a note for internet explorer users

dear internet explorer users,

while i do not approve of your browser choice, i have been trying out the latest version of internet explorer, internet explorer 7 beta 3, for windows xp and later. it is available for download here. i do not like it that much, but it is ok. for usability, i highly recommend that you right-click an empty part of the tab bar (the 2nd toolbar, under the address bar) and enable the menu bar, so that menu bar has a checkmark next to it. you will probably find the location of the menu bar highly disturbing, since it is now the 2nd toolbar, under the address bar, whereas it belongs on top. not to worry. simply download this registry tweak which will put your menu bar back on top where it belongs. now the browser is at least usable! after following these simple directions, you will have the latest version of internet explorer installed, and it will actually look somewhat normal. this means much better security than previous versions of internet explorer, tabbed browsing, better print previews, page zooming, and all sorts of other assorted new features. if your computer does not have windows xp, windows 2003, or windows vista, you are out of luck as far as getting internet explorer 7 is concerned. older versions of internet explorer cannot really be considered modern web browsers, but you can still use them if you are silly. internet explorer 6 is the latest version available for windows 98, windows me, windows nt, and windows 2000. it is available here. microsoft no longer makes the internet explorer versions for windows 95 or for mac os available to anyone, but there are some websites that still host it. here is the latest internet explorer for windows 95, version 5.5. here is the latest internet explorer for mac os 8 or 9, version 5.1.7. here is the latest internet explorer for mac os x, version 5.2.3.

now, you may be wondering, what about those other web browsers that are better than internet explorer? four nice ones to consider are firefox, opera, seamonkey, and camino. firefox, seamonkey, and camino are actually mostly the same web browser; they are all made by mozilla, which is the open-source successor to netscape. firefox, seamonkey, and camino are all based on netscape source code, and most of the source code for the 3 browsers is the same. firefox is just a web browser by itself, not an email client or a chat program or a news reader or an html editor; it is like having netscape navigator instead of the entire netscape communicator suite, back in the old days. seamonkey is an entire suite, which includes all the things i just mentioned that firefox leaves out. and camino is just a browser by itself, like firefox, except camino is only for mac os x, and they have a number of other differences; firefox is more customizable but camino is faster. firefox is here, seamonkey is here, and camino is here. just remember, firefox, seamonkey, and camino are all the same thing as netscape, based on the same code, except they are newer than netscape and updated more often. i like firefox best because it has so many extensions, which are nice little things that add features and functionality to the browser, to give you the ultimate web browsing experience. no web browser can come close to the features offered by firefox and its extensions.

but what about opera, that other browser i mentioned? well, opera is a different beast entirely. it is not based on the netscape source code, but it is still compatible with netscape plugins, luckily. opera has the best w3c standards support of any browser, which is probably not a statement you can understand because it does not seem like it is in english, but basically what this means is, if web developers followed the official rules of how they are supposed to code html websites, it would look the best in opera. opera is the only cross-platform web browser that passes the acid2 test, for example, which shows they are ahead of the curve. unfortunately, most web developers have to code things to work in internet explorer 5/6, since most web surfers use internet explorer 5/6, and internet explorer breaks all the rules (even the new version 7, too). so, opera has had problems with the display of many sites, just like firefox/seamonkey/camino/netscape has, due to this internet explorer problem. but, in the past year or two, they have made tremendous strides in fixing this problem. opera is a full internet application suite like seamonkey, except opera is a smaller download than firefox, despite the fact that opera comes with many more built-in features than firefox. it is extremely compact and well-written. opera has a lot of interesting special features you won’t find in anything else, like mouse gestures, or voice commands, or widgets, or user javascripts. many features in other browsers originated in opera, which leads the way in innovation. you can get the latest official version here, or you can get the latest test version here.

and what about other web browsers, like netscape, safari, konqueror, epiphany, icab, omniweb, flock, k-meleon, arachne, off by one, and dillo? basically, most of the other web browsers are not ones i consider important enough or good enough to write about here. some of them come with operating systems like linux or mac os x, and get updated when you update the operating system. so really, there is no point in discussing any of those browsers, since anyone who uses a computer with one of those operating systems would already be familiar with it. other browsers on that list are very minor players, but i include them because they are all currently being developed, so they deserve at least some recognition. also, i have a real gripe about safari: to get the latest version of safari, you need to have the latest version of mac os x, which costs money. and the newest version of netscape (version 8.x) is a rather dubious hack of combining firefox and internet explorer into a single browser; also, it is not updated nearly as often as firefox, and is severely out of date. you can still download the latest netscape if you want, but it is not recommended, since it is buggy and bloated and hardly ever updated. if you want something that is a continuation of how netscape worked prior to version 8, except newer and better, try seamonkey. but if you are a normal person, you will probably like firefox better than anything else, since some things about opera are just plain weird, but firefox is nice and simple but lets you customize and add features as much as you want. camino might be better than firefox if you have a slow apple computer that does not have the latest mac os x 10.4. if you are the type of person who votes for third party candidates, you will probaby like opera best, because it is like the third party candidate of web browsers. and of course, if you are as obsessed with microsoft as bill gates is, you should try internet explorer 7 beta 3.

mainly, what someone likes as their favorite web browser nowadays has more to do with their personality than with the technicalities. my favorite web browser, hands down, is firefox, but i still experiment with other web browsers sometimes, to get a feel for how they work. if someone is not really into techie stuff they might just use whatever version of internet explorer or safari comes with their computer, and not think about it. some people know about other browsers but keep using internet explorer because they are stubborn and resent being told they are using the wrong browser. and which of the 4 alternative browsers i was promoting someone would like best is mainly a matter of personal preference. in this type of thing, there are no right or wrong answers. some people are open-source fanatics, and only use open-source browsers like firefox because commercial software is anathema to them. some people are obsessed with web standards, and they would probably use opera. a lot of people probably have some pretty silly reasons for which browser they like best. i like firefox best because of its extensions, which are just totally awesome and i love them. i could probably use seamonkey or flock or netscape 8 and still use the extensions. but i stick with firefox because that is what most extensions are made for and tested on. plus, firefox has more users than any of the other browsers that are based on the same netscape/gecko/mozilla source code, it is updated more often, and it is the most stable, with the fewest bugs. internet explorer 7 beta 3 is an unstable beta version with many bugs and a severe lack of customization. and opera... is just opera. opera is special. so anyway, i like firefox best. but if you want to use the latest internet explorer, please follow my instructions up near the top, because that will make it a little less weird. once you have the menu bar up at the top, things will seem normal again. or, you can just stick with internet explorer 6, or 5, or whatever it is you have. who cares? knock yourself out, use whatever web browser you want. a different browser can give you a whole new perspective on the world wide web. as for what i am posting this blog post with? internet explorer 7 beta 3, of course! i am still testing it, since i am still uncertain about its capabilities, especially concerning the issue of how well it displays webpages.

so why do i just address this post to internet explorer users and not to everyone? quite simple really. i figure, if you are already using another browser, you do not really need to read any of this, because you already know all about alternative browsers, or at least, you know which one you like, and there is no reason for you to switch, then, is there? anyway, i have got to be going now. i have to pack for a trip... i am bringing my digital camera along (a fujifilm finepix s602, of course), and i will also need a bathing suit and some other stuff. it is time to go to bed, actually, since i will be leaving in the morning. one last thing for you internet explorer fanatics: spreadinternetexplorer.com. check it out! seriously.