Web browsers are the vehicles that put us on the super highway of the World Wide Web. Like automobiles, there are many brands of web browsers. All of them get you on the web and down the super highway. The differences are in speed and style. While Internet Explorer and Firefox dominate the market, other web browsers have ardent and loyal supporters.
Opera
Opera has a long and solid history for navigating the web. Opera traces its history back to the web browsing pioneers in 1994. It is known for its speedy page rendering and a wealth of built-in tools. Some of Opera’s features include:
- Cellphone browser.
- Customizable with themes and skins.
- Elaborate tabbing. Opera lets you protect a tab from closing, re-open closed tabs, and save sets of tabs.
- Search predictions. As you type in your search request, Opera will offer suggestions to refine your search.
Safari
Safari at one time ran exclusively on Apple computers. Today it has both Mac and Windows versions. Safari has a fine reputation for fast page loads and stability. Other features of Safari include:
- Supports plug-ins from Shockwave, QuickTime and Flash.
- Has scriptable plug-ins which allow you to create your own plug-in.
- Continuous reading. No more clicking through numerous pages to get to the end of the article.
- One-click emailing from within the browser.
Chrome
Chrome is a newcomer to the browser arena. Developed by Google to compete with both Internet Explore and Firefox, Chrome is rapidly coming to the forefront in terms of stability and security. A few of Chrome’s features include:
- The Omnibox which allows you to search either by web address or search words.
- Incognito Mode lets you browse without living footprints in your browser history.
- Tab Security. With the Chrome browser, tab crashers are isolated. In other words only the one tab is affected, the others remain viable.
In a market when all browsers are priced the same (free downloads), it makes sense to explore all the options and find the browser that works best for your usage.