IE/Firefix/Opera & Java

Forum: Other Help Topics
Topic: IE/Firefix/Opera & Java
started by: Patrick

Posted by Patrick on Sep. 26 2004,07:05

I am experimenting with they above mentioned browsers (in windows xp and in DSL) and this is the score so far:

in XP: java keeps telling me that i should use Java 4 netscape/firefox/mozilla in the IE (when i try to start firefox again! First time there was no trouble)
in DSL: neither Opera/firefox can login at my bank (www.postbank.nl)

I like the zoooom function in Opera (everything zooms in! not just the text) but i like the extentions in firefox even better! (and the fact that my bookmarks give me a notification if something changes on that page!).

What do you guys like/dislike about these browsers?
Do you know how to get the above mentioned function of Opera in Firefox? (that would make it perfect)
Can someone tell me what i do wrong in XP (the aboved mentioned java error)

Posted by cbagger01 on Sep. 26 2004,14:22

Here is my browser scorecard:

Opera 6.1.2
The good: The fastest web browser that I have ever seen. Works great on old computers where Firefox and even "lightweight" browsers that only have limited functionality still slow to a crawl. Relatively small file size even for the staticly compiled version.
The bad: Slightly out of date versus the newest slower Opera 7.x series. Think IE 5.x versus IE 6.x. Not open source software. Not customizable. A small banner ad exists on the screen unless you buy the full version of the product.

Firefox
The good: Works great on most computers and performance can be improved on older computers with a few tweaks. EXTREMEMLY customizable without the hassle of patching and compiling the source code (just install Firefox extensions). Open source and free to use and modify. Performance does not get worse with the newest versions of the product.
The bad: Not as fast as Opera, especially on old computers. Requires GTK2 (which must be installed) instead of GTK1 (which is built into DSL) so file size is larger and can cause problems with other extensions that use a different version of GTK2. Difficult to find a precompiled version that works with older computers (like 486 or even 586).

Just my $0.02