Browser Wars II
Are we headed for another browser war? Firefox is slowly, but surely, gaining market share. Safari seems to be doing the same. IE continues to dominate, spread across several versions, of course. Opera exists. I think we’re at least headed for an arms race.
Firefox is Awesome
I think I may be a Firefox fan-boy, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Firefox is awesome. Yes, this includes its current, sluggish, version number 2. Why? How? It is awesome, if not for its open sourced-ness and Mozilla’s commitment to standards, then for the Firebug and Greasemonkey extensions. Those two tools are absolutely indispensable for me. I could make it through a day without them, but I wouldn’t want to try.
I really like the customization possibilities more than anything. I can make Firefox do exactly what I need it to do. That is the single biggest reason I love Firefox.
Are those good reasons for the average user? No. Making the Firefox-over-IE argument for average users could probably be a post unto itself – one I’m not writing any time soon. (I would be willing to discuss it. Email me, or something.
I Prefer My Musicals in English, Thanks
Then there is Opera. I am often confused as to why I don’t really like it. There are some aspects of the UI that bother me. Big deal, right? They are probably even fixable, but I could not figure out how within the first 15 minutes. However, the Opera guys continue to add interesting features, and they continue to chase standards compliance. In fact, they were the first to get 100/100 on Acid3. Well, I am still not a big fan. We will blame it on Opera’s proprietary nature, I guess. I am very happy that they continue to provide competition, though. That is good for everyone.
Safari Is Probably Cool
I downloaded the Windows version of Safari. (Note: They make me use Windows at work. Other than that, both my job and the company for which I work are pretty awesome.) I opened it and browsed to Hacker News. Then, I closed it. Listen, I’m sure it’s awesome. It did seem fairly fast, which is their big claim. Maybe I didn’t really give it a chance.
Have I mentioned Firebug and Greasemonkey, though? Not to mention Tiny Menu, or YubNub. YubNub! I use it every day, and it is so perfect I don’t even think about how awesome it is.
I’m sorry, Safari. I’m sure I’m not giving you a fair shake. I mean, WebKit is getting 100/100 on the Acid3 test now, and that’s a big, important deal, right? Well, Rob Sayre at Mozilla doesn’t think so. Don’t dismiss what Rob is saying simply because he sounds like he’s pouting and kicking at the ground. I think he’s right. I hope that everyone, including Mozilla, continue working to get their browsers to pass Acid3 (and Acid4, and Acid5…), but I think it is obvious that the hype is quickly approaching a ludicrous apex. As a friend of mine observed, they are now ‘teaching to the test’ – referring to the tendency of school teachers to teach just what is needed for their kids to do well on standardized tests, rather than teaching the whole of what might be useful or interesting. Many of these browser teams are fixing and implementing just enough to pass these tests. I think that WebKit’s Changeset 31322 tends to support that point. Teaching to the test can produce good, media-friendly results, but are you really serving your users?
IE8. It’s coming! It’s coming! It’s coming!
Internet Explorer 8 passes Acid2. You can download the IE8 Beta. It even has a debugger that may or may not be useful (see the comments). I still don’t like it. Yeah, they are moving in the right direction. Yeah, I’m excited that Microsoft zealots and the lazy may some day soon be using a browser that doesn’t blow, but I don’t want to use it. I still don’t like the UI. I still don’t like its proprietariness. I still don’t like the debugger. Yeah, I still don’t like Microsoft. I said it. I don’t. Little things like this screen shot bother me:
Why make me click to expand the requirements? Because it looks cool. Why tell me about the CD-ROM drive that I don’t need? It’s stupid. Yeah, I’m nitpicking, but these sort of things bug me, and piled on top of all of the other things involving IE over the years, you’ve got yourselves a huge landfill, in front of which they are building a shiny new office building. Please ignore the trash, just pay attention to the marble staircases in this building!
Firefox 3 on the run
I will continue waiting for Firefox 3 with baited breath. Actually, I will download the thing as soon as Firebug and Greasemonkey support it. We’re at beta 4, and moving quickly. By moving quickly, I mean it is faster than everything! I can hardly wait.
Do I Need a Flak Jacket and Bayonet?
There could be a war on the horizon. We know that IE8 will eventually be a forced, automatic update. It looks like Apple is already pushing Windows users to download Safari, in a guerrilla-like fashion. Firefox continues to gain ground, but they haven’t gotten nasty yet. Will they? What about Opera? Will they increase their relevance? (Sorry guys!) What do you guys think?