lig

I've been using Safari for quite some time now. IE? No thanks.

tomcatt

All but one of my home machines are XP. My place of work is a Micro$oft shop, so I need to stay in parallel with them at home, and since I routinely go to WinUpdate at home I fire up IE for that.

I've got Symantic's Norton antivirus on our machines (work uses McAffee) and it has it's own built-in update mechanism; it doesn't use the browser to do updates, and when I need to renew the subscription Opera works just fine.

I do need to spend more time tinkering with my lonely linux box...

ralper

I read an interesting article the other day in one of the on line IT journals that I get. It contended that the biggest advantage that Firefox has is simply that it is not IE. It went on to say that it hasn't been proven yet, nor has it really been tested, but that people will like it just because it did not come from Microsoft.

What do you think?

Chazmo

Rob, I think this is becoming a much stronger argument as time progresses, mostly outside the US. At work, we're finding much stronger linux-related (for example) demand in Europe.

This is an interesting trend.

I have to say, I never really had any issues with IE. However, now that I'm working on Linux, I've become more "demanding" in terms of wanting source access etc... I like Mozilla, particularly the tabbed browsing. I'm sure Microsoft will steal this feature eventually...

The whole open source movement is a fascinating development in my biz. I'm not sure how anyone's going to make money in the future, though! Perhaps I'll be retired by then!

ralper

Chaz,

I think that is a very important point, and one of the points that the article I read was trying to make.

Most of us (I suspect) have not had any real problems with Microsoft software other than the resentment towards Microsoft for it's size and arrogance. For me, it is a godsend. Part of my responsibililty is to train our staff, including the partners, and our clients to use the software. Like it or not, the fact that Microsoft has set standards makes things much easier. A new hire, who used to take three days to learn WordPerfect, and months to master it, now comes to work already knowing the basics of Word and Excel. It makes a big, big difference.

As for innovation, yes, Microsoft has been slow to innovate, but has been fast to adapt other's innovation. At my level, the high powered user/trainer/accountant, the innovations appear fast enough. Whether or not this stifles competition as many have stated is a discussion for another thread, but, I suspect, Msft software is fine for most everyone but the developers.

As for Open Source, in theory I think it is a great concept, but again, at the user level, I'm not sure it really makes much difference. Most of the people using computers today have barely mastered the ability to turn them on and get into the programs they need. Open source is irrelevant to them. And again, it speaks to the issues of standards and ease of use which I think are really the fundamental issues.

Please do not misinterpret my comments. I am in favor of open source and in favor of some competition in the software arena. I use both IE and Firefox, both Microsoft Office and Star Office (Lotus and Quattro too), etc., etc., etc., but my point is that if there was no Firefox I could be perfectly content with IE.

Chazmo

Thoughtful post, Rob. Some thoughts from someone who's been on both sides, if you don't mind a little off-topic divergence:

[QUOTE]Like it or not, the fact that Microsoft has set standards makes things much easier.

ralper

Chaz,

Two thoughts and then I'll let you enjoy your breakfast.

I am speaking from the point of view of the small business. In my case it is an accounting office with 16 people, but it could be most any small business. We are not in the position to have an in house IT department, and we are, more or less content using the software that is available to us so long as it serves our purpose. For us, and for most small business, our point of view is our core business (in my case accounting) not computers or IT. Our computers help us to do our job, but they are not and cannot be our job. That's not how we make a living. The standardization that Microsoft force has made things work. If Bill Gates is to be thanked for anything it is for this standardization and simplification.

As for being locked into old fashioned technology, I'm not so sure. As long as there will be entrepreneurs and innovators, they will find a way to supply the market with what the market needs. This has always been the case and will always be the case. Not even Microsoft is powerful enough to keep the market from getting what the market wants. That others innovate and Microsoft adapts is to Microsoft's credit. It is smart enough to understand the market.

Actually, in the early days, IBM's architecture was closed. That is why there evolved a thriving market of makers producing "White Boxes". Open architecture was the answer to IBM back then.

Now, what's for breakfast?

Chazmo

Rob, I fully understand your perspective as a small business on this. Unfortunately, I'll claim to you that you're being duped by Microsoft due to the stifling of innovation. Let me explain...
[QUOTE]The standardization that Microsoft force has made things work.

matrix

For all the Firefox users...I just downloaded a handy little extension.

It places a couple of weather icons into the status bar and gives you the current weather and forecast for your area.

Download here

ralper

I downloaded Firefox just about the time that this thread appeared. I set it as my default browser here and at work in order to test it. I thought that if it truly performed better than IE I would install it on some of the other machines in my office.

At first I was satisfied with it, not overly impressed, but satisfied enough to use it. Unfortunately, I have found it getting progressively slower to the point that I oftentimes close it and use IE instead. Has anyone else had this problem?

I have also found that many of the accounting sites that we use do not work with Firefox. I figured that this would happen to some degree, and that it was a fair trade off for better performance, but I didn't think this many sites would not work with it. I am surprised.

I may uninstall it from my computer and reinstall it to see if it slows down again.