What browser do you use? What you need to know
What browser do you use? What you need to know and why it matters!Rarely does the average net surfer pay attention to which browser they're using. When you access the net, your browser is the window which is launched and which facilitates your net surfing.
Perhaps only programmers and developers pay any attention or understand the differences between browsers. You may prefer one over another, but besides that, what difference does it make? This brief snapshot of browser issues seeks to illustrate the fact that a certain brand of bureaucracy has crept into the web. There are some marketing shenanigans going on that you should know about.
Netscape was the pioneer of web browsers, and set the standard for quite a while. The Netscape browser is freely available to everyone. Mozilla is the 'parent' of the Netscape browser, as well as the newer Firefox and Opera browsers, all free and using the same standards.
Microsoft(TM) decided that they would design a browser which came as part of your PC's operating system. You log on to the net and up comes Microsoft's browser, Internet Explorer(R). So who cares? A browser is a browser, right? Not quite.
With Microsoft's success in its PC operating system and applications, the majority of net users started using IE and stopped using Netscape. If that user took the trouble to download the Netscape browser, perhaps because they preferred it, the result was disappointing. Web pages didn't display correctly. Oh, I'll just use Explorer.
A web page constructed to Netscape browser standards will likely not display correctly in the Internet Explorer (IE) browser. This is due to the fact that Microsoft made IE with a different standard, without any apparent reason to do so. Or was there?
It's a tiny bit suspicious that IE captures and holds hostage its own customers, simultaneously locking users into their pricey software. This cleverly disguised marketing ploy may backfire. More and more people are aware of the advantages of open source software. Why buy Microsoft Word when you can get a better word processor for free? Look into open source software and you'll see you can get everything you need. Why get locked into buying thousands of dollars of software?
Although the Netscape browser is no longer supported, Firefox and Opera deliver an even better experience. IE is actually the dinosaur in the room. When you think about it, Microsoft is impeding technology!
If anything should be standardized on the net, it's surely the browser. Web page designers must now accommodate both the IE and Netscape browser standards for a seamless user experience, which can prove to be a royal pain in the you-know-where.
The point is, we all want to keep the net as free as possible. One thing does lead to another. It's up to you to make your own choice. Now you know why it matters to you.
