STFU && RTFM

After a long run of anti-trust suits, Microsoft has finally come to an agreement with the EU about how to solve the internet browser problem. The problem is that Microsoft delivers Windows bundled with Internet Explorer, which competing software developers claim is a breach of anti-trust laws.
 
The solution? When a fresh install of Microsoft Windows is made, the user gets a ballot screen, in which twelve candidates are displayed. The candidates are:

• Chrome (Google)
• Firefox (Mozilla)
• Internet Explorer (Microsoft)
• Opera (Opera Software)
• Safari (Apple)
• AOL (AOL)
• Maxthon (Maxthon)
• K-Meleon (K-Meleon)
• Flock (Flock)
• Avant Browser (Avant Force)
• Sleipnir (Fenrir)
• Slim Browser (FlashPeak)

 
The ballot screen will first display this page:

When you click “OK”, you will then be taken to this page:

From here, all you need to do is simply to choose the browser you want, and that is what you’ll get. If you want more, you can of course download and install them on your own.
 
My only issue here is the sheer number of browsers, and I’ve got to admit, while I had tried a few of these browsers, I had never even heard of half of them. Still, the fact that the five dominant browsers are listed first, is a good thing, the other seven will only be shown if you actually scroll right. If you’re interested, you’ll do just that. If not, you won’t – simple as that.

Following monday’s post a colleague of mine sent me the below picture. Although I’ll grant you it is oversimplifying things more than a bit, it still has a vein of truth in it, not to mention the fact that it is more than slightly amusing…
 

(Click the image to see the full size)

It’s been a while since I last wrote of my trying out Opera. Since then, my tech-savvy friend has taken it upon himself to bring me into the light. A calm evening of beer and pizza quickly turned into just that, with the addendum of him prodding me to use Opera in no uncertain terms. Indeed, so much so that he convinced me to download and install Opera to my EeePC so that I could see the marvels of Opera in all their splendour.
 
It all started by him being amazed that I still used Firefox, and wasn’t Opera so much better? After a while, his line of questioning turned towards aren’t you convinced it’s the superior choice etc. Frankly, I wasn’t. My friend said, OK, here’s what we’ll do: Try it exclusively for a week, and then tell me what you think.
 
After using it for a week, not only am I not convinced it’s a superior choice, though it does have some things I’d like to see in Firefox, like syncronisation of bookmarks, and easy customisation of search parameters. The reasons I’m not convinced all have to do with usability. I’ve tried the same version on three different computers and two different OS’s.
 

• Ctrl+click does not open in a new tab
• Shift+click opens in a new tab, and moves focus to the new tab
• Ctrl++shift+click opens in a new tab, leaving focus in the active tab
• Ctrl+tab opens the last active tab (this can be changed)
• Closing a tab moves to the last active tab (this can also be changed, but is still erratic and unpredictable)
• Does not work properly in Google Docs Spreadsheets or Lotus Notes Webmail
• Opera sync does not sync settings, meaning that you need to tweak every install

 
The first six of these examples are counterintuitive, and simply don’t work well. Even though they may be tweaked, changing their behaviour to mimic that of Mozilla Firefox does not seem possible.
 
I stand by my original assessment, all in all, Opera is a good browser, but it will not be the browser that makes me move away from Firefox as my default browser.

I’ve been using computers more or less actively for about 10 years now. My first encounter with a computer was a hulking 386, which I never really got the hang of. Since then, I’ve encountered computers in many different ways, but the first time I can remember getting a “So that’s what it’s all about” feeling, was back in the summer of 1996. Using Word (!) I constructed my very first website.
 
Ever since, the web has been a mainstay of mine. I’ve had an email adress since then, and I’ve used it for such things as keeping in touch with friends, maintaining several websites and blogs, applying for jobs, finding an apartment, and so on. The list is nearly endless.
 
About six or so years ago, I started fiddling around seriously with computers, and one of the first things I realized was that I had already experienced three webbrowsers (Internet Explorer, Opera and Netscape), and settled on a preferred browser (Internet Explorer). I also started to question why I had settled on this one, and so began my quest to find a different browser.
 
I had some sort of very faint notion that there must be something better than what I had, but I didn’t know what. Not, that is, until I found Mozilla Firefox. Since then, I have challenged my opinion on Firefox repeatedly, but it still sticks out as the best I’ve found so far.
 
I have two main arguments for Firefox, they are security and usability. Security, not because it is necessarily a more secure browser (as has been shown, it too has its share of problems), but because I believe there’s an innate level of security to not having you webbrowser built into the OS Kernel. As for usabiity, I realise Opera was way before Firefox with tabbed browsing, but I still don’t find Opera the user friendly browser I do Firefox.
 
Another thing is of course that knowing my way around Firefox, I can use it on whichever OS I wish. When I use Kubuntu, I don’t use Konqueror, I use Firefox. When I use Mac, I don’t use Safari (which isn’t half as much an integral part of the operating system as MSIE or Konqueror), I use Firefox.
 
Microsoft Internet Explorer was a decent webbrowser, oh about ten years ago. They then stopped developing it, while other software-manufacturers kept developing theirs. Among the prominent webbrowsers today are Mozilla Firefox (Windows, Mac, Linux), Opera (Windows, Mac, Linux), Safari (Mac OS and Windows), Internet Explorer (Windows Only), and Konqueror (Linux only). I prefer Firefox, for a range of reasons, the first being the fact that it is Open Source, and constantly being developed. Another is the fact that it is not an integral part of the OS. Should I tire of it, or wish to remove it for some reason (although I cannot now imagine how that would happen), I can remove it, and all trace of it with a minimum of moves.
 
Yet another argument is its adaptability and options for customization. It comes with a bare minimum of options, but you can easily add extentions that make your life easier. Mine shows the IP-adress of the site I am visiting, the hebrew date, and has a GUI-button that I can click to disconnect it from the web.
 
If you want to switch, or think you might like to try it out, please do. Find Firefox here, or Opera here.
 
It annoys me that there are still developers out there that don’t write for all browsers, and only test their sites in MSIE. I feel this practice is exclusivist and elitist, and I hate it. If I can avoid using these sites, I do. I also inform the webmaster that this is so, and should they remedy the situation, I’d like to be notified. The problem is that MSIE, like many others (Firefox included, though to a lesser degree) has inherent non-compliance issues. This is a problem because many sites don’t work properly (if at all) in other browsers.
 
The point, in the end, is not about what you choose, but that you do choose. Only through making conscious, informed decisions can we better our days as users of these electronic gadgets many of us love so dearly. Good luck, and good night.
 
Note on the links in this article: All links to Firefox are rerouted through a program called SpreadFirefox.com. Should you wish to download Firefox, you will be rerouted directly to the download site, and my account with SpreadFirefox.com gets one download added. I do not earn money from this, only recognition. The links to Opera lead directly to the website of Opera Software. Whichever you choose, I think it is important to make a choice.

A friend of mine whose tech savvy is usually worth listening to waxed religious about Opera the other night. When he does, there’s usually a good reason, so I decided to check it out.
 
Setting it up
Setting up a webbrowser shouldn’t be a complicated process, and Opera is as simple to install as most other browsers. When you open it, you get what Opera has decided to call “Speed Dial”, basically a page with nine “buttons”, previews of nine websites, to be defined by the user. Here’s what it looks like:

 
Using it
I’ve used earlier incarnations of Opera, but it’s been a while, and they’ve gotten very far since then. Opera has a decent ease of use, but utilizes different hotkeys than comparable browsers Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox, which makes crossing over a bit difficult. Nevertheless it presents itself as an intuitive and simple webbrowser.
 
One of the major features of Opera has since its inception back in 2000 been tabbed browsing. As an extension of this, Opera now features a preview-function of open tabs, which is activated by simply hovering the mouse pointer over the tab you wish to see as shown below:

 
All in all, Opera, like Safari presents itself as an impressive, intuitive and helpful addition to the family of webbrowsers. I’d like to have seen a higher degree of standardization when it comes to hotkeys, but mostly it’s a good browser, even though I doubt it will replace Firefox as my standard browser