The Browsers I Use

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With most of the planet is STILL using IE exclusively (which I used to back in the day, but now I know better :P), but I don't think that's even possible these days - most people would need at least one other browser just in case. I have Firefox, Google Chrome, IE and Opera (which I don't know why I have it, I hardly use it) on my laptop.

My primary internet browser is Firefox. I tried it pre 1.0 way, way back and it was nothing to shout about and I went back to using IE. Picked it up again later on and I've been using it since. For the longest time it was the only known browser with tabbed browsing (until IE caught up eventually), which is great for people with short attention spans and hates having too many browser windows going in the task bar.

I also like that it's also highly customisable with the various settings and third party extensions to enhance the Internet experience - you can block ads, change the look of your browser, etc etc so no two people's Firefox browsers are alike.

Version 3.5 came out last week - it might be the Internet connection or the extensions I have going on (which I fail to cull because I do use all of them at some point), but I find it a little slow.

While I use it most of the time, I find it a bit terrible for watching online video, streaming or otherwise: it seems to take longer than usual to load. With the Flash blocker installed, I have extra clicking to do if I want to watch anything on YouTube, for example. Which is where Google Chrome comes in - it's really fast in general and even better for YouTubing.

The only time I use IE when some random dumbass site demands that it be viewed in IE (yes, I know there are ways of going about it without actually using IE, but...) and Opera when all the other browsers seem problematic, the last ditch browser. That is how I find myself using several browsers simultaneously.

I've tried Flock, the browser for social networking, but it's too much work and another browser I don't really need.