Well I've been using Mozilla Firefox for as long as I can remember now, and it's been an extremely handy, flexible and easy to use web browser so far. However, I'm interested in experimenting with other web browsers (excluding Internet Explorer), such as Google Chrome and Opera. I'm looking for your advice, as the 'techies' if I might be so bold to say. Are they worth using? Which is the most flexible and easy to handle? Which one is the most efficient in terms of performance? Should I just stick to Mozilla?

Questions needing answers and a curiosity seeking to be extinguished. Also, suggestions on other good web browsers that you yourself know well is helpful too.

Personally, I've always felt Opera to be generally slicker than Firefox and being generally more pleasurable to use (in fact, I'm using Opera 10 right now). However, there is not that much difference between Opera and Firefox, so if you're Ok with Firefox you might as well stick with Firefox.

Experimenting never hurt anyone, anyway - I have IE, Firefox, Opera, Chrome and Lynx on my computer, go figure.

Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera and Chrome all do the job fine and it is more down to what you prefer. I use Firefox because I always have so I am used to it, but that's the only reason.

So, I'd suggest you experiment with all of them and find which works best for you.

If you're really into Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, or any other social networking site, you should at least take a look at Flock.

It's worth mentioning that you're the only one who likes Opera

If you're looking for a new experience, i would try Chrome. There are tons out there though, you don't have to stick with the norm.

But I am awesome and so are my preferences.

@Topdog: isn't Flock just Mozilla with a hundred pimp-ups you will use scarcely if ever?

Chrome and Firefox are my favourites. I find both to have good standards support, and to be stable and fast. Firefox is obviously the better of the two for customization, but I love Chrome because it looks great on my Win 7 RC laptop - transparency ftw Also, the way Chrome works with Java is very different, and I find it to work better, which is good for RS. I haven't used Opera all that much, but from what I have seen of it, it seems very fast and packed full of features that other browsers don't have. So as others have said, have a go with all of them and see which you prefer.

I haven't used IE8 much but the impression I've got from light usage is very poor. It seems slower to start up and load pages than the other browsers, renders fonts in a way I don't like, and has an interface that seems pretty clunky. But it's still an improvement from IE7, and you may find you like it.

@Arianna: I've never used Flock but if I remember correctly it is based around Firefox, but revolves around social networking, which could be useful if you have to keep track of several social networks.

If you want a sleek, simple, fast web browser I recommend Google Chrome. I also recommend FireFox as a utility browser. I use both. IE is trash as far as I'm concerned. I have not used Opera so I cannot comment on it.

No he's not - I use it as my third browser or for a browser with a quick startup (FF takes ~3 minutes to initially start up, IE is icky / slow and I don't like the tabs on Safari).


It also lets you offload FF addons which otherwise freeze it every now and again.



The one thing that I love about FF / Flock is having the Grab and Drag addon, something that I've not found an equivalent for other browsers. Makes it so much easier to move around pages, you wonder how you cope without.

Chrome's one browser that I've not tried out and probably aught to since I'm sure it'll have a use.

I've being Firefox for around a month, but I'm definitely switching back to Safari. FF is so much slower and clunky in comparison... Flock is fun, but with all the addons running you only have around an inch of actual space.

i like firefox. i thouroghly dislike chrome however, you can hardly do any customising to it.

It is possible to change the skin, although you must change it back every time you update.

Customization is nice, but it isn't essential. If you just want a simple, fast browser with good security features and no frills, then Chrome does the job admirably.


Some browsers perform much better on certain operating systems because of the different ways the browser must be coded for each OS. For example, I prefer to use Safari on a Mac, but I find Safari for Windows to be horrible.

I've used firefox for a few months, but decided to give Chrome another go, and its pretty good. I don't ever use many add ons or toolbars, nor do I customize web browsers, I like the 'Less is more approach', which chrome is.

I've tried IE, Opera, Chrome, FF, and my favorite is and always will be Safari.

Try whatever ones you want, I think most of 'em are free

IE is pretty basic.
I like FF.
Never tried Opera.
And Chrome I didn't like for the one day I used it.

I hate IE with a passion.

I wouldn't suggest Chrome unless you are fine with just being speedy and nothing else. You can't really install toolbars or add-ons without messing with the browser file.

It is a good browser though. Fast. Easy to use.

I use FireFox, though. It seems to me that it is pretty fast (actually, I personally think it is a tie between Firefox and IE8 on speed (Chrome is better than both, though)), and it is very customizable. I think you should stick with Firefox.



I convinced you to stop using IE and use Firefox just a week ago, Mutt.

It's because a certain person showed me the error of my ways
Can't stop using FF now.

Well I tried Opera - but it seems that Chrome has quite a big fanbase in this thread, so then I tried out Google Chrome. Found Chrome to be a tad more easier and more simpler than Opera - but my mind still could be swayed. As for Flock, I saw that and really didn't like it seeing as I'm not spending all my time on Facebook and whatnot.

I'm presuming NetScape has no fans?

Chrome is life.
It opens so fast and simple.
I have no plugins or addons so it's perfect.
Fast, reliable and slick.

Dude, what year do you think is, 2001?

My parents had it on their old, old notebook, and I haven't heard any news about it recently.

You should stay with Firefox, decent, easy to use, and very easy to customize to your liking.

And it's very resource heavy.

I wouldn't say it's that resource heavy. It doesn't use any more resources on my Windows 7 setup than IE8 or Google Chrome do. I can't judge it against Opera or Safari as I haven't got them on my computer yet - I might download them soon though and do a comparison between them all.
Besides, with today's modern computers resource consumption is no longer a major issue. It's only really something you think about if you have a poor spec.


I know Chrome is lacking on the customisation front, but it has some impressive features, and the Google team are experimenting with some very interesting concepts, such as its approach to sandboxing.

Well I'll stick to Firefox on one computer and continue with Chrome on the other.



I know some people who use it so I just assumed that others do too

On one note, IE seems to be getting a big hate-base...

Yup. Everyone hates IE

Basically it has a very bad track record with IE6 and IE7...IE8 is a bit of an improvement but it's still bested by the competition.