Internet Explorer vs Firefox and/or Opera - which is better, and why?

Question

I lean strongly towards Firefox as I find it has far more advanced features than IE and has been ahead of the competition for years. I like Opera, but I find its navigation more complex.

What about you?

Answer 1

I haven't used Opera but, from what I hear, it has few if any advantages over Firefox.

Firefox is significantly quicker to open than IE7 (tested using the same 8 tabbed homepages on each browser). Many people claim that it is more secure, too, though that may change as it becomes more used. It does not, however, rely on ActiveX at all, which is one main source of Microsoft's insecurity.

Many of the add-ons and extensions are very cool, especially the spell-checker, IE Tab (which emulates the IE environment for those pages which insist) and FireFTP, if you FTP up or down a lot.

I only keep IE7 on my PC because I am interested in comparing them from time to time for people who ask!

Answer 2

Ever considering that Firefox 3 got here out, that's been the lead browser in the finished history of the internet. (nicely, information superhighway Explorer remains the main nicely-known) a million. I certainly have used Opera and no, that's not the quickest cyber web browser. It lots photographs sluggish, and it has that strange jap flag (the white field with the crimson circle) until now completely loading up the image. I hate that. It would not use that little memory. considering that FF3 got here out, the memory utilization has decreased via a superb purchase. Firefox has much extra constructive properties, with the extra upload-ons which will unquestionably make it the suited browser obtainable. 2. Firefox makes use of much less memory. it is likewise swifter. 3. Opera isn't besides-referred to as Firefox, so as that must be the clarification why they don't use it. additionally because of the fact Firefox IS the superb browser, not Opera. (No offense.) 4. Uh, sorry. i don't understand the question. i'm basically 13 5. No comprendooo. even nevertheless each and all of the questions I spoke back (3/5; :P) look siding with Firefox, which became the factor, i'm conversing as a impartial time-honored information superhighway surfer.

Answer 3

Firefox - although it is very similar to IE, it has certain benifits that only Microsoft are starting to introduce into IE. Like tab browsing and safe surfing security features which Microsoft where and still are slow on the up take of these features, like the use of a download manager.

Opera is a browser which you cannot compare to IE & Firefox as it originated from the Apple MAC scene.

Answer 4

I wish I could like Opera more, but all the features seem to be on when you install it and for a beginner thats a headache. Its not as easy to pick up as FF.
I'm middle aged and not very techie, I want a 'browser lite' thats going to be fast with a small footprint. So for me its FF most of the time. I like the ad block plug in, the extra security, and the skins.
With IE if I want to change the way it displays pages I have to use a style sheet, and its not very user friendly - I don't know how disabled people manage because the features are there but its not obvious how to use them.
I'll carry on trying to get the hang of Opera, but FF is just so easy to use. We don't get pop ups or ads, and we haven't had a serious spyware infection since switching. If we needed more features we'd use Opera more often.

Answer 5

Hi Wildamberhoney,

I am happy to see you interested in the famous 'Browser War' question; I will try to provide you with an answer based on years I spent programming HTML and Flash.

Let the tournament begin:


1. IE: INEFFICIENT AND DANGEROUS

PROS:

- Widespread: so you will find it in almost every environment (friends, work, travel, internet cafe...)

- Compatible: It comes with all you need to play embedded videos, plug ins are easy to find and all websites and servers will identify it outright.

CONS:

- Plagiarism: Don't get caught up in all the hype of "IE 7" and its revamped tab browsing; it's clearly all bark and no bite, and a clear copy of Firefox's features.

- Lacking Security: it is "integrated" in your OS, and with proprietory technologies like Active X, it is constantly exposing your pc to external threats (trojans, phishing, hacking...).

- Bad Performances: it is slower than Firefox, Opera and Safari. It is also worth mentioning that it suffers frequent freezing and is forced to close most of the times.

2. OPERA: LIGHTNING FAST AND INNOVATIVE

PROS:

- Speed: and even more speed. That is a real edge when you browse a lot. You can browse a dozen tabs without a sign of slowdown.

- Trend setter: The latest release can handle BitTorrents quite well, has a cool separate downloads page and is really good looking. This is the looker of all browsers.

CONS:

- Alien interface: you mentioned it, it has sometimes a "weird" feel, and some advanced functions are still to be understood by the average user.

3. FIREFOX: THE OVERALL WINNER

PROS:

- Balanced: it is free, fast, nice looking, handy, small on the hard drive, and has the indie cool factor.

- Growing: more and more people on both Windows and Mac OS X are using it, giving it both credibility and motivating Mozilla to keep it updated and improved.

- Customizable: with the Firefox add ons and applications you can make your Firefox just right for you: I advise you McAfee Security Advisor and Fasterfox as a starting package, they can greatly improve your ride on the network.

CONS:

- Compatibility: You will have to spend some time downloading the right plug ins for videos (the plug in for windows media can be a real nightmare!), and some stone age websites are still not running on it.

(BONUS) SAFARI: MAC WINNER:

I know I am a Mac freak and Safari was not in your question; but if one day you are working on a Mac OS machine, I suggest you to take some time browsing with Safari. It is still my favorite browser (simple, fast, friendly...), but I have to declare Firefox winner since it runs on both Mac and Windows.


So here it is, but what really counts is how good YOU feel with one or another browser; so try them all, make up your mind, and I hope you will find the one that gives you the most enriching ride on the Internet!

Cheers.

Answer 6

I have used IE all the time, I dont really see any problems with it. All these other browsers are so much more complicated and have so many features that you dont really need in a browser. I find too that lots of the glorified features in alternative browsers are actually in IE already, just not so glorified!

I always found that firefox took up a lot more memory and made my computer sluggish.

Answer 7

I have no first hand experience of Opera but out of explorer and firefox, there is no competition. Firefox wins hands dowb every time.

It doesnt carry any of the bloat or resource hungryness of explorer.

From a security point of view it is not targetted as much as explorer for security exploits.

You also get that warm fuzzy feeling knowing that website owners when they look at their access logs can see that MS doesnt own every desktop out there :-)

Answer 8

i like Opera the best, quick and reliable no bugs, it just takes some getting used to cause the key commands are different. Firefox is ok though it definately still beats explorer.

And both are 100% fully compatible with Windows XP lol

Answer 9

I switched to firefox cos IE wasnt doing so great on windows, now with XP its better and use both. Cant really say noticed that much difference in performance just more familiar with IE.

Answer 10

FireFox is the best. It has the most features: download accelerator, downloadable addons, video downloader, etc. Internet Explorer is not cool. And Opera; too shiny.