The most productive web browser.

Time is a most precious resource – some of us realise this more than others, however I think that most people are aware of the need to be efficient and not waste time.

These days, we spend a lot of time on the Internet and a key tool which we use is of course the web browser.

Personally, I have been, and still am, a big fan of the Firefox browser. One current reason for this is the large number of useful extensions which are available for the browser. As a Webmaster and a website developer I find some of these extensions are especially useful.

My main gripe about the Firefox browser is that at times it can freeze or crash – much too often for my liking. I find Internet Explorer cumbersome and unreliable, with limited functionality. Flock, the social browser, is very similar to Firefox in some respects however I discovered that it was best used for specialised tasks.

I have used the Avant browser for many years. This browser is my preferred alternative to Internet Explorer, upon which it is based.

I find Opera and Safari somewhat limited, and was surprised in the case of Safari at how awkward and counter-intuitive it was to use; especially bearing in mind that I’m used to a wide variety of software and first started using computers way back in 1981 when I learnt BASIC programming.

Back in the mid-90s I used the Netscape browser a lot, which has of course been discontinued by the developer.

There are a number of other browsers I use which are too specialised to be within the scope of this article.

So, which is the most productive web browser?

Google Chrome.

It rarely crashes or freezes (about once per 7-10 days) and loads pages much faster. How much is your time – your life – worth? Are you fed up with having to restart your browser and reload all the pages. I hate wasting time. Google Chrome rocks!

The Chrome browser has only recently been released and you can find out more at the links below:

Main page: http://www.google.com/chrome

Features: http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/features.html

Famous online comic explaining the browser

Here are some comments I wrote on someone else’s blog about Chrome: (I have added some more detail).

I use a blend of Chrome and Firefox.

Chrome works very well for me when used as follows:

1) I use http://www.clipperz.com for some key log ins. (Roboform does not work with Chrome).
2) I use Chrome to run email, CEO Express, ToodleDo, Highrise, iGoogle, Facebook, Twitter and a couple more.
3) Important – I am now running domain email via Google Apps (for a load of domains all on one apps account). My calendar, Docs etc etc all open easily. I got fed up with Outlook, assorted webmail clients and things like Horde and other CPanel related email clients. Google Apps domain email rocks – my email productivity has risen enormously.
4) Firefox is used for stuff like Roboform log ins for a load of other sites. This way, my main productivity tools are nice and fast in Chrome, reliable and due to Clipperz I can log in with one click. If Firefox goes down then it is not such a big deal. My Firefox set up enables me to email links from a button and loads the Google Aps send page, even though I am logged in via Chrome.
5) At times I use Avant Browser which is a better “version” of IE. I try to avoid using IE at all, unless checking site rendering.
6) Flock, the social browser, is useful for some stuff. I rarely use Safari or Opera apart form site rendering checks.

My only gripe with Google Chrome so far has been the inability to set mailto: links to open in Chrome and Google Apps, despite trying various code tweaks and even a small add on program. Weighed against the massive productivity and work flow gains the issue pales into insignificance however.

Further reading (added since post was written):

Google Chrome to Snag Default Browser Spot from IE?

Why I switched from Firefox to Chrome

New study crowns Google’s Chrome king of speed

Google releases finished version of Chrome browser

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Tags: Internet, Productivity, Software, Technology

Category: Productivity