Web Browser SmackdownCategory: Technology
Written by: Mohammed Ali (on January 01, 2008 - 11:05 PM)E-Mail Article to a Friend
The Browser Market of today is heavily dominated by Internet Explorer, the main reason being it is the default windows browser and that a lot of people are “satisfied” by its operation, or are just intimidated by the thought of change. As most users in Pakistan dont have a highspeed internet connection, they would rather enjoy their online time surfing the net rather then downloading and trying out new softwares. Being an internet geek, i was always on the lookout for something else which could make my web experience much more easier and enjoyable. I came across numerous web browser such as Firefox, Opera, Avant, Safari etc .. but I went for just 2 from the list, Firefox and Opera as they had the best reviews.
Following are some experiment results of each browser:
Which browser uses less RAM?
7 popular websites were opened in 7 different tabs in each of the browsers. The websites were as follows:
http://www.ebay.com/
https://www.paypal.com/
http://images.google.com/images?q=images&sa=N&tab=wi
http://amazon.com/
http://www.yahoo.com/
http://www.aol.com/
http://www.microsoft.com/
The memory usage was then checked. Firefox using ~22 MBs was by far using the most. Most browsers release their memory when you minimize them, however Firefox does not by default
The next test was restoring all windows and checking their memory usage. Firefox used the most memory at ~31 MBs. Opera used approximately half as much as Firefox.
PC Requirements:
Firefox:
Intel Pentium II or AMD K6-III+ 233 MHz
64 MB RAM
52 MB hard drive space
Windows 98 or higher
Internet Explorer:
66 MHz processor
16-32 MB ram
12 MB Install size
Windows 98 or higher
Opera:
20 MB of free disk space
Any system running Windows 95 or higher
Cold and Hot start times:
Cold start was the amount of time the browser took to start up after you logged out and then back in.
A hot start is the time it takes to open your browser after the original opening of it.
Cold start time:
Firefox 2.0 - 11.64 seconds
Opera 9.01 - 2.47 seconds.
IE 7.0 - 7.80 seconds.
Hot start time: Firefox 2.0 - 3.05 seconds
Opera 9.01 - 2.24 seconds.
IE 7.0 - 2.40 seconds.
Which browser is more web compliant?
Simply put, Opera. Taking the Acid2 browser test reveals that Opera is the ONLY browser to pass the test. Internet Explorer doesn't even come close, while Firefox is on the right track.
Opera's perfect rendering.
Firefox is on the right track but nowhere near correct.
Internet Explorer. Hello Mr. Gates =)
Cost
Some people are still living back in time when Opera wasn't free. For over a year now, Opera has been without ads, and is 100% free for anybody. The only difference is that Opera is closed source while Firefox is open source. If you don't know C++, then that shouldn't make a difference.
Extensions
A lot of Firefox fanboys will claim that Firefox has extensions, and they can't do without them. Stated the most is ad-block (which Opera has built in). Well opera has widgets, which is basically the same thing as Firefox's extensions. They also offer a documentation to start making your own widgets.
Conclusion
Opera is no ordinary Web browser. It is the Ultimate Web Browser.
It several new features for functionality, security, usability, customization, searching, saving, taking shortcuts and accessing Web content. Whether you're going to work, working from home, developing Web sites, or just looking for a quick, solid browser that can help you quickly access the Internet, Opera delivers a superior Web experience for every aspect of your online life, with lots of tech tools for power users.
And Yea for those who didnt know. Opera was the pioneer of Tabbed Browsing =). I was also surprised to see many features pop up in Firefox 2.0 which were already present in Opera. hmmm ?
Personal favourite features:
My personal Favourite features:
Now you have a new way to access your favorite Web sites. Just open a new tab to your Speed Dial in front of you. No need to even Type the websites URL.
Your favourite Webpages a click away.
You don't need a separate BitTorrent application to download large files. Simply click a torrent link and start the download.
It is easy to have many tabs open at once in Opera. But exactly which tab had that video you wanted? Hover your mouse on any tab to see a thumbnail preview.
Below is the image of speed dial and thumbnail preview:
The voice feature allows you to control Opera's interface by talking and to have documents read aloud. Voice is currently offered in English and runs on Windows 2000 and XP. What more can you even wish for?
For more details on Opera -> http://www.opera.com/products/desktop/features/
For free Download ( 6 Mb ) -> http://www.opera.com/download/get.pl?id=30539&thanks=true⊂=true
You are meant to enjoy the Web. Opera is designed just for that :)
P.S. The above views are my personal opinions. I have no interests in promoting Opera or anything. Nor am i trying to degrade any browser.
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