Internet browsers control the framework of how we interact with the online world. I suspect most people give it little thought and that’s a good sign. Browser functions operating in the background without drawing user attention should be the goal.
Third party reviews like this September 2014 review by PC World generally say that all of the popular browsers are high quality and reliable. I’ve used Internet Explorer, Chrome, Foxfire and Safari. Unfortunately I know of at least one program that won’t run properly in each of these, therefore the need to keep two or more browsers installed.
Chrome has been my mainstay for several years but lately I’ve found three significant issues that affect my day-to-day usage:
1. My tax accounting software support site won’t run properly. The manufacturer (Drake) recommends using Internet Explorer.
2. Wall Street Journal comments pages don’t load properly.
3. Facebook videos somehow run in the background, chewing up data without being visible to the user. This is a big deal to me because in our remote location we still pay for data by use. Overage charges have run $50 or more per month.
I’m reluctant to use Internet Explorer on my older (2-4 year old) desktop and notebook PCs due to a history of memory overload and crash issues although the mobile version of IE has been flawless.
I’m switching back to Mozilla Foxfire for now.
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