what's the consensus on the current best browser? any why?

[Spooner]

just got a new machine and am using IE, have typically used firefox, but before i go installing things wanted to see some thoughts....

 

[erikistired]

you should never use IE. ever. use firefox, or chrome. not IE.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Chrome and nothing else.

 

[Ika]

try IE9 beta, apparently it's pretty good.

 

[Spooner]

this isn't the right forum, however, you should never use IE. ever. use firefox, or chrome. not IE.

without simply stating that Microsoft sucks...why such a strong feeling?

 

[blurredvision]

The e-nerd browser wars were played out years ago. Just download the 3 or 4 currently relevant browsers and pick one, you don't need suggestions.

 

[erikistired]

without simply stating that Microsoft sucks...why such a strong feeling?

IE is like inviting things to enter your computer and infect it. like, if you had a sign on your house that said "come in for some free stuff!" you might or might not lock your door, but having the sign is just bad either way.

firefox with adblock is my advice.

i don't hate microsoft, i quite like security essentials.

 

[olds]

Chrome
Because I said so

 

[Anubis]

Opera FF or Chrome

i like them in that order, try them see what one you like best

 

[erikistired]

Chrome
Because I said so

adblock for chrome is not quite there yet, or i might agree.

 

[lxskllr]

There is no consensus. I like Firefox due to the customization potential. Here's my browser preferences in order...

Firefox
Opera - good feature set, and fast, but has rendering issues with too many sites.
Chrome - Very fast but too stripped
IE8 - dog slow, and a crappy layout. IE9 is supposed to be fast though.
Lynx - Fastest rendering of them all. Very retro, no features :^D
I don't do Apple

 

[Gooberlx2]

IE is like inviting things to enter your computer and infect it. like, if you had a sign on your house that said "come in for some free stuff!" you might or might not lock your door, but having the sign is just bad either way.

firefox with adblock is my advice.

i don't hate microsoft, i quite like security essentials.

To be fair to IE, it was first to be utilizing process sandboxing (with 7 or 8, can't remember which)

Honestly, IE's track record hurts mostly because of its market share. The larger the other browsers become, the more attractive they are for people writing exploits....and they all have some.

 

[Spicedaddy]

Chrome or IE9

I like simple and fast.

 

[Dankk]

Chrome.

Whatever is fastest and most efficient, wins in my book.

 

[WelshBloke]

Firefox or IE.

Security or something that works everywhere.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Chome. Firefox as a second, and IE for business-class reliability.

 

[Binky]

Maxthon, because i'm special, and its setup out of the box like firefox SHOULD be (mouse gestures, drag and drop links, sync favs/settings accross browsers, etc.). Simply put, its better than firefox and Chrome, and firefox/Chrome/Maxthon are better than IE 8.0 or below.

 

[pcslookout]

None browser chose is all about what suits that person best. What do you want out of a browser ? That is which one you should use. No one can answer this for you except yourself.

 

[atreader]

If your new machine is powerful then I say install all the latest versions of popular browsers (firefox, Chrome, Opera, safari, ie).

Think of them as different cars, SUVs, van,...in your garage. Different browser for different purpose. One for accounts: email, banking, etc.. so this should be stable, latest version and have proper security settings. One for general browsing: should handle many tabs painlessly, install many extensions, good ad-block, etc. ...

Browser list:
Firefox 3.6.10
Firefox 4 beta
Minefield

Opera

Google Chrome
Google Canary
Chromium
SR ware Iron

Safari 5.x

IE

 

[crucibelle]

I use Chrome for flash games, and FF for everything else. I can't stand IE. That said, I will probably check out IE 9 and see what I think about it. OP - I agree with some of the others that you should download a few browsers and just try them out to see what suits you.

 

[Kadarin]

Lynx - Fastest rendering of them all. Very retro, no features :^D
I don't do Apple

Pah! Real men browse the web by telnetting to port 80 and typing in raw http.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Maxthon, because i'm special, and its setup out of the box like firefox SHOULD be (mouse gestures, drag and drop links, sync favs/settings accross browsers, etc.). Simply put, its better than firefox and Chrome, and firefox/Chrome/Maxthon are better than IE 8.0 or below.

Better out of the box maybe, but certainly not after addons

firefox + adblock + noscript > *

 

[Schadenfroh]

Chrome, with it I do not have to worry about manually updating flash or a PDF reader, it is all built in. Chrome's adblock is workable now, my settings / bookmarks sync across all my of my PCs. Not to mention, it is fast.

 

[yinan]

Ie9.

 

[swerus]

Chrome because of the speed and simplicity.