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Internet Web Browsers, Let's talk about that!

Internet Web Browsers, they help us surf across the almost never-ending oceans of the internet. Let's talk web browsers, people. What web browser have you been using, and why do you like it so much? Tell us your story of how you found the web browser you're currently in love with or have been in love with for a long time and find it hard to try out something else. Let me start by saying that I've never called myself a fan of the big three even if they are the go-to browsers for a ton of people. I don't like Internet Explorer (still amazes me that some use it and even love it), or Firefox (it's buggy, and when you add the useful addons to it, it becomes slower and even buggier so what's the point?), Chrome (uh I hate anything Google-related, I don't trust them not sure if I'm the only one who hates them as much, but yeah), and I've also tried Opera, and another lesser known web browser which was supposed to be better than Firefox optimized for x64 machines Pale Moon, but that didn't work either.

Finally, after the longest search of my life I stumbled upon the amazing Comodo Dragon Internet Browser, which yeah is based off of Chrome but is infinitely much better and even comes with an addon called "media grabber" that let's you download videos from youtube in good quality without any trouble whatsoever. I found the web browser because it came recommended by my COMODO anti-virus. At first I wasn't sure, but then after trying it for awhile, I fell in love instantly. I know my story is kind of boring but that's just how it went down. So I'm curious, /t/asksnapzu, tell me about that one web browser you love, the one that does everything you need it to do!

8 years ago by babymeta1 with 49 comments

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  • YourTaxGuy
    +10

    Firefox is my go to browser, with Chrome nearby in case Firefox gets buggy. Which doesn't happen too often, but that's probably because I don't use all its different capabilities.

    • IHeartGaming
      +1

      Same here; I only have a few add-ons that I regularly use, but I use Chrome for things that I need up that I don't want to have to login to again if Firefox crashes.

  • drunkenninja
    +7

    Between 97 to 2001 I used Netscape Navigator, then I switched to Internet Explorer until Firefox came out back in 03/04 or so, used that until 2008 when I started to Chrome. I've been using Chrome ever since but I might give some of the lesser known browsers a chance however.

    • MePLUR
      +3

      I have a very similar progression with browsers as you with a mix of K-Meleon between IE and Chrome.

      What made me hate IE with a passion, was trying to get a web site working on it back in the days.

    • redalastor
      +2

      I tried Netscape back then but it was slow and buggy. So I switched to Opera. It was pretty much the only good browser until Phoenix (the original name of Firefox).

    • RedditExodus
      +2

      Before I swapped to çhrome I was using Opera and I loved the quick function. I don't know what it's called or if they still have it (they probably do) but I believe you brought up a command circle (up, down, left and right) by long pressing the right mouse. If at that point you didn't want that "parrent" command you could select the four new options until you ran out.

      I found it really fast and easy to use, so maybe try that if you haven't yet.

      To be honest I don't recall being blown away by anything else and that function was the only thing holding me back from switching.

      • babymeta1
        +3

        That's the main feature that made me get Opera. The fact that you could click and drag your mouse to go back to a previous page, was something that blew my mind when it came to online productivity.

  • microfracture
    +7

    Firefox is my main browser. It runs perfectly, does everything I want, and is backed by a company that I trust.
    However, I also use Chromium (the open source project that Chrome is derived from) from time to time as well.

    • FrootLoops
      +2

      Pretty much the same here. Even chro(mium) seems a bit faster, i need the firefox extensions.

      • madjo
        +3

        Same here, I only use chrome/chromium when I want to use the Chromecast, but whenever Firefox gets that ability, I don't need to use that browser anymore, either.

        • jenjen1352
          +4

          Same here. Firefox for everything except, irritatingly, for Netflix. My back up Chrome does Netflix perfectly.

  • Priest
    +4

    Opera all the way, less of a resource hog than Chrome and has built in mouse gestures while still supporting many chrome extensions. Firefox on mobile, mostly since it is the only one that supports addons, giving me ublock.

    • double2
      +2

      Isn't opera now a chromium derivative anyway?

      • Priest
        +1

        It is, built on webkit/chromium but without the Google bloat and it is finally getting back some of the small things that made the old Opera (12.x) so great.

  • Mat5512
    +4

    For all of you who likes Opera there's a new one still in development called Vivaldi. It is made by Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner one of the guys who started Opera. Here's the link Vivaldi There's a lot of potential whit this one but it is still a little bit buggy. Give it a try!

    • IHeartGaming
      +1

      I'd seen this before, I have it bookmarked. I should really give Vivaldi a try and see how it is.

    • Priest
      +1

      I did not know about that one, will have to give it a try. Thanks for the tip!

    • double2
      +1

      Wow. This looks awesome. A browser built in javascript? That's insane. The possibilities are kind of endless...very cool! Let's give this a shot then...

  • Havear
    +3

    I've used most of the web browsers out there over the past two decades, but for the past few years I've been solidly stuck on Chromium. It's the open-source project Chrome's sourced from, so it has many of the same advantages.

    • MePLUR
      +2

      The one thing that held me back from using Chromium was the lack of a built in auto updater. Is it built in now or does it still rely on third party software?

      • redalastor
        +5

        Most of us with Chromium simply let our Linux distributions take care of the updates.

        • MePLUR
          +2

          Ah yes ... software updater. One of the things I do miss about Linux.

          • redalastor
            +1

            Chromium is not really a thing outside of Linux so a Windows Updater is not any kind of priority to the team.

  • Civil
    +3

    Chrome for general, everyday browsing. It's convenient to have all my Gmails (I have a lot) logged in already.

    Firefox for work because most of our apps don't work with Chrome.

    • DCSpud
      +1

      At least they work. My school redid their website and now it is completely broken with IE, like kinda reliable with Chrome and fairly reliable with Firefox. There is no browser that it just works.

  • DrunkOldMan
    +3

    Was a die hard Firefox user, it seemed to get too bloated after awhile and ran funky sometimes. I found THE browser and I love it, SRWare Iron! It's also in 64 bit, works like a dream for me and I recommend it to everyone, run it at work and at home, now if I could just get something decent on my Kindle HDX (Running Opera mobile) I would be happy!

  • ttubravesrock
    +2

    I have always gone back and forth and currently have 4 browsers on my computer that I use semi-regularly.

    Opera when I am on battery or my internet is slower than normal.

    Firefox for the bulk of my browsing and for one gmail account.

    Chrome for my other gmail account (the one I chat on).

    IE for work stuff.

    I might have to give Comodo Dragon a try though.

  • gremlin
    +2

    I use Chrome for my srs bsns. And I use FireFox for viewing nsfw content.

    I find Chrome convenient since it is logged onto my Gmail account, so if I were to use another computer then I would simply log on and all of my bookmarks would be there. It does use way too much memory.

    Although one day I should probably switch to a browser that emphasizes privacy and security... what do you guys recommend?

  • Tempest
    +2

    I mostly use firefox and switch over to chrome when I need to watch those videos that you can click and drag to look around. (Also for when firefox is acting up). I tried opera but didn't like the limited amount of addons it offered. I tried to make chrome my main browser but it just couldn't remember my passwords. It was very buggy back in the day. I was turned off by the whole thing, so I switched back to firefox.

    I'd like to try microsoft edge, the new browser microsoft announced. But with the last few versions of IE we've had, I'm not sure if I'll like Edge at all.

    • Priest
      +2

      Edge is currently very nice but lacks some important parts like addons/extensions (support is coming though) and the password management is a bit odd (comes up in a pop-up, for all passwords). I have no problems seeing it becoming a great browser with a few more iterations and at that point I would probably switch considering how fast and lightweight it is.

  • [Deleted Profile] (edited 8 years ago)

    [This comment was removed]

  • RedditExodus
    +2

    So lets see, I'm not certain what I started with (Firefox?) But at some point I found Opera and I just loved that quick function command circle thing they had (if you haven't guessed it idk what they called it). But after a long while I switched to Chrome (the command circle was hard to give up) and I really appreciate being able to log in anywhere, which I don't need but its nice.

    In the more recent past I have been almost primarily been using my phone so since you didn't stipulate PCs I will go into what I use now. So Chrome came standard with Android so I've been using that mostly, which I don't mind because I was used to it. Other than that I have Crocodile Browser which I found out from my sister who I think found out from Tumbler. Basically it's a browser for phones made by two African brothers since they didn't like how all these other browsers were made with other people in mind. If you go to the app reviews you'll see a lot of people talking about how fast it is but my Internet's to inconsistent for me to speak on that. I use Crocodile Browser as my browser for Snapzu while I wait for the app... I'm so lazy.

  • sixstorm
    +2

    I used to be a huge Firefox advocate but ever since Chrome came out and had every extension I wanted/needed, I've stuck with it ever since. Firefox is ok for a few things but I always go back to Chrome.

  • caelreth
    +2

    My first browser was NCSA Mosaic - the precursor to Netscape, which is where I went next. I use Chrome on Windows computers, but use Firefox on my Linux boxes. I haven't tried Comodo, but may definitely give it a shot.

    • idlethreat
      +4

      Crap. I was gonna post Mosaic, but you beat me to it.

      Yep, Run mosaic for a while, think I hopped over to Netscape shortly afterwards. Netscape was typically bundled with whatever ISP dialer software you installed back in the day.

  • DCSpud
    +2

    I am partial to Chrome mainly because I have a chromebook so the syncing between my desktop and chromebook is amazing. However, lets not ME or Microsoft Edge . I know that Internet Explorer has never really been that good. Lots of problems and compatibility issues. I haven't read up on it yet because I want to experience it for myself with the new windows release. The only thing that I know is that it is supposed to rival Chrome and Firefox. I hope it lives up to that expectation. This would make me feel better about the general public who don't know about other browers.

    • babymeta1
      +2

      A good Internet Explorer alternative is the Maxthon Web Browser, it kind of improves the "IE experience".

      • DCSpud
        +2

        Oh cool, never heard of that before. I'll check that out.

  • Kysol
    +2

    I can remember being amazed at the performance boost that we got with IE5... showing my age here. They released early beta's of it and it was glorious. I tried Opera but it was too bloaty for my liking. Went to Firefox for a while and then eventually stuck with Chrome / Chromium.

    Chrome for me even though it can be a memory hog for me (and my 50+ tabs, on a good day) is much more reliable than the other browsers around at the moment. Even though I wish that IE would go the way of Flash and other bad design decisions that have died off over the years, the latest versions of IE and their slow waltz back in line with the rest of the browser echo system have made me re-access the browser. If when the next iteration comes out, it has been fully isolated away from the core architecture of the OS, I might use it again as a browser, but as long as it still resides hand in hand with the core OS allowing exploits to cause mass destruction, I wouldn't touch it with a fully patched and totally isolated PC.

  • jmcs
    +2

    Firefox for almost everything, chrome for when I want to use my chromecast.

  • Jetisr
    +2

    Currently using Chrome, but I'll probably give Edge a go when I upgrade to Windows 10 in a few months.

  • Downtide
    +2

    I used to use Firefox for years but it got too bloated and slow. With reservations I switched to Chrome. But I'd far rather use something that's not owned by Google. I might give Comodo a look.

  • CuppaMatt
    +2

    As anyone did I started using IE for a short while in the late 90s before moving to Netscape Navigator. I then used Firefox quite a bit before making the move over to Chrome.

    I work in IT nowadays and I usually recommend Chrome. I find it as flexible as Firefox in terms of addons, etc but just that bit more speedy and efficient in terms of system load.

  • Amulet
    +2

    Oh man, thinking about Netscape Navigator puts me in a warm nostalgic vibe. Dialup modem connections, extremely slow downloading speeds, all the goodness. :)

    Nowadays I'm mostly on a Mac, so I use Safari. I also use Chrome for work related things, because I've set it up to sync my work bookmarks, plus it runs on all the major platforms. I use Chrome when I'm on Windows , and Firefox on Linux (because it handles HiDPI resolutions).

  • crincon (edited 8 years ago)
    +2

    Chrome. Sometimes Safari, because it's gentler on my laptop's battery, and sometimes Opera Mini in my tablet because it's amazingly lightweigth (btw, Snapzu doesn't play nice with Opera Mini). But Chrome keeps all my stuff in sync across devices, so it's a bit of a faff browsing with anything else. For anything more than casual browsing when I'm on the move, I stick with Chrome.

    I've used Firefox in the past, it's alright. I've had to debug websites to make them run on IE... it's made me want to climb the walls and scream in frustration. Luckily, never had to use it for myself, I don't really know of any website that requires IE. If I ever find one, I'm pretty sure I'll just switch to another website, not another browser.

  • RdVortex
    +2

    Firefox is my main browser on Windows and Android. Basically I've been using Firefox from way back when it was still called Firebird. I've tried Opera, Chrome, Pale Moon and Waterfox but always return to Firefox. Before Firefox was around I briefly used Internet Explorer. I think I've also tried Netscape Navigator but by then it was already on it's way out and I didn't really use it for too long.

  • cunt
    +1

    Opera on the laptop, Chrome on the Tablet, Internet Explorer on the Phone