What's Your Browser?

[Fledermaus]

From the very beginning of my Geocaching activities, I have been utilizing Internet Explorer v5.0 or 5.5. However, I just upgraded to Internet Explorer v6.0. In addition, I have added Mozilla FireFox v1.0 to my system. Of late, I have been utilizing FireFox to access GC.COM and the internet in general.

 

I am interested in finding out if anyone else out there is using FireFox as their browser of choice, or any other browser for that matter, and what negativities you have encountered with your specific browser, as it relates to GC.COM or the internet in general.

 

Someday, if all goes well, I will remove myself of the "Gates Dynasty" and move on to Linux. If you are running a Linux system, I would greatly appreciate whatever input you may have, as it relates to GC.COM or the internet in general.

[+NightPilot]

I've been using Firefox for some time. IE has too many security issues, which Microsoft admits can't be fixed by updates. Firefox works very well for me, and I don't see why anyone would keep using IE. I've tried Opera, Netscape, and Mozilla, but Firefox is the best I've found.

[+Tzoid]

I'm on bleeding edge Opera ( 8.0 Beta ). Have been using Opera as my main browser since version 5.something. I also have IE 6.0 and Firefox 1.0 installed. IE is only used as a last resort. I find Firefox still lacking in some respects compareed to Opera, mainly customizability. Yes, Opera does not have the possibility of plugins that Firefox has, but there are very few Firefox plugins that I actually miss in Opera ( Forecast-plugin is one of'em )

[+briansnat]

I mostly use Netscape 7.2 or Firefox 1.0. Probably Firefox about 60 percent of the time. I only use IE if I have to, meaning when something doesn't work witht he other browsers.

[+New England n00b]

I'm almost exclusively FF 1.0 now. The only thing that bugs me about it that FF does not seem to handle using the UBB buttons in this forum software. If I highlight something and hit the "B" button, it drops the tag at the end of the text, not the selected area (and then only the open tag, not the close).

 

I do so love the AdBlock extension. After installing it, right click on any spasmodic banner ad, click AdBlock and -*poof*- gone. Love it.

 

Do I ever use IE? Very rarely anymore. If I need to for some reason, I use the ViewIE extension (sp?) in FF which lets me open up a link in an IE window.

[+larsl]

I'm using Firefox on Linux, I haven't had any problems with geocaching.com or forums.Groundspeak.com.

[+Bob Blaylock]

  iCab.

[+Cache Rabbits]

I have completely gone to Firefox. There are those rare sites such as the Windows Update site (imagine that) that require IE, so I do have to use that occassionally. We have switch one of our seven branch locations where I work to Firefox, and have seen a great reduction in spyware, adware, and other miscellaneous issue that were giving us problems.

[+Latitude 26]

Safari 1.2.4

 

(I use a Mac!)

 

"Bassmedic"

[+PDOP's]

Mozilla 1.7

[+Team Perrito Blanco]

I've been on Firefox for well over a year now. It's great. Highly recommended.

[+Allanon]

At home on my Mac I have Firefox, Camino, Mozilla, Safari, and as a very last resort if nothing else will work, I have IE (some sites just won't work with anything else).

 

With the exception of IE, they are all set to open with a script when I power on and display a different site...

 

At work, I have Firefox as my default, but must use IE for the intranet because the internal pages are coded for it.

[+Randy4]

FF 1

[+blindleader]

I haven't used IE voluntarily since the days of the browser wars. I've used:

Netscape Navigator

Mozilla (from v0.9)

Opera (from v4.0 I think)

Firefox 1.0 Preview.

 

Currently installed: IE 5.0, Netscape 7.1 Opera 7.50, Firefox 1.0 Preview

 

Note on IE. - I avoid upgrading any MS product. The dwindling number of web sites that don't work right with other browsers are rarely worth any effort on my part to visit.

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

We use IE6.0.26 with Norton System works and Personal Firewall. We don't have any problems with popups. Rarely do we get adware (we check with 3 different programs.). Really like "Hijack This" for problem virus and spyware elimination (Have only had 2 get through, in the past couple of years.).

 

Really don't see what all the fuss is about.

 

John

[+orome]

I switched from IE6 to FireFox a month or so ago and adore it. The tabbed browsing makes viewing forums much, much easier - I middle-click on a link and it's loaded by the time I get around to reading it, on either my home broadband or away dialup connections. The adblocking could use some work but it's more than Microsoft's offering has built-in.

 

Thunderbird for email and newsgroups is similarly sweet, and the RSS feed reader built-in was the clincher for me.

[+Medic005]

Using IE 6, been thinking about Firefox. I ordered a new Dell laptop, so when it arrives, I'm going to try out Firefox on it.

[+strikeforce1]

I use Netscape 7.2, and have herd about Firefox. I won't use IE, unless absolutely a must. Still hesitating on swithcing, just yet.

 

Are there any major issues, that anyone has encountered when switching?

Thanks in advance, SF1

[[MTB]_Intrepid]

Using Firefox for the last 3 months, won't go back to IE unless absolutely necessary (MS sites). Tabbed browsing rocks! Got fed up with IE not deleting cookies and temp files on exit even though I burrowed through menu after menu to find the settings...they just don't work. Also, I don't like index.dat and it's record of every place visited, etc. BTW, if you want to kill index.dat, create a new user account with administrator rights, log in, and search for index.dat (it's hidden in several places). You'll be able to finally delete this pesky file.

[Dale_Lynn]

Use Netscape 7.2 exclusively....

 

Firefox is same Mozilla base as Netscape.... With cutsie graphics and no mail feature as in Netscape....

 

Dale

Edited December 27, 2004 by Dale_Lynn

[+Bionico]

Firefox Guy here.

 

I've been using Firefox since waaaaaaayy back when it was a prototype.

 

I've also been using Mozilla since the Foundation got the sourcecode from Netscape.

[+robert]

Safari 1.2.4

 

(I use a Mac!)

Firefox 1.x on OSX.3.7

[+cottonmouth]

I use FF 1.0 on a Linux machine. I can't access the Windows update pages properly. For obvious reasons that doesn't bother me too much. I encountered not too much sites that required IE. None of them was worth bothering with them (a few lost buisiness to competitors but that's their problem not mine).

With the proper plugins (adblock is highly recomended the rest is up to your taste) the general experience with the internet and GC is pleasant.

FF fails to resume downloads when the connetion is interrupted. For bigger files I use Opera as it handles that better.

[+Jeeocacher]

FIREFOX ROCKS! I love all the extensions and updates, and the ability to customize it. I recomemend it!

[+Night Stalker]

I am one of those lazy people who haven't changed. I also am running Norton System Works, Norton Firewall, Spam Subtract, and Spy Subtract after my previous mailbox was taken over by the enemy and started spamming the Universe. Anyone need some sex toys. I am sure I can reactivate my old mailbox long enough to send you some really interesting Spam.

 

[+Team Virginia Browns]

Firefox rocks. Kicks IE's...well you get the idea. Tabs, ad blocker, popup blocker, many many extensions. Well worth a look.

[HWyatt]

Safari 1.2.4

 

(I use a Mac!)

 

"Bassmedic"

Safari here too.

 

HWyatt

[+graldrich]

Phoenix,firebird,firefox for the past 2 years!

[mstandal]

I'm using FireFox for almost everything. Loads CSS/Web Standards based designs lightning fast. No mess to clean up either

[+Ciyt]

I use the Maxthon browser. Looks like IE and seems to have functions like Mozilla fire fox. It used to be called MyIE2.

[+vds]

From the very beginning of my Geocaching activities, I have been utilizing Internet Explorer v5.0 or 5.5. However, I just upgraded to Internet Explorer v6.0. In addition, I have added Mozilla FireFox v1.0 to my system. Of late, I have been utilizing FireFox to access GC.COM and the internet in general.

 

I am interested in finding out if anyone else out there is using FireFox as their browser of choice, or any other browser for that matter, and what negativities you have encountered with your specific browser, as it relates to GC.COM or the internet in general.

 

Someday, if all goes well, I will remove myself of the "Gates Dynasty" and move on to Linux. If you are running a Linux system, I would greatly appreciate whatever input you may have, as it relates to GC.COM or the internet in general.

Run Fedora Core 3 Linux and Firefox, no problems whatsoever with gc.com.

 

Under the control of the Redmond Empire, I run Firefox over Win XP Pro SP2, also no problem. XP is particularly nice if you run GSAK (highly recommended) to process your custom queries and download waypoints to the PDA. GSAK also has a nice feature where you can batch up your processing to do exports to the PDA (mine's a Dell Axim X30 with 802.11b+Bluetooth) and to Streets+Trips to plan out your cache machines.

 

Biggest thing I see with Firefox is its speed, and excellent popup stopper functionality. It's a little bit of a pain to have to reload all the helpers (Flash, Acroread, etc.) but still light years ahead of IE in speed and especially stability. I haven't been able to hang or crash FF yet.

[Azaruk]

I use Mozilla, currently 1.8a6, having no problems at all. As mentioned in a previous post, no pop-ups ( ) no security issues, and, being an open-source foundation product, is continually being improved and updated to keep one step ahead of the nasty little computer hackers out there!

 

Great product!

[+camanocacher]

I have been using Firefox for almost 1 year. Starting with a pre-release version to the current release 1.0. Unless I'm at the MS update site or a couple of financial site that require IE6, I use Firefox exclusively.

 

I am so impressed with the features, ease of use and increased security/privacy features of Firefox, I have set my IT staff lose to convert my networks 50+ workstastions to use it.

 

Tabbed Browsing

Increased Privacy

Better Security

Faster loading/browsing

 

Why would anyone us MS IE?

[+BlueGerbil]

IE (since version 3 or 4)

 

Works great for me. No problems with popups (Google) or viruses (Firewall and Norton AntiVirus).

 

Tabbed Browsing

- Why ? I just start another IE. RAM is so cheap nowadays.

Increased Privacy

- You care about privacy and publish your coordinates ?

Better Security

- My firewall and my AV-software works. Period.

Faster loading/browsing

- My PC is fast enough and Firefox wouldn´t bring me a faster DSL-line, would it ? Edited December 28, 2004 by BlueGerbil

[+AuntieWeasel]

I've been a paying Opera customer for years. Love it. Though I am currently using it under Windows, I have used it under Linux with good success.

 

When I ran Linux for a while, I loaded every browser on offer out of curiosity, which was a good half dozen of them. I'm sorry I can't be helpful enough to remember what they were, but several of them were very quick, by virtue of being light and lacking overhead.

 

There was also a fonts issue in Linux, as I recall. Until you downloaded and compiled a font antialiasing component, the fonts in all browsers looked crunchy and awful. Once patched, they were fine, but I remember it as being a not-trivial process of finding several needed components.

 

Sorry to be so vague -- my last flirtation with Linux was a couple of years ago. For once in my life, I wanted to stand on top of my machine and shout, "HAHAHA! I am ROOT at LAST! Bow before me, mere lusers!"

[+New England n00b]

One use of tabbed browsinh has nothing to do with memory usage (anyway it's the RELEASING of memory afterwards that is the issue).

 

I have geocaching.com open in on FF window, and several forums open on tags in that window.

 

Another instance of FF might run Yahoo & hotmail in tabs, etc. etc.

 

Doing things that way keeps the task bar from getting overly cluttered.

 

Security also includes firm control over cookies, pop-ups, caches, and other things. IE provides no way to block ads. Or to customize.

 

IE also allows web desginers to ditch standards, making certain websites only viewable in IE, because they are so off-spec that conforming browsers don't display correctly.

 

FF is better than IE in a number of ways, and mostly in one, self-contained unit. If you don't like that, good for you. Why do you have a problem with people who DO like it?

[+BlueGerbil]

I do NOT have a problem with persons using firefox. Please don´t me wrong. Just wanted to answer the previous posting.

[beebot]

I'm a huge Mozilla Firefox fan. I use Firefox on my Win2000 desktop and on my WinXP laptop. I've had no problems using it on Geocaching.com

 

The only time I break out Internet Explorer (IE) is on web sites that are coded to work with IE only.

 

I've setup one of my older desktops to run RedHat Linux and it almost works as a Windows replacement for me. But I hate to change, so I feel stuck with Windows, but I refuse to buy another WinXP machine because of my anti-MS feelings.

 

In the past couple years I've started using Macs for video production and my next computer will probably be a Mac Powerbook.

 

The bottom line is what software do you really need and what Operating System (OS) is it available on?

[skillett]

Use Netscape 7.2 exclusively....

 

Firefox is same Mozilla base as Netscape.... With cutsie graphics and no mail feature as in Netscape....

 

Dale

Ihave firefox 1.0 and it has a mail feature just click tools mail. i have not used it though and could not tell you if it works or not. I love firefox though. wouldnt go back to IE for 'nuthin. no popups or spyware and a way cool weather forcast plugin.

[skillett]

Use Netscape 7.2 exclusively....

 

Firefox is same Mozilla base as Netscape.... With cutsie graphics and no mail feature as in Netscape....

 

Dale

Ihave firefox 1.0 and it has a mail feature just click tools mail. i have not used it though and could not tell you if it works or not. I love firefox though. wouldnt go back to IE for 'nuthin. no popups or spyware and a way cool weather forcast plugin.

[+NightPilot]

If a site requires IE to view it, I go elsewhere. If you want me to visit your website, adhere to standards.

[jhansman]

Avant, and wouldn't use anything else. Frankly, Firefox is a poor implementation of tabbed browsing.

[+erik88l-r]

I use Firefox.

 

Only gripe is the autoscrolling I experienced when trying to select a bookmarked URL.

I cured that problem by putting all the links into folders so that the list is only as long as what is visible on the page, but it's still sorta aggravating to have to do that.

 

~erik~

[+IMLost]

Firefox on all my computers. I have disabled IE on my winXp computer if I get a site that only works with with IE it's not worth viewing. My other computers run Fedora Core 2 and Suse Profesional never had a problem with them. If you are going to try Linux I would try and get a copy of Suse it's very easy to install and has nice configuration utilities.

 

rbezell Wrote:

 

I have firefox 1.0 and it has a mail feature just click tools mail. i have not used it though and could not tell you if it works or not. I love firefox though.

 

If you right click on the icons below the top menu and click customize you can drag and drop the mail icon onto your toolbar. It works and by the way Thunderbird is a fantastic mail program.

Edited December 30, 2004 by IMLost

[coolcars011]

firefox....on windows longhorn beta,,, shhhh!...

[ThePup]

Opera 7.6 under RedHat Linux 9 here. No issues with any websites to date. (Did have to upgeade opera to 7.6 to use Gmail). Been using opera since about version 5.

 

I Tried Firefox a few times, with each new release, and failed to see what all the fuss was about - Sure, it's nice, and it's Not Microsoft, but all it's "New Features" have been in Opera since I've been using it, so they were nothing that hot for me. I Just preffer the look, feel, and speed of Opera. I Guess technically, Opera isn't a free browser like Firefox is, it's Adware - If you don't pay for it, you get an ad in the top right corner. It's very unobtrusive, takes up very little realestate, and I barely notice it thesedays. Even with the ad, I have more viewing area than IE!

 

My 98 box at home is running Win98lite, which removes Internet Exploder for me - Very nice Install 98, do windows updates, install 98lite, remove IE.

[+DaveA]

From the very beginning of my Geocaching activities, I have been utilizing Internet Explorer v5.0 or 5.5. However, I just upgraded to Internet Explorer v6.0. In addition, I have added Mozilla FireFox v1.0 to my system. Of late, I have been utilizing FireFox to access GC.COM and the internet in general.

I have been using firefox for awhile. In the early days I used the netscape browser while the early versions of IE were far inferior to it. Then IE surpassed Netscape and the browser went under. For a few years I used IE while occasionally trying other browsers and finding them inferior. I gave up on anything other than IE and web sites started getting developed to work with only IE due to MS customizing stuff to control the market.

 

Then someone recommended Firefox to me. I tried it and was surprised how familiar it felt. Then I discovered the extensions for it and found I could make FF do things IE never could.

 

These days the only time I use IE is when I encounter the rare site (like some at work) where they only work correctly with IE.

 

I cannot believe the difference in spyware. I used to run spyware progs daily and find 20-30 items. Now that I use firefox I can go for a month without running spyware progs and the machine is still clean. I have also switched email from Outlook to Thunderbird.

 

Time will tell what MS's response to FF will be, but for the time being FF is taking market share away from MS at a rapid rate and I am happy to be part of the trend. FF is a darned good browser and it seems to have none of the security issues that have plagued IE since it's inception. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks MS made IE for folks who wanted to have a means to spy on people as it doesn't seem to matter how one sets the security settings, spyware and tracking cookies get through.

 

Not so with FF.

[+CoolBreeze2513]

I use the MSN 9 browser, FF and netscape......but I use the MSN 9 browser the most because I am used to it.

[+AnalogDog]

I use both Firefox 1.0 and Konqueror under Mandrake Linux 10,1 to access the site. All seems well.

[Memento]

I used Netscape from Ver3.0 to 7.2. The transition to FireFox was flawless. The only browser worse than IE is AOL, IMHO.