Now, how do these browsers actually look??

Google Chrome 2

Very simple, very good. Less is definitely more here.

Opera 10

Not either of the default Opera themes, but I think this looks quite nice too. As I’m used to Chrome I don’t like the menu bar along the top.

FireFox 3

Default theme, custom buttons. As with Opera, not really keen on the menu bar here.

Safari 4

Nice and simple like Chrome but not quite as clean and fresh looking.

Internet Explorer 8

This is big, bulky, and slow.

Right now there’s 5 main browsers available. Chrome, Opera, FireFox, Safari, and IE8. They all (well, most ) have their good points, and they have their bad points too.

Google Chrome 2

Good Points

Well, I think this is the best looking browser there is. It’s so simple. The tabs are in the window bar, along with the minimize/maximize/close buttons, to save space, and there’s just one toolbar, being the address bar. There’s no other menus for settings, everything you need is in two small buttons on the right had side of the address bar. This means that Chrome gives a huge viewing space, bigger than any other browser. The settings themselves are very simple too. The general design is good too, the graphics are simple and fresh looking, and the colour scheme is pleasant. Bookmarks bar is nice, I like the page that shows when you open a new tab, and it’s very fast to load pages. When you type in the address bar, it automatically fills in what it thinks you want to go to. I can usually just type one letter and hit ‘Enter’, as the rest of it is filled in. There’s also a feature where you can press ‘Tab’ and search a site right from the address bar, without even visiting the site. Some people say it’s bad because you can’t add toolbars, but why do you need to?? Everything that is in a toolbar, specifically the Google one, is inbuilt into Chrome. Also has an ‘Incognito’ mode, where it won’t save your browsing history or save cookies, which can be useful. Seems to do quite well in Acic3 too. And how long has it been around?? Not long at all.

Bad Points

Erm… sometimes a tab detaches from the main browser when I don’t want it to. And… the codepress in the templates editor in MyBB doesn’t work in Chrome. Uhh… oh, you can’t customise the 9 sites that show when you open a new tab. That’s about it.

Opera 10

Good Points

Opera is underrated. I think it looks nice, especially with a nice theme. Is fast, and has inbuilt IRC (maybe that’s only on Opera 9, can’t find it on 10), a mail feature, and mouse gestures. You can also customise the ‘speed dial’ page, which shows when you open a new tab, similar to Chrome, except with Opera, you can add what you want. I also like the sidebar, that’s quite cool. Does very well in Acid3 too. It’s also available on phones and even a Wii.

Bad Points

Another difficult one. Not really much to complain about here. It’s a very accomplished browser. Don’t think it has an equivalent to Chrome’s ‘Incognito’ mode, though.

FireFox 3

Good Points

Well, this is probably the most common browser for people who know what a heap of crap IE is. It has a load of themes and plugins available, which I don’t really have a use for, but I can clearly see why it appeals to so many people. The default theme, with changed buttons (which is how I set it up), does look quite nice. It’s quite fast too, and scores well in Acid3.

Bad points

It crashes. Quite a lot. And it seems to make things run slower when it’s running, too. Also, ‘Speed Dial’ is an add-on, whereas Opera and Chrome have this built in. Still a good browser but not the one I’d use as my first choice.

Safari 4

Good Points

I’ll make it clear now that I did not like Safari 3. It looked good on a Mac, but on Windows, it looked ugly, just a but grey block at the top and it didn’t display very well. So I wasn’t expecting much with Safari 4. Downloaded it anyway, as I like to have the latest version of a browser, and I was very impressed straight away. An immense improvement. It just looks so much nicer now. Like Chrome, the tabs are in the window bar. Also, again like Chrome, there’s just one toolbar, the address bar, with buttons on the right, which look extremely similar to Chrome’s. Not that that’s bad, I really like it, plus you can turn on/off the ‘standard’ menu bar, if the 2 buttons next to the address bad aren’t right for you. I also love how the ‘Top Sites’ is set out, along with the bookmarks and history. I like the Google search box, too. It has private browsing like Chrome, too. Again, does well in Acid 3, too.

Bad Points

This is what disappointed me about Safari 4. You can’t click the middle mouse button to close a tab, you have to click a very small cross. You can’t drag a tab from anywhere, it has to be from one specific corner. When you close it down, and open it again, the tabs you had open aren’t there, like the are in Chrome. When you middle click to open a new tab, it goes to the end of the tabs, not after the one you’re on. Plus, you can’t customise the ‘Top Sites’ page. This browser was seriously making me consider switching from Chrome but those 4 tab issues put me off within 20 minutes. A real shame, actually. It is in beta though so who know, maybe it’ll be changed.

Internet Explorer 8

Good Points

Erm… is it OK if I leave this bit blank?? Na, I may as well try… hmm… well, it’s better than IE7, I’ll give it that. Not as many websites break now, and it looks a little bit nicer. Plus it has ‘InPrivate’ browsing. OK, that’s enough. All I can think of.

Bad Points

Well, where to start?? It takes ages to load up. It takes ages to load a page. It takes ages to open a tab. Why should opening a tab, whether it’s a blank one or opening a link in a new tab, take ~5 seconds?? It’s ridiculous. Plus some websites are still broken, and it fails epically at Acid3. 20/100. Not as bad as IE7 with 14/100. Plus there’s the big thick tab bar up at the top of the window, meaning the viewing area is the lowest of all the other browsers. Please, Microsoft, do away with it.

So, which is best??

5th – IE8 – 3/10 – It just fails.

4th – Safari 4 – 6/10 – I like it, but the tabs spoil it for me completely.

3rd – FireFox 3 – 7/10 – If it wouldn’t crash so much, it’d be higher up.

2nd – Opera 10 – 8/10 – Very good, underrated by many.

1st – Google Chrome – 9/10 – I love it, but, just like everything, there is always room for improvement.

So, there you go. Of course, which browser you use is up to you, but for me, Chrome is the winner. Well done Google.