Tag: browser

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No more Internet Explorer

Spider Web by Daniel Orth CC BY-ND 2.0

Spider Web by Daniel Orth CC BY-ND 2.0

Microsoft has retired its web browser Internet Explorer after 27 years

Internet Explorer’s popularity was dented by the launch of faster browsers such as Chrome and Firefox, as users seized on new applications to navigate platforms including Google Search, Facebook and YouTube. The rise of smartphones then arguably delivered the fatal blow, with Apple’s pre-installed Safari browser and Google Chrome on Android phones helping to shift internet access and usage into the mobile realm.

As a Mac user I remember the frustration of web sites being Internet Explorer only, which was compounded when I started using mobile devices.

I do like this animation of web browser usage over the years (you certainly see at one point the dominance of Internet Explorer).

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Chroming the iPad

I actually quite like Safari on the iPad, but was intrigued by what the new Google Chrome App had to offer.

I generally use Chrome more than Safari when using my desktop Mac, but until now there wasn’t that choice on the iPad.

After installing Chrome and starting the app you have the option of signing in with your Google account.

Google Chrome Browser

This to be honest is the only real reason for using Google Chrome so that you can sync with your desktop browser.

Trying out some of my usual sites I found it worked fine.

eLearning Stuff on the Google Chrome Browser for iPad

Of course there is no Flash support, but a lot more sites realise that and are offering their content in alternative formats. A lot more of the video on BBC News for example now works on the iPad, regardless whether you use Chrome or Safari.

BBC News on the Chrome browser for iPad

Despite the fact that this is Google Chrome, it relies on the Safari WebKit as a result the performance is similar to mobile Safari. As a result I was disappointed when I tried Google+ on Chrome. I got the same “mobile” browser default that I do on Safari. I prefer the desktop browser version of Google+ over the Google+ App and really don’t like the mobile browser version of Google+.

Google+ on Google Chrome for iPad

If you really do like Chrome, alas you can’t using iOS change the default browser, clicking links in Twitter apps or Mail will result in Safari opening.

On the desktop I use multiple browsers, so for me it makes sense to have a similar capability on the iPad. So far I like the synchronisation with the desktop version of Chrome and I think that will be the key reason I will use it.

Get Chrome in the iTunes App Store.

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Google Chrome

Google have gone and released a browser of their own, Chrome.

Google Chrome

Windows only at the moment, so I have not yet installed it.

Looks interesting.

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Opera Mobile 9.5 beta released

Engadget reports on the release of Opera Mobile 9.5.

Today, it’s out for a beta 1 launch. In other words, it’ll be buggy but likely far more useful than the browser already installed on your touchscreen-based (PocketPC) WinMo professional phone. The initial release includes support for double-tap zoom, landscape flip, off-line page save, tab-like browsing, auto-URL complete, and a Google-search bar to name just a few of the 9.5 features.

Looking good.

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Fast Firefox 3

I have been using Firefox 3 for a while now and I much prefer it over Firefox 2. It’s much faster and more stable than Firefox 2.

Overall well worth upgrading.

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Trying to download Firefox 3

Well can I download Firefox 3 on this the launch day?

No!

Everytime I go to the download page, I am only offered Firefox 2.

I will keep trying, but the last time I looked they had passed 1,000,000 downloads and over 1,700,000 people had downloaded Firefox 3.

Well they may have downloaded it, I have had no luck!

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Final goodbye for early web icon

Goodbye Netscape Navigator.

BBC reports on the end of an era for the web icon which once had 90% of the browser market.

A web browser that gave many people their first experience of the web is set to disappear.

Netscape Navigator, now owned by AOL, will no longer be supported after 1 March 2008, the company has said.

In the mid-1990s, as the commercial web began to take off, the browser was used by more than 90% of people online.

Its market share has since slipped to just 0.6% as other browsers such as Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) and Firefox have eroded its user base.

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New Browser for your PDA

There’s a new browser for mobile devices providing a desktop experience on your windows mobile smartphone or PDA. Symbian and other platform editions are on their way.

The makers claim that it is the first mobile browser fully compatible with technologies such as asynchronous Javascript and XML (AJAX), Java, and embedded Flash.

Currently it’s a free download for US users only.

More info at: http://www.skyfire.com/