Episode 61: The Browser Wars…Is Anybody Winning? Final Podcast in Series
April 3, 2008
Peter Karp
“Shadows And Cracks” (mp3)from “Shadows And Cracks”
(Blind Pig Records)
Welcome to the FINAL podcast in our series on The Browser Wars. As for whether or not anybody is winning, we discovered the answer to that depends on who you ask…..
Kim’s primary desktop/laptop browser is Firefox. She loves not having to worry about security and as a web designer, she enjoys the functionality Firefox extensions provide her.
Personally, I’m pretty wishy-washy on the subject. I, too, have Firefox as my default browser and love all the add-ons but right now, I’m still using K-Meleon (built on the same Mozilla engine as FF) and just haven’t found any reason to change. I do like using Opera to manage the chatroom/switchboard on Blog Talk Radio because it’s the only browser that lets me arrange the tabs. I can stack the screens for chat and call-in so I can monitor both.
Kim’s also been enjoying Flock, a browser we discussed in earlier shows that integrates browsing with social networking. She generally uses a browser exclusively for a week to give herself a chance to explore the features. Although she does like the browsing/social networking integration, Flock just doesn’t have the expansion capability of Firefox. a couple of the FF extension she particularly likes are Paste and Go, which allows her to paste text and load/search it immediately, and Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer which helps her keep the Firefox bookmarks on all her computers synchronized. **Note: I sure wish somebody would come up with a program that would allow me to synch my bookmarks across all the different browsers I use. Since we did this show, I watched a video by Chris Pirillo of Lockergnome in which he recommended AM Deadlink for synchronizing bookmarks for IE, Firefox and Opera. It also check for bookmarks that no longer work. Kim did say she was very happy that Flock imported all her FF bookmarks and passwords for password protected sites.
A Firefox security feature that helps Kim feel more secure is the built-in phishing filter. She also uses the Paypal Send Money extension to check for phishing sites. I use the FREE McAfee Site Advisor when I’m surfing with IE or Firefox (wish I could get it for K-Meleon…). BTW: The link will take you to the download page for whichever browser you’re using to get there!
Kim has used a couple of different mobile browsers (not me…I still use my cellphone just to send/receive calls…) and even though there is a mobile version of Firefox, it doesn’t work on her phone! She’s used Opera (and hates it) and is now using IE.
When it comes to desktop vs mobile browsers, Kim is waiting for the day when she can do everything on her cellphone that she can do on her desktop/laptop. She advises web designers to take into consideration that more and more people are going to be accessing website on their phones in the future and they really need to be designed to work!
If you’re interested in doing some browser testing on your own, we suggest you go to sites like CNET or PC World and do a search for browser reviews. You can also check out Sourceforge. We’ve both enjoyed this series and you can be sure we’ll continue our browser explorations and have more to share with you about our experiences on future shows!
Posted in Browsers
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