Favourite Web Browser?

[Ninja(Pinkie)Midget 180]

Chrome definitely.  Sure, it's a memory hog, but I like it best

[MLPFanatic34 3,234]

I'd say Google Chrome is my favorite Internet browser and the one I use the most.

[Miles 2,512]

Well... You see... I used to be a Firefox guy, but I use Chrome now, and have for 2 years - however, I still think Firefox is better, even though I use Chrome.  

Why?

Alright let me explain...

I've always, always been a heavy tab user (I have a plethora of tabs open all the time).  And as far as the normal person who uses multiple tabs goes, the browsers are equally equipped for the task.

But I'm not normal, at least, anymore.  See, I used to shutdown my computer at the end of the day.  But that was because my old laptop was not as good as I'd have liked it to have been.  If I hit "sleep" or "hibernate" on it, once I turned it back on, each time would be slower.  And I'm impatient (lmao).  So, I shut it down at the end of the day.

But, I got a new laptop when I went to college; my college provides all Honors students with a laptop that is theirs to keep until they graduate.  I've had this laptop since the fall of 2013, so that's almost 2 years - and it still performs as good as new.

So back to talking about Chrome vs Firefox...

I started using Chrome after I got my new laptop because I wanted to see if it performed well.  And, days went by, weeks, and then I realized I had not switched back to Firefox.  And at the time there was no reason either to switch, or not switch back.  I just got into the habit of using Chrome and it stuck.

But why did it stick?

The differences in the way the browsers use RAM between my old and new laptops.

Firefox is like a pickup truck with a diesel engine.  It's strong, and can pull a lot of weight, but starts to get a little slower when time goes on (as if adding more weight to the truck).  In other words, Firefox has rarely ever crashed on me from having too many tabs.  But it gets laggy if you don't shutdown your computer instead of just putting it to sleep or hibernating it.  This is why I liked it on my old laptop; I always shut it down at the end of the day.

Chrome is like a pickup truck with a gasoline engine.  It's light on it's feet, can pull a decent amount of weight, and doesn't lag with time.  But, if you have too many tabs open that use a lot of RAM, it's liable to freeze up or crash.  The reason I like it on my new laptop is because I can just leave my tabs open and put my computer to sleep or hibernate it, and it's not any slower when I log back in the next day.

Firefox uses one instance of operation (as seen if you open the task manager).  The more tabs you open, the more RAM the single .exe will use.  Chrome uses one instance for every tab you open.  So instead of doing what Firefox does in building RAM on one .exe, it has multiple at once.  

You might ask, why would I use Chrome if, for me, I've had it crash on me multiple times before from having too many tabs open if I'm a multiple-tab kinda guy?  Because all my bookmarks, addons, passwords, etc. are saved in it, and, I've just gotten used to it.  It's also sleek looking and simplistic.

---

At the end of the day, both have their cons.  But they're both leaps and bounds better than any of the other browsers out there.  I know this because I've tested nearly all of them.  Opera is a turd.  Safari is ugly, slow, and just isn't good on a PC.  And Internet Explorer? Lmao... I'd rather eat dirt.

---

Analysis:

Firefox is overall a better built browser for heavy tabbed using because it's more dependable.  It will rarely ever, if at all crash on you.  But it's less practical for a derp like me who doesn't shut his computer down at the end of the day, it gets slower after you turn your comp back on from sleep or hibernate.

Chrome is overall a a more practical browser for derps like me who don't shut down their laptop at the end of each day and only put it to sleep or hibernate.  But it's not as dependable because it might crash if you have a bazillion tabs open from MLPForums, YouTube, Amazon, Oreilly, other things, Tech blogs, Tech news, Bob is the oil guy forums, email, and more.  And if you aren't lucky enough to remember what all you had opened, you might lose something important.

For you add-on freaks, both have their fair share of nice addons.  But sure enough, Firefox's addons are more reliable and will cause less issues.  Multiple times I've learned my lesson on using too many addons with Chrome, as I've accidentally used conflicting addons before that made browser go all derrrrp on me.  I've realized that Chrome is for the minimalist when it comes to addons.  But nonetheless, that isn't to say Chrome doesn't have good addons.  It does.  Just don't use too many at once.  

For you download freaks, both do equally well.  It depends on whether you like having a separate window or not for your downloads.  If you do, Firefox.  If you'd rather it just be another tab, Chrome.

For you streaming freaks, be it Twitch or some random movie site, Firefox is more stable, but might not be as fast; Chrome might be a little faster, but not be as stable.

For you YouTube freaks, if you don't have 27 trillion tabs open, Chrome is fine, as is Firefox.  But YouTube is in bed affiliated with Google, so Chrome might have a tiny edge.  But if you want to have a lot of tabs open at once, you will crash sooner with Chrome than Firefox.

---

Reality:

I doubt anyone has pushed their browsers as hard as I have.  If anyone else has had over 100 tabs open at once, kudos, you're like me.  Chrome crashed just over 100 YouTube tabs (with videos, not just youtube.com).  Firefox crashed at over 150 tabs.  But actually, Firefox itself didn't crash - it stayed alive and only the plug-in crashed.  Chrome on the other hand totally crashed.

Like I said.  If you don't push your browsers as hard as I do, the reality for most average users is that you will notice absolutely zero difference in performance.

So, for most people, it's just a preference and not a performance issue.

I will always love Firefox more, despite being a Chrome user nowadays most of the time.  

---

If you took the time to read all that, go have a cookie. 

---

What browser did I vote for?  

Despite using Chrome to write all this up right now... and using it most of the time... I voted for Firefox.

~ Miles

I love being a contradiction.

[Poetic Stone 1,040]

I have to go with fire fox on this on, and yes it has its glitches, but I find it better than most for my use, but I use the Tor browser alot, just cause of the interesting things involved with it, does any other pony use Tor?

[Misty Rose 3,215]

Google Chrome for the win I got a taste of Firefox when I had Ubuntu on my laptop for awhile and it came preinstalled with that browser and it was pretty neat so I understand why many people here love it Still though, I've become attached to Chrome, the design, familiar feel, I've used it since it was first released and wouldn't change it for anything

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,237]

Chrome has been my favorite for a while. It is simple to use and the overall design is very nice, but lately it just seems to slow my computer down a lot. There could be several reasons for that but I have been debating on trying out other web browsers recently to see if my opinions change. I once loved Firefox but eventually they went downhill but maybe they have made the browser better since then.

[Guest]

It depends for me... When I use a Windows PC, It's Chrome. However, if it's OS X, I use Safari.

[Raini Skies 78]

Firefox Developer Edition

 

It's basically the same as regular Firefox, but gets updates earlier, has a cool theme, and has web development tools.

[Wayzer 1,418]

I've always used Firefox, recently started using waterfox cuz 64 bit ftw

[Allen 1,371]

My favorite browser I'm using is Internet Explorer, Google Chrome for this site (including Safari) and Dailymotion. 

[SparklingSwirls 21,261]

I use Chrome. I haven't tried any other browsers besides Internet Explorer (which I used to have) though.

[Chara 1,565]

Personally Google Chrome, Google Chrome is one of the best browsers I have.

[cmarston1 5,951]

Google Chrome as it is simple to use and works rather quickly.

[Ianpiersonjdavis 512]

I use to use Internet Explorer for a few users until my brother showed me Chrome.

[GuyNamedEarl 1,332]

I think Opera is a really underrated browser that recently has become my favorite. 

[Simcity11100 770]

Mine is chrome because it hasn't slowed down over the years for me.

[Lisa 5,551]

Opera because it's basically Chrome, but better-looking in my opinion.

Edited June 30, 2015 by Monique

[Treble Sketch 360]

Very Obvious for me, it's Chrome!

 

I'm using the 64-bit version of Chrome, 44.0 (64-bit)

[Blackened 512]

I've used many browsers in my time, but Chrome is my favourite.

[Hypnogaja 7]

I'd have to go with Firefox on this one with Chrome in a close second. As many people have said before, Chrome is as gluttonous with RAM as Pac-Man is to Pac-Dots. I'm surprised anyone voted for IE. Sure, it got some updates, but it's still not a top-notch browser. Hope Microsoft doesn't screw up with Edge.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,151]

I no longer have a favorite browser; that's largely due to my previous favorite browser, Opera, pretty much sucking on OS-X.

 

And I LOVED Opera with a passion.

 

I use Safari these days and while it works great and all...my heart still beats for that big red O for some reason...

[Snivinerior 79]

1st Place: Google Chrome

2nd Place: Mozilla Firefox

[long gone 8,929]

I no longer had a favorite browser; that largely due to my previous favorite browser, Opera, pretty much sucking on OS-X.

 

And I LOVED Opera with a passion.

 

I use Safari these days and while it works great and all...my heart still beats for that big red O for some reason...

I know how you feel. Opera used to be such a great browser, now it's a shell of its former self. It's not even developed in Norway anymore.

 

Thankfully most of the original devs still have jobs in the high-end browser market and are working on Vivaldi, which I am wicked excited about.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,151]

I know how you feel. Opera used to be such a great browser, now it's a shell of its former self. It's not even developed in Norway anymore.

 

Thankfully most of the original devs still have jobs in the high-end browser market and are working on Vivaldi, which I am wicked excited about.

 

I've heard of this Vivaldi; though only in passing. Former Opera developers are working on it?

 

I am intrigued...

[long gone 8,929]

I've heard of this Vivaldi; though only in passing. Former Opera developers are working on it?

 

I am intrigued...

Yeah. That is part of why I'm looking forward to it, because those guys know how to make a great browser. Chrome is good and all, but it just doesn't feel... right. Vivaldi, meanwhile, is just a technical preview and it already feels like home.