The Perfect PDA

Even though your web browser is one of the most used apps on your computer few of us give it a second thought. Many of us simply use whatever program the computer came with. However, despite what some companies, particularly Microsoft, say there's plenty of competition for your eyeballs. A web browser follows a set of rules that tells it how to display text and images in the right places. Web pages are created using a number of different programming languages such as HTML, JavaScript and ActiveX. The browser interprets these languages in order to render a web page. The problem is that those rules are subject to interpretation so some browsers do a better job than others when displaying websites. Just to add some extra complexity, in an attempt to encourage use of their own browsers, some developers have created their own rules. As a result, some sites don't work properly unless you're using a specific browser. Most computers come with a default web browser. On a PC running Windows, this is usually Internet Explorer. It's now at version 7 (with version 8 currently available as a public beta). The interface is familiar and it passes the "just works" test. While IE's market share is significant, at about 70%, it's ceding to Firefox over time. IE is heavily targeted by hackers but Microsoft regularly posts updates to deal with security issues. There's no version of Internet Explorer for other platforms. There was a Mac version but development stopped in March 2000 and Microsoft withdrew it from download in January 2006. Foxy Firefox is an exceptionally popular browser and is supplied with many Linux distributions. With a market share of over 25% and growing it's one of the most downloaded applications on the Internet. There are versions of Firefox for Windows, the Mac and Linux and all share the same features. The only differences between platforms are those forced by the different operating systems. Firefox has a heavily exploited plug-in architecture that has resulted in a vibrant developer community that has created numerous extensions to Firefox. Performance is excellent and pages render perfectly. In fact, it's hard to find a downside. Switching from other browsers is easy as it can import settings and bookmarks from most other popular browsers. Mac users get Safari as their default web browser. Apple released a Windows version of its browser last year, as a way of showing off the software to potential switchers and to encourage a more consistent browser experience for the growing legion of iPhone users. Apple's Safari has only a 3% market share overall but it's the most popular browser for Mac users. In our testing, we found that it was significantly faster on a Mac than a PC at loading the same pages. On a PC, we found that it a little sluggish, particularly if it's been running a while. Opera's been around for a long time and works on just about any computer — there's even a mobile version for smartphones or PDAs. Opera has a long standing reputation as being the most "standards compliant" browser. In other words, it's the most rigorous adherent of the official web browser rules. Opera's clean interface delivers great performance. Like all modern browsers, it has tabbed browsing so that you can have multiple pages open at the same time. However, just placing the mouse pointer over a tab reveals a pop- up preview of that page making it easy to know what's open. Reflections The most recent entrant to the browser wars is Google Chrome. Developed by the folks from Google, there's a Windows version currently available with the promise of Mac and Linux compatibility "coming soon".'As a pre-release version it's still a work in progress but it does show plenty of promise. While it still lacks support for some web standards (some screens on Facebook simply didn't work) it's very fast. As it's updated and improved we'll be watching its progress closely as it shows lots of potential. Choosing a browser is an important decision as switching browsers is not easy. For example, there's no simple way to keep bookmarks synchronised between different browsers although most browsers provide a way to import settings as a "one off" activity. Keeping your browser up to date with the latest patches and maintaining your computer's antivirus software up to date is critical for safe web browsing. Although your web browser is a window looking out to the Internet it's also a doorway for unscrupulous folk to try and access your data by creating dodgy web pages that capture your personal data. Finally, if you're planning to switch browsers, make sure you test your most important websites. Many Internet banking services only support a limited number of different browsers. That means you may find having more than one browser on your system handy. You can use your preferred browser most of the time and the other just in case a particular site doesn't work properly.

Note: Anthony Caruana© Permission to copy or quote extracts from this article may only be done with the written permission of the author.

Reprinted from the February 2009 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia