Web Browser Grand Prix 4: Firefox 4 Goes Final

[clarence_t]

As expected and I previously predicted - Firefox 4 still lags behind after final testing. Guess all those complaints about FF4 not being included were for nothing. It's a decent browser, loads of add-ons, which I still use quite often, but IE9 will be my main choice of browsing from now on until FF comes up with something better.

 

[ares1214]

I dont have a problem with the testing, but i do with the results. If you do a 1st place finish is worth 5 points, 2nd 4 points, 3rd 3 points, 4th 2 points, and 5th 1 point, then chrome beats IE9 119-117. Factoring in feature sets, i dont believe IE9 has a speed dial that you select the pages, only something with most visited. For that reason alone it loses quite a bit on the feature sides. Safari and IE9 have, as far as my knowledge goes, no real expandability as far as add-ons. Opera has a miniscule amount, chrome has a decent amount of addons, and FF4 obviously has more than the other 4 combined multiplied by 100. Therefore Safari and IE9 lose out on feature sets. Throw in Addblocker for FF, automatic google translate for Chrome, and the superb bookmarking system for Opera, and once again IE9 and Safari get left in the dust. One bad thing for Chrome is that it uses memory less and less efficiently the more tabs you add on, but then it also regains that memory the fastest after deleting them. Lastly, IE9 on runs on Windows 7 for me. Safari runs bad on Windows, and very well on OSX.So from my viewpoint, the only real 3 competitors for this are Chrome, FF, and Opera. Ironically, i dont even use any of those 3, I use Maxthon 3! It just so happens that in my speed tests its the fastest, has speed dial, blocks ads well (hell of a lot better than Chrome atleast), and is light on the resources.

 

[jdublu]

Comments about adblock extension:
It is on Chrome. IE9 has tracking protection with its own list that can be coupled with the easylist of adblock.

[citation][nom]andy5174[/nom]The latest Chrome is indeed pretty fast, but I just can't live without Tab Mix Plus which is only available to Firefox. Someone please write a similar add-on for Chrome!!![/citation]
The highlighted features that TabMixPlus offers are already built into Chrome. I know Chrome has extensions that offer some of the other features that are not built in; such as "reload all."

 

[Guest]

@PoorFxFanboys

lol, thats not adblocking, thats a privacy filter that you got no personal control over, good luck getting MS to block the ads you want from that

 

[andy5174]

Comments about adblock extension:
It is on Chrome. IE9 has tracking protection with its own list that can be coupled with the easylist of adblock.


The highlighted features that TabMixPlus offers are already built into Chrome. I know Chrome has extensions that offer some of the other features that are not built in; such as "reload all."

You apparently don't know how to configure TabMixPlus properly...

Chrome is fast and has the best UI but much worse than Firefox in terms of tab options.

 

[ericburnby]

[citation][nom]reprotected[/nom]AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Hypocrite. You are too stupid to realize that these tests are stupid. I have both Opera and Firefox, and they both rendered all my web pages properly. I also care more about add-ons rather than memory usage or how long it takes for a browser to open. since the differences are at the millisecond. Unless you are a fanboy of Chrome or IE who care about the slightest millisecond, or care about renders which most websites don't even use, shut up.[/citation]
Wow, using "stupid" twice in one sentence. Quite the literary genius, aren't we?

If the FF fanbois don't care about speed or the testing methods used, then why did they go all nerd rage on the previous Grand Prix test when FF4 was excluded?

Yeah right, FF users don't care one bit about the test results.

 

[ericburnby]

BTW, I'm still waiting for a list of 10 websites that FF breezes through (with help from its addons) that cause problems with IE9.

You FF fanbois are listing addons that are "required or necessary" or "you can't live without". If they are that vital to your Internet browsing experience, then you should be able to list dozens of websites that these addons work to improve your browsing experience.

 

[andy5174]

BTW, I'm still waiting for a list of 10 websites that FF breezes through (with help from its addons) that cause problems with IE9.

You FF fanbois are listing addons that are "required or necessary" or "you can't live without". If they are that vital to your Internet browsing experience, then you should be able to list dozens of websites that these addons work to improve your browsing experience.

TabMixPlus: countless websites
No-Scrip: countless websites
AdBlock Plus(much better on Firefox): countless websites

I will happily switch to Chrome when these 3 addons are available to it.

 

[jimmysmitty]

[citation][nom]mitch074[/nom]To commenters:- Fx4 is the most stable browser out there, even without tab isolation; session restore is useful in case of crashes, but also in case of abrupt computer shutdown - something that tab isolation doesn't solve.- since 3.6.4 isolated Flash in a separate process, I've yet to break an official build (dailies or distro builds are another matter).- most people don't go and spend hours setting up hardware acceleration, because as many said, browsers are so fast now that it's hardly visible. However, Fx4 can load an anti aliasing calibration tool, which solves a problem that IE9 users can't beat (and other browsers don't see): font fuzziness in hardware accelerated contexts.- Do Not Track is not an ad blocker: it merely asks advertising networks to show adverts without trying to track users' habits. AdBlock+ is greatest on Firefox, eventhough the Chrome version got better. Fx4 does feature DNT.- IE9 is available in Vista SP2 and Win7 only; Firefox is available, hardware acceleraed, on Windows 2k/XP/2k3 too. Hardware acceleration isn't available per se in Linux, howeve if one considers the speed of Fx 3.6 with XRENDER, it's not that much of a problem.Fx4 isn't the fastest browser (but it sure is close). It's not the trendiest (but its UI and HTML5 support sure are good). It may not be the safest (but it sure allows safe browsing habits with NoScript). It's not always the lightest (eventhough it scales very well to demands and available power). But, dang it! It sure is the most useful.[/citation]

Its not Do Not Track. Thats part of it. Its a TLP list. And I can tell you from experience, it blocks ads. I am looking at the top of THG right now where ads are normally placed and nothing is there, just like it would appear in FF4 with ABP.

 

[razercultmember1]

[citation][nom]nd22[/nom]IE9 is indeed fast, but my question relates to Safari, a browser created specifically for Mac, not for Windows. On Mac Safari is incredible fast, why Tom’s did not tested Safari on the platform which it was designed for?[/citation]

on my mac, safari is still slower than chrome 10fold

 

[raviolli]

It would be nice to see some sort of security measure. I've always thought Firefox was strong in this area, and IE quite poor.

Some results would be nice in this area, specially with online banking and such becoming more popular.

 

[jezzarisky]

I'm pretty sure by the time Chrome 11 comes out it'll be even closer to IE9 so long as they focus a little more on CSS and Flash, while IE9 will probably fall farther and farther behind, as it seems doubtful IE9 will update as much as it should to stay competitive. But perhaps I underestimate Microsoft? They have really started to turn around since their mishap(if it can really be called that) with Vista.

 

[pirateboy]

the conclusion makes it clear that tomshardware has been paid by microsoft for this article

 

[Guest]

FWIW, Chrome 12 is already being tested. See Filehippo.com (among others)

 

[alidan]

[citation][nom]ericburnby[/nom]Hahahahahahahahaa.Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahhaha.Suck it Firefox Fanboys. Bitching and whining about FF4 not being included in the last test, and when it finally does get tested it still falls behind.[/citation]

i use ff for 2 reasons, memory under load, and various extentions.

i constantly have 100+ tabs open, so i cant use anything but firefox for that.

chrome is my secondary browser, because if its low memory useage.

other wise, we are talking seconds, and 1/10 of a seconds here, not minutes.

 

[youssef 2010]

Before even beginning to read the article, Firefox is better than IE 9 when browsing Toms hardware's web site as IE 9 never responds to submit my comment button unlike firefox.

Instead you have to head to the forum in order for it to be merciful enough to respond.Pathetic

 

[ericburnby]

[citation][nom]youssef 2010[/nom]Before even beginning to read the article, Firefox is better than IE 9 when browsing Toms hardware's web site as IE 9 never responds to submit my comment button unlike firefox.[/citation]
Every post I make on Tom's is with IE9 and they all submit fine. You must be one of them there computerese excerpts.

 

[youssef 2010]

@ericburnby
I maybe having a glitch. I'll try again when I eventually reinstall windows 7. But the glitch persisted through multiple windows 7 installations and the upgrade to IE9. Any instructions on how to repair this glitch would be deeply appreciated.

Thanks for the provoking comment. I'll remeber it when YOU ask the community for help.

 

[ericburnby]

[citation][nom]andy5174[/nom]TabMixPlus: countless websites
No-Scrip: countless websites
AdBlock Plus(much better on Firefox): countless websites

I will happily switch to Chrome when these 3 addons are available to it.[/citation]

Are you that stupid you can't even read what I said? I don't give a damn about what addons you use.

I want you to show me a list of WEBSITES where these addons are ESSENTIAL in order for you to properly browse those sites (and where visiting those same sites in IE9 somehow causes slowdowns, a poor browsing experience, improper page display or other problem).

I have a feeling NOT ONE SINGLE FF FANBOY is going to come up with such a list, as they don't want to admit IE9 will do just as well on those same sites. It's much better to MAKE FALSE CLAIMS that your browsing habits of these IMAGINARY SITES that FF handles easily and IE9 can't, just so you can bash IE9.

 

[ericburnby]

[citation][nom]youssef 2010[/nom]@ericburnbyI maybe having a glitch. I'll try again when I eventually reinstall windows 7. But the glitch persisted through multiple windows 7 installations and the upgrade to IE9. Any instructions on how to repair this glitch would be deeply appreciated.Thanks for the provoking comment. I'll remeber it when YOU ask the community for help.[/citation]

Your original post stated FF was better than IE9 "before reading the article". Did you start using IE9 without even bothering to read up on its features and how to use them? Why should someone give any help to another person who's too lazy to try and find out the problem? You could have ASKED what the problem with submitting comments was instead of making a post proclaiming FF was better than IE9.

Here's a hint - turn on Compatibility for older sites or sites that have issues.

 

[youssef 2010]

[citation][nom]article[/nom]Scores of angry Firefox 4 fans stormed the comments and forums, torches and pitchforks in hand. They demanded an update with Firefox 4 RC2 included. They offered up a leaked final copy for testing. They demanded the story be taken down and IE9 stripped of its title. They accused us of blasphemy and called for my head.[/citation]

Nobody's perfect, we all make mistakes. It just means that TH's editors are as human as the rest of us so, forgive and forget. Also, they waited for 4 months for mozilla to step up but they didn't. Not their mistake.

 

[andy5174]

Are you that stupid you can't even read what I said? I don't give a damn about what addons you use.

I want you to show me a list of WEBSITES where these addons are ESSENTIAL in order for you to properly browse those sites (and where visiting those same sites in IE9 somehow causes slowdowns, a poor browsing experience, improper page display or other problem).

I have a feeling NOT ONE SINGLE FF FANBOY is going to come up with such a list, as they don't want to admit IE9 will do just as well on those same sites. It's much better to MAKE FALSE CLAIMS that your browsing habits of these IMAGINARY SITES that FF handles easily and IE9 can't, just so you can bash IE9.

Tab Browsing is also NOT "essential" to surf the web. Why would modern browsers (Chrome, Opera, IE9 inclusive) implement it?

FOR EASE OF USE -> Better browsing experience ! TabMixPlus is there for this reason as well.

Now would you easily show us a list of dozens of websites that IE9 handles better than other browsers? Get a life, moron!

 

[IzzyCraft]

[citation][nom]LuckyDucky7[/nom]Adblock Plus, Adblock Plus, Adblock Plus.That pretty much sums it up. No amount of optimization will help you when it comes to loading web pages if you have a large amount of adframes and such to slow you down.So have your super-fast IE9: I bet the ads will appreciate loading quick too.[/citation]
Hosts File not browser dependent. =p

i still only use opera due to being able to move around the ui just the way i like it without having to resort to add-ons that and the default capabilities makes it more attractive then maintaining a long list of addons for similar capabilities, which likely are available on platforms like ff chrome and IE all which have plenty of mods.

 

[youssef 2010]

@ericburnby

Why do you think TH editors ask for comments ?

Because they want our opinion. So, this was my opinion before reading the article. Anybody can disagree as long as they do it respectfully. Lazy is the last thing you can call me. You are making the same mistake I did. You are Judging me without even knowing me as I made up my mind before reading the article.

As I said in my previous comments, To err is human. And don't tell me you haven't made a single mistake in your life because this is impossible

Anyway, thanks for letting me know about the solution to my problem. But PLEASE try to go easy on me in your comments.

 

[Guest]

We live in an age of multiple operating systems. A web browser should be supported on, at least, major OSes. IE9 is only supported on Windows Vista or above. For this very reason alone, firefox FTW. Please, give up the good fight, Microsoft.