Which browsers do you mainly use

[cjp]

The latest update for Firefox was a step too far in that as well as a number of my so useful extensions being stopped by their latest policy for add-ons I lost sound from the BBC other than the weather forecast. Originally a Netscape user I finally jumped ship by exporting my bookmarks and stored passwords and then changed browsers.
I kept away from Google's offering (Chrome) and Microsnuff's Explorer and, as a Ubuntu user, I opted for Pale Moon despite it not being in Ubuntu's Software centre.

http://www.palemoon.org/

All seems fine. It is a multi-platform browser and as well as being able to use many of Firefox's extensions it has it a number of its own extensions and Themes.

Statistics vary but Chrome now seems the most widely used browser thanks in part to being on many Android devices followed by Safari and then Firefox depending on which source you go to.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/268299/most-popular-internet-browsers/
http://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/desktop/united-kingdom
Pale Moon is not even listed but in tests it performs better than Firefox not that there is much difference overall
https://www.topattack.com/list/best-internet-browsers-review/4

When I started looking I found that there oodles of browsers to try
http://www.webdevelopersnotes.com/browsers-list
and I chose Pale Moon as it was based on Firefox but seemed to have different goals than the commercial Firefox although very similar

I just wondered what others use and as I do not not know what stats the forum holds or will reveal I thought so I would run my own mini poll just for fun.
(I know at work you may use one browsers and another personally and it is your personal choice which interests me)

 

[najaB]

Chrome as first choice, Firefox as second.

 

[507021]

Primarily, I use Chrome. Internet Explorer is my second choice.

 

[TheNewNo2]

I'm a Firefox user, though I confess the fact version 3 lasted years and now versions only last days annoys me.

I do also use Internet Explorer/Edge as that works better for connecting to Remote Desktop.

 

[GusB]

I've dabbled in various browsers over the years. My very first browser experience was with NCSA Mosaic, then I progressed to NetScape and switched between that an Internet Explorer. I was a big fan of Firefox when it was first released and used that more or less exclusively until Chrome came along, and again I flipped between the two.

When my laptop failed a few years ago I bought a Chromebook, so my only option is to use Chrome on that. I've simply become comfortable with it over the last few years, and stick with it for that reason. I still have to use IE for work, but I wouldn't ever use it at home. I think I opened Edge once on my desktop PC to see what it was like, but I'm far too set in my ways now.

One browser that wasn't mentioned was Opera. I played around with it on the desktop for a bit, but it was on my old Sony Ericsson mobile that it was vastly better than the built-in browser. Any Opera fans out there?

 

[High Dyke]

Currently use Firefox as my main browser, but have a couple of applications that run better on IE. Tried Chrome when it first came out, but found it slow to use.

 

[D365]

Chrome, then Safari/Firefox are my preferences on mobile or desktop. IE I am forced to use at work, so there...

Should I be surprised there's not an option for Edge? Would be nice to see some statistics for that.

 

[r37]

One browser that wasn't mentioned was Opera. I played around with it on the desktop for a bit, but it was on my old Sony Ericsson mobile that it was vastly better than the built-in browser. Any Opera fans out there?

I have used Opera mini on my phone for years, and it's worked very well. My phone is now rather outdated but Opera is still an acceptable speed on it, which is good. I also like how they haven't filled it with bloatware unlike a lot of browsers I've tried...

 

[sk688]

On my Macbook , I have Chrome , Opera , Firefox and Safari and Vivaldi, along with Chrome Canary , Firefox Dev , Opera Dev , Opera Neon and Safari Preview on the machine

Chrome is pretty good , but does make the fans run a bit

Opera on the whole is pretty good , and the Turbo feature is awesome , speeding up , what is an already speedy Virgin Media connection

Firefox , is good as a backup , and the new cleaner , flatter design coming this year , looks good

Safari is ok , fast , but little customization ( a dark theme is a must for all the browsers I use ) , and the extension library isn't as wide

Vivaldi is the most interesting one out of all of them . Much more customizable , it was founded by ex Opera staff , and is quite a nice looking browser overall . Extensions are from Chrome web store ,so a wide library is available , but it isn't the quickest at rendering

Opera Neon is the most wacky , but it's functionality has been reduced a lot , because it runs on Chromium 53 , which was released around this time last year

 

[Bevan Price]

Firefox, with Internet Explorer as 1st reserve.

Tried Chrome, but found it slow; also dislike the way it tries to sneak onto computer via other downloads. Have also tried Microsoft Edge, but disliked it because it seemed to prefer to do what Microsoft wanted rather than what I wanted.

 

[GusB]

On my Macbook , I have Chrome , Opera , Firefox and Safari and Vivaldi, along with Chrome Canary , Firefox Dev , Opera Dev , Opera Neon and Safari Preview on the machine

Chrome is pretty good , but does make the fans run a bit

Opera on the whole is pretty good , and the Turbo feature is awesome , speeding up , what is an already speedy Virgin Media connection

Firefox , is good as a backup , and the new cleaner , flatter design coming this year , looks good

Safari is ok , fast , but little customization ( a dark theme is a must for all the browsers I use ) , and the extension library isn't as wide

Vivaldi is the most interesting one out of all of them . Much more customizable , it was founded by ex Opera staff , and is quite a nice looking browser overall . Extensions are from Chrome web store ,so a wide library is available , but it isn't the quickest at rendering

Opera Neon is the most wacky , but it's functionality has been reduced a lot , because it runs on Chromium 53 , which was released around this time last year

I did have a go at Vivaldi a while back, but I think it was a very early release, and I didn't see anything particularly outstanding about it. It was eventually uninstalled having seen little use. Likewise with Opera Neon - it looked quite good, but I'm getting too stuck in my ways and my desire to try new shiny things isn't quite as strong as it used to be. I'll perhaps give them another go.

 

[Puffing Devil]

Chrome for daily, personal use.
Firefox for work
Opera or Epic when I want a "clean" start to a site with no cookies
TOR for interest.....

 

[D365]

Deleted.

 

[Geezertronic]

IE on work laptop (mandatory)
IE & Google Chrome on personal laptop
Safari on my iPad and iPhone

 

[Busaholic]

Shepherd Neame - or am I assuming the wrong misprint?!

 

[Train man]

Chrome. With extentions Adblock plus and Ultrasurf Privacy, Unblock and VPN.

 

[Howardh]

Opera.

 

[GWRtom]

Vivaldi.

 

[SS4]

Firefox. I don't trust chrome to value my privacy and Mozilla's moral stance is most in line with my own.

On mobile firefox focus is my main as it's blazing fast and easy to delete private data. Firefox is backup because it has extension support. Chrome is installed because I can't uninstall without root which I don't want to do

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

IE I am forced to use at work, so there...

I wonder how many commercial office-based systems still use IE?

 

[SpacePhoenix]

I prefer Firefox, though occasionally use Chrome. In wonder if there's any forum members who are forced to use IE6 in the workplace, I'd hope that there wouldn't be any but wouldn't be surprised if there were the odd one or two

 

[Bletchleyite]

Firefox. I don't trust chrome to value my privacy and Mozilla's moral stance is most in line with my own.

I agree with this, but Firefox is grindingly slow so I ended up swallowing my principles (!) and moving to Chrome.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

I agree with this, but Firefox is grindingly slow so I ended up swallowing my principles (!) and moving to Chrome.

Did you try disabling any installed extensions 1 at a time to determine if it was a browser extension causing the slowness? It's possible to do what is effectively a "factory reset" for Firefox

 

[D365]

I wonder how many commercial office-based systems still use IE?

I prefer Firefox, though occasionally use Chrome. In wonder if there's any forum members who are forced to use IE6 in the workplace, I'd hope that there wouldn't be any but wouldn't be surprised if there were the odd one or two

Our XP machines are all disconnected, thankfully. Most offices I imagine are on Windows 7, so they would be on IE11.

 

[najaB]

In wonder if there's any forum members who are forced to use IE6 in the workplace, I'd hope that there wouldn't be any but wouldn't be surprised if there were the odd one or two

Our XP machines are all disconnected, thankfully. Most offices I imagine are on Windows 7, so they would be on IE11.

Taking a quick snapshot of some data I have access to from a typical UK company: of just under a thousand machines, 23 are still running Windows XP and of those 4 still have Internet Explorer 6 installed. So there are still a few out there but MS seem to have largely succeeded in their effort to kill IE6.

 

[SS4]

I agree with this, but Firefox is grindingly slow so I ended up swallowing my principles (!) and moving to Chrome.

Have you considered Chromium? It's basically the open source version of chrome with some of the proprietary stuff removed. I basically run 5 addons and only one isn't legacy

I use chrome/IE11 at work depending on the task - I don't have any privacy on work computers so that doesn't matter so much

 

[dcsprior]

Mainly Chrome, but it seems a bit of a resource hog these days - whereas when it first came out it was noticeably faster and lighter than the established browsers.... maybe it's time for me to look at alternatives.

 

[takno]

Chromium on desktop, although I've got Firefox set up for testing. There isn't a lot to choose between them, but chromium feels smoother and still has better dev tools.

Firefox on Android. It's not as good as Chrome, but has support for extensions, and I can't deal without Stylish and an adblocker. Happy enough using Chrome for sites that don't have adverts.

When I'm developing traksy I lean heavily towards Chrome and Safari support, since that's where the traffic is overwhelmingly coming from.

 

[cjp]

The latest update for Firefox was a step too far in that as well as a number of my so useful extensions being stopped by their latest policy for add-ons I lost sound from the BBC other than the weather forecast. Originally a Netscape user I finally jumped ship by exporting my bookmarks and stored passwords and then changed browsers.

I suspect that my problem lies with Ubuntu as once again after an update I no longer have sound to BBC clips. Everything else seems work as it should - just no sound to BBC News clips.
It would be nice if it would magically fix itself by the time I get home

 

[takno]

I suspect that my problem lies with Ubuntu as once again after an update I no longer have sound to BBC clips. Everything else seems work as it should - just no sound to BBC News clips.
It would be nice if it would magically fix itself by the time I get home

Strange. They're working fine for me on Firefox/Ubuntu