Posted by Phil on October 3, 2008 – 4:29 am
Which is the best browser? That all depends on the purpose. Here’s a short summary comparison of the three browsers:
Internet Explorer 7.0/8.0: It launches slow, loads pages slow and has many irksome features in the general bloated fashion of Microsoft. I have little use for IE for home use. However, on an enterprise level, IE makes a compelling argument for it’s use with integrated authentication and compatibility with its Office and SharePoint products.
FireFox 3.0: Still a mainstay on my desktop, FireFox has an amazing array of browser add-ons that make it a browser of choice for developers. FireFox is hands-down the most flexible and feature packed browser with a large developer community. For an all-purpose browser FireFox takes the cake. One important caveaut, add-ons can slow the launch of the browser down to that of IE which is paltry.
Chrome: The fastest browser by far. It launches quick, loads pages rapidly and simply a slick browser. It’s streamline design, not surprising coming from Google, allows for more screen space. I hope that Google doesn’t get the itch to over engineer the browser as it evolves but leaves the simplicity of it alone. For Mac fans, Chrome is on its way; Just hang on.
Posted by Phil on March 27, 2007 – 9:27 pm
I’m not crazy about MS Windows, but until recently I have to say that my Dell Desktop with WindowsXP was pretty rock solid. That all changed after I upgraded to IE7. All of a sudden the machine started running slower, the browser itself grinded along and the CPU utilization shot-up. Finally, this past week, I was having error notifications that were taking down the machine. Talk about a whacked machine. After uninstalling a number of programs, checking the log files and making sure there were no viruses, I discovered the real virus: IE7 itself. After expunging the machine of the updated version it appears to be back to its normal zippy self. Sure IE7, finally catching-up w/ features FireFox has sported for quite some time, may seem like a logical move. Remember my friends, this is not logic you are dealing with, it’s a corporate entity that at times defies logic. As long as I’m running XP I’m going to refrain from upgrading to IE7. For sites that require up-to-date browsers, I’ll stick w/ FireFox.
Posted by Phil on March 19, 2007 – 5:48 pm
You heard it right. Designers and developers who use Adobe products will have to upgrade to new versions to run stable apps on Vista, reports InformationWeek.com. Somewhere in the wrangling between Microsoft and Adobe, a very important player was neglected…the customer. While this news will hit a significant segment, I imagine this is just the tip of the iceberg. What other legacy programs are going to choke on the new operating system? Will users buy into it or is it time to go Mac or Linux? If Microsoft doesn’t work harder w/ other vendors they may be surprised at the diminishing market share. Adobe is not as likely to take a hit b/c folks who shift to an alternate OS will be able to run Adobe products just as well. If I were Adobe I’d either develop patches to run old versions on Vista, offer inexpensive upgrades or offer incentives for folks to move over to the new OS or promote transitioning to a Mac format. In any case, seems to me Microsoft stands to lose more in the deal. There are other competitive Operating Systems, but when it comes to graphics and animation, Adobe really has the market share. The greatest loser however will be the end-users. Maybe it’s finally time to bail on Microsoft, if you haven’t already.
Posted by Phil on March 19, 2007 – 3:33 pm
This weekend I installed my complimentary copy of Microsoft Office 2007 on my desktop at home. As a developer, Microsoft gave me a full version copy at the Vista Launch. I haven’t really spent much time w/ the new app yet, but my daughter has. Tonight when I walked in the door she shouted, "I love Microsoft!" I don’t share quite the same enthusiasm as her, but it’s been fascinating to watch over her shoulder as she dove into Word and is creating documents with very unique formatting. She intuitively learned some of the latest features with zero training from her dad. I just let her go. I imagine that she, unlike many adults, took Word much farther as she’s less inhibited in the learning curve. She certainly does not have the comparison of the way it used to be syndrom that plagues most adults. Sure the new app will require some re-learning, but I think M$ got it right on this one. I wonder how much product testing Microsoft does with nine year-old children. Probably a good idea.