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Miscellaneous Ramblings
Why Are Mac Users Still Surfing with Internet Explorer?
Charles Moore - 2004.03.24 - Tip Jar
It is a matter of wonderment and perplexity to me that Mac users - especially OS X users - continue to rely on tired old Internet Explorer for their Web surfing. Notwithstanding my abiding disdain for all things Microsoft, I will concede that at one time IE was a competent browser, perhaps even the best of a lackluster lot, but that day is long since passed.
Approximately two years ago, I did a timed comparison shootout of seven then-current OS X browsers, and IE pulled up dead last or next to last in all tests. Browser technology has advanced substantially since then, but IE for OS X is still at the same mediocre level of development it was in 2002, far behind modern browsers like Safari and FireFox, and Microsoft has terminated at all but maintenance development of the product, so it isn't going to get any better.
Meanwhile, Apple's Safari is proving to be an excellent and reliable, if less than imaginative, browser. Mozilla.org, IMHO, leads the pack with both Mozilla 1.6/1.7 beta and the FireFox betas, which are solid, reliable, standards compliant, and very fast. Mozilla claims that with the latest Mozilla 1.7 beta, released last Friday, size and performance have improved dramatically. When compared to Mozilla 1.6, Mozilla 1.7 beta is 7% faster at startup and 8% faster at window open time, has 9% faster page loading times, and is 5% smaller in program size. Camino, another variant based on Mozilla's Gecko browser engine, is also fast and uses OS X Cocoa interface standards exclusively.
OmniWeb 5 (based on the Safari WebCore and JavaScriptCore frameworks and still a beta preview) is a truly innovative and fresh face on the Mac browser scene, as is the new Opera 7.50 beta released last week, which my gut tells me is neck and neck with FireFox in the front row of the browser speedstakes.
I also continue to use iCab for its rock-solid "just works" dependability, great download manager, the best history and tabbed browsing implementation in the industry, and the deepest selection of page save options.
The OS text browser category also offers an embarrassment of great choices.
So why does anyone persist in using doggy old Internet Explorer, which doesn't even support tabbed browsing?
I suppose there is the odd website that refuses to work with anything but IE, although in many instances that can be circumvented by having mean non-IE browser identify itself as IE, which is a preference option with most browsers these days (and which places serious doubt on those market analysis surveys that find 97% or so of Web surfers using Internet Explorer).
I've very rarely run into websites that FireFox and Safari can't handle. Of course, I avoid Microsoft's own and closely affiliated websites as much as possible, and if some third party is stupid enough to restrict access to Internet Explorer only, then to hell with them - they're not going to get my business.
Incidentally, not all sites that say they require Internet Explorer or Netscape actually do. For example, my daughter's university's website makes such a stipulation, but it works perfectly well with Safari.
Unfortunately, while OS X enjoys a veritable garden of browser delights, things are not so flush on the classic Mac OS side, where browser development has a essentially ground to a halt except for iCab, which continues to release up to date versions that not only support the classic Mac OS, but even ancient 680x0 Macs. Bravo iCab!
With
my WallStreet PowerBook and
Umax SuperMac S900 tower
both running OS 9, and my PowerBook 1400 in OS 8.6, I mainly use
iCab, backed up by Netscape 4.8, which is still a decent-performing
(although very dated) browser. If I were doing a lot of Web work with
the WallStreet, I would probably also use Netscape
7.02, which is the last variant of the Mozilla family that
supports the classic Mac OS, so there are alternatives to IE for
Classic users.
So if you're still using Internet Explorer with either Mac OS platform, do yourself a favor and check out some of the alternatives. I think you'll be happy that you did.
Charles Moore has been a freelance journalist since 1987 and began writing for Mac websites in May 1998. His The Road Warrior column is a regular feature on MacOpinion, and he is a news editor and columnist at Applelinks.com. If you find his articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
Recent Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Soft Touch Keyboards, Wireless Mouse Options, Loving SeaMonkey 2, and More, 11.18. Also the future of browsing with PowerPC Macs and the multiple mouse input bug introduced with OS X 10.5.8.
- 4 Mac Browsers Updated Recently, 11.16. A look at the release version of Safari 4.0.4 and preview versions of Firefox 3.6, Chrome 4.0, and Opera 10.10.
- More Mighty Mouse Alternatives, Wireless Safety, Switching to ClipMenu, and More, 11.11. Also Apple's AirPort Card as the best solution for Pismo, Color It and Snow Leopard, and later revision Mac OS X install discs.
- Putting the SeaMonkey 2.0 Internet Suite Through Its Paces, 11.09. SeaMonkey is the successor to Netscape Navigator with its browser, email and news clients, and HTML editor. Version 2.0 puts it on par with Firefox 3.5.
- More in the Miscellaneous Ramblings index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: Power Mac G5 Quad, Oct. 2005 - With two 2.5 GHz dual-core G5 CPUs, the G5 Quad was the most powerful PowerPC Mac ever and introduced PCI Express.
- Group of the Day: Mac Network deals with all aspects of Mac networking.
- November 21 in LEM history: 00: OS upgrades, downgrades - AltiVec vs. Pentium III - 01: Saved by the clones - Computer of the future - 02: Apple Education: Let's get to it - 03: Panther lets Macs and PCs work together, - Lombard SCSI bug - 05: 3 survivors from the 1970s - Real world battery life inadequate - Windows to Mac file transfer with Zip disks - $99 alternative to Microsoft Office - 06: Parallels 1.0 far more polished than beta
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Apple's Tablet an End Run Beyond Netbooks, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 11.20. Whatever Apple has planned will leverage existing technologies while going beyond what its competitors can offer.
- NASA Chemical Sensor for iPhone, Smartphone Death Match, iPhone Earrings, and More, Ian R Campbell, 11.20. Also mobile phone dangers, new apps, GPS solution for iPod touch, new iPod and iPhone cases, and more.
- Apple #4 in Reliability, Apple Tablet a Gadget for All?, HP's i7 Notebook Outdoes Mac Rivals, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.20. Also Flash 10.1 improves video on Hackintosh netbooks, thin-and-light notebooks impress, Windows XP finally on the way out, and more.
- i5 iMac Benchmarked, Mac mini 'Shouldn't Be Overlooked', Twitter Client for Classic Mac OS, and More, Mac News Review, 11.20. Also why Apple leaves the low end to others, 10.6.2 fixes video playback problem in 27" iMac, 3D Leopard and Snow Leopard performance, and more.
- Replacing the Hard Drive in a Clamshell iBook, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 11.19. Yes, it is one of the most difficult Apple notebooks to disassemble and reassemble, but a 10 GB hard drive just will not do.
- IBM Model F: A Great Old Keyboard with an Outdated Layout, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 11.19. Although it used a different technology than the revered IBM Model M keyboard, the Model F was a great keyboard in its own right.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
- Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
- Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.17. Used 1.83 GHz, $750; 2.16, $800; 2.33, $900; refurb 2.4, $1,299; 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,899; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.17. Used 400 MHz, $50; 933 MHz, $80; 500 dual, $60; 867 dual, $90; 1 GHz dual, $150; 1.25 GHz dual, $225; 1.42 GHz, $499.
- Best Mac OS X 10.5 Deals, 11.17. "Leopard" upgrade, $80; single user license, $135; 5 users, $173; Mac Box Set, 5 users, $230; Server, 10 users, $340; unlimited, $850. Shipping included.
- Best Mac mini Deals, 11.16. Used 1.42 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.66 GHz Core Solo, $419; 2.0 Core 2, $450; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $769; Server, $990.
- Best iBook G4 Deals, 11.16. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $210; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz, $479; SuperDrive, $498.
- Best iPod shuffle Deals, 11.16. Used 1 GB, $35; 4 GB, $65; refurb 1 GB, $39; 2 GB, $59; new 2 GB, $55, 4 GB, $75. New and refurb prices include shipping.
- More deals in our archive.
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