC chat for the release - I even got my question asked and answered! That was amazing. I would have thought that version 2 would be an even bigger event. Things seem to suggest it won’t be. But, as always, that’s not to say that it doesn’t have a decent backing. Internet Explorer 7 has caught up with the other major browsers in some respects, but it will always lag behind due to less than regular releases.

Hey Presto! Meet Gecko and Trident

Mozilla has already been developing Firefox 3 and has been planning version 4 but there’s a (not-so) new kid on the block. Opera has been around for a bloody long time - since 1996 but it wasn’t free. This all changed on 20th September 2005 when the Opera browser became totally free; taking a page out of most other browsers’ books. I think this propelled Opera into something they could of never reached by selling their browser. They gave it a new look (with the weird people, I think you all remember) and introduced new features that probably the common user wouldn’t use. On the underground, Opera is known as one of the first browsers to support up and coming web standards and features that other browsers don’t implement for months in official releases - also increasing their popularity within the developer community. This may be well and good but if they’re up and coming features, they won’t be in general use over the web and so the common user most likely isn’t going to bump into them. I’m going off on a tangent here. Cue another paragraph.

The Choice is Yours

You’ve got an exceptional choice when choosing an internet browser. You want something that works and is on Windows already? Internet Explorer is there. You want something that is customisable, safer, fast and expandable? Mozilla Firefox is your man. Want something that is feature-packed (bloated?), available on your mobile, strictly standards based and actually very fast? I must reluctantly advertise Opera, then. If you want to be different then you have a choice of the ‘rebel’ browsers such as the socially-orientated Mozilla Firefox fork, Flock. You could even go for the bruised reincarnation of Netscape - if you needed to.

As I’m a Windows user (buy me a Mac, I may be persuaded to defect) I’ve only highlighted browsers here that are available for Windows. Firefox and Opera are both available on quite a few other operating systems so I’m not leaving you out. Mac users also have Safari and Camino to look at. The browser market is flooded and the choice for consumers is bigger than ever. More and more browsers are becoming free and gaining a large community behind them, adopting the Mozilla philosophy and fueling their own success.

My Final Thoughts

As I’ve said, I’ve been an avid Mozilla and Mozilla Firefox fan since Khlo introduced me to the browser in February 2004; Firefox 0.8. Blimey, it’s only been just over 2 years. I feel like I’ve been using for more than that. I suppose that with the pace of development and all the releases it would feel longer. I like Mozilla Firefox because it is an image of simplicity yet allows a user to make it personal and enables everyone to extend it through extensions/add-ons and themes. But, my faith has been wavering lately. I’ve been using the release candidates of version 2 since RC1 and I’ve not been impressed. The new default theme and toolbar layout is something that I feel should not have happened. Yes, this is changable via themes but the default theme should be something a user should like because he or she will see and use it atleast once. Plus, I feel that Firefox is lagging behind other browsers like Flock and Opera - tests on Opera’s rendering engine (’Presto’) and JavaScript support have left Firefox and Internet Explorer eating Opera’s dust. But, don’t worry, I’m sticking with Mozilla Firefox for the meanwhile because Opera is just a bloated monster filled with helium. Well, a browser is like a religion I suppose. What are your comments and experience on the browsers I’ve been discussing? Comment.