What web browser do you use and why?

[Radiant]

firefox here as well. Smooth as... whatever really...

Smooth as a fox. Er, no, wait, um, smooth as a fire. Hah. Ouch.

[Nine Toes]

Look at this:  a bunch of nerds fighting over who's browser is better.

I use Firefox.  Only because it feels faster than IE, which I also have, but only use for FTP.  I can't seem to get an FTP to work in Mozilla.

Also, to me, it kind of seems like most websites only show up properly in Mozilla.  For example, I've noticed that IE doesn't handle tables very well.  So you're screwed if you're trying to build a website using tables for object positioning.

[MillsJROSS]

So you're screwed if you're trying to build a website using tables for object positioning.

Actually, if you're using tables for anything other than tabular data, you're not using them correctly (use div tags instead).

I use Firefox at home, and IE at work. I don't hold a preference to either one. With IE8 on the horizon, and apparently an effort to create a more standard compliant browser, I might switch back to IE (Probably not, I don't like change).

IE does have a few things that make it difficult to design web pages, but I've found firefox to be just as difficult to work with.

-Justin

[lo_res_man]

Until recently I used IE, because I am lazy and for some reason Firefox wouldn't run on my older Win2k Pro computer. I use Firefox on my new(er) WinXP Pro computer, and I like it, except how it handles downloads. I switched because for some reason Newgrounds was acting wonky on IE, even on my new(er) computer, plus I got spywared to the hilt on IE.

[Nine Toes]

Actually, if you're using tables for anything other than tabular data, you're not using them correctly (use div tags instead).

I know, even though I only found out about that recently.  I'm just saying though, I still come across websites from time to time that are built using tables.

With IE8 on the horizon, and apparently an effort to create a more standard compliant browser.

That would be nice.  Also if it didn't seem so pokey.

[SSH]

Firefox and Opera are both good. I love the inline spell checker of FF2. FF3 should fix all the memory leaks in FF2. Safari is nice for checking Mac-compatibility and is the most standards-compliant.

[Oliwerko]

Oh, I do not know if FF has it, but I love to have the mail check setting in opera on 5 minutes. This way 5 minutes is the worst delay of noticing me of new email (with a custom annoying alarm-sound  ). I hate Outlook and this way I can use it. And I think in FF some things are opening new windows. In opera the only new windows are settings. Everything else including transfers is neatly inside one window.

Nine toes - we are not arguing, we are trying to learn something new about advantages and disadvantages of web browsers we use, you know  8) And for FTP, I use CoreFTP, perfectly fast and easy to use free software.

[Oneway]

Up until i began my career as a webdeveloper, i never really cared about browsers as long they would display a website for me, it was fine.
Now that i am required to work by known standards and still have things work and display the way they should cross-browser i really detest IE for it's multitude of annoying bugs, proprietaty features that break standards and generally being a pain is the ass to use as anything more then a bare bones browser.

For me (speaking as a web-developer) Firefox is the only way to go, since it has a multitude of plugins that allow for a more efficient workflow. Plugins such as web-developer, firebug and html-tidy, along with the great javascript error messages (also found in opera) greatly increase the pace at which i can develop websites and we-applications. That is, right untill i hit a bug that only happens in IE, and then i'm still screwed.

I don't have anything against Opera at all, i use it at home on occasion too. It just can't offer me the great plugins that help me in my line of work.

[Khris]

Btw, in Firefox, type "about:config" into the address bar and hit enter

[voh]

Opera, been using it since v6, using Kestrel at the moment (9.5 beta 1).

I have Firefox installed for the odd site which isn't compatible with Opera (once every few weeks there's one, amazingly enough almost none of these are standards-compliant, so no blame for Opera) and to test my website designs in.

I use IE if all else fails, and to test my designs.

But my main browser is, has been for years and seemingly will remain Opera

(but I like firefox, just not as much)

[Domino]

I don't like the PSP web browser. As of now, you can't watch video's, plus it is super slow.

But i do use it when i wake up and use the PSP to read the forums.

[Snarky]

go to opera:config, then Multimedia and turn off Interpolate Images, you can do this without having to restart Opera, so you can quickly change it if you want to look at some pixel art.

Ah, cool! That solves one of my few Opera issues. But wtf on having to type in some magic path in the browser to change certain settings. Why isn't this available through the menus and option dialogs?

(Looks like Firefox has a similar way of changing internal settings.)

When you download a file in Firefox, it doesn't let you choose where to save it to

Under tools, options, then downloads. It gives you the option for FF to ask you where you want to save files.

Well, that was easy. Thanks! Not sure why I hadn't figured that one out. I don't suppose the other problems have equally simple solutions?

[SSH]

One Opera thing that bugs me is that if you want to download various links off a page, each time you click on one to download, it transfers you to the Transfers tab and you have to click back on the other tab again to download the next link. Very irritating.

If you know a way to change that behaviour, let me know!

[Gilbert]

I think just uncheck "Activate On New Transfer" in Transfer Windows section of "opera:config".

I had this behaviour disabled ages ago and I swear that I disabled this through the normal preference menu, but now I can't find it, leaving just that "advanced" method.

[Privateer Puddin']

go to opera:config, then Multimedia and turn off Interpolate Images, you can do this without having to restart Opera, so you can quickly change it if you want to look at some pixel art.

Ah, cool! That solves one of my few Opera issues. But wtf on having to type in some magic path in the browser to change certain settings. Why isn't this available through the menus and option dialogs?

Yeah, not sure why but it used to be under Multimedia in preferences but that vanished, so then used to edit the .cfg file directly and now opera:config

[Gilbert]

I think many options in the Preference menu of Opera have vanished over time, probably done to simplify the settings to "novice" users. "Advanced" users can still go that "opera:config" path.

[Oliwerko]

Actually, this transfers thing is the most annoying one on Opera. I too have seen it in previous versions with "old" settings system. The other way around than opera:config is to go to already open transfers tab and click on "View". Here you have choices, I currently use the one to show the transfers tab in background. It shows up, but silently in background.

[Darth Mandarb]

I have been working, professionally, as a web-developer for well over a decade now.  The one conclusion that I've come to is that it's just a matter of preference.

Me personally, I use (and love) Firefox.  It's standards compliant, fast, and efficient.

I have IE, Safari, Opera and Firefox installed so I can test everything I develop cross-browser/platform of course.

The problem is that the vast majority of computer users are windows users.  Windows comes with IE and most of these people never think to use anything else.  Thus, as a developer, everything MUST work in IE.

Having said that ... IE blows.  I cannot grasp why, after years and years of people/developer's constant complaints about IE not doing this, or not doing that, that Microsoft has released version after version of IE without fixing these issues.  It's ridiculous.

I cannot tell you how many times I have put something together that looks fantastic in every browser... then I load it in IE and it's a jumbled mess.

I could go on and on about it's short-comings, but I'd just get agitated and I don't want to.

[Minimi]

I browse the internet through PaintBrush(Win3.11) as there was a secret internet browser placed in that application at the time. It is very powerful!

[Emerald]

Well, I was using a really old version of IE which didn't support the latest flash player, so rather than upgrade I decided to try this firefox thing everyone was ragging on about.

I really can't tell the difference, though one cool thing I noticed is that if your post doesn't go through (or the browser stops responding) you can hit 'back' (or 'restore previous session') and it remembers every last letter you'd written. Even if the computer is shutdown. I've had that happen to me enough times to choose Firefox solely for that feature.