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Edited on 2005-06-04 16:22:48 by OkiE
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So many browsers! Which one is for me?
That is an honest question. A person new to Linux is usually suprised and a bit befuddled by the choices she is presented with. Coming from windows, you only had one choice by default and that was Internet Explorer. I DO so hope that by now you approach IE with a bundle of garlic, a crucifix, a belt of silver bullets, a vial of Holy Water and a healthy sense of fear and foreboding. Our friends at Mozilla have provided us with not one but two choices for our internet browsing and we will look at those in a bit.
The question I am asked mostly is WHY are there so many choices. Well my friend, Linux is all about choice. Nevermore shall you be relegated to having your computer decisions being made for you. These choices are not limited to browsers. Linux has a ton of software bundled with it and the one thing you will never lack is choices. Let's take a look at a few of these browsers. This way you will know what if available to you and then you can make some informed choices.
Konqueror:
This is the workhorse of KDE. While we are only going to touch on the browsing capabilities of this browser, be advised that it is also your file manager and is tighly integrated with Kmail, Kontact and a whole slew of other KDE functions. Konq might not be as pretty as some of the other choices, but one you have it configured to your liking, you may just stick with it due to its tight integration. Lots of guys at PCLinuxOS use it instead of the other browsers just because it is so tightly tied into the system. (hint: Explore the "protocol options" within Konq. You will be astounded.)
We are not going to cover the mechanics of Konq here but only its browsing capabilities. A full explanation of Konq can be found elsewhere in this guide.
You will notice that there are many configuration choices across the top of the browser. It is within these choices that you find your ability to block popups, decide on your download manager and security levels. Konq used to have some problems rendering some web pages but those days are long gone. give Konq a try after you use the others. I think you will find that you use Konq for some specific browsing needs and Konq will shine for those jobs.
Firefox:
This is the current love affair of the Internet. Firefox is the great contender against IE. As well it should be. Actually, at one time this project was called Phoenix because it is a resurrected version of the old Netscape. Then the name went to Firebird and thru a whole list of problems and hassles, it ended up as Firefox. Not all that important in the scheme of things I suppose. What is important is the stability, security and usability of this browser. When you first boot Linux and open Firefox, well; it seems kind of bare. It is. See, Firefox comes with a basic compliment of "extensions" that add functionality to the browser. Now let's talk about extensions for a minute.
When you get IE with Windows, it pretty much comes with everything you could imagine...except for the things you really need. At the time of this writing, IE had not YET gotten around to tabbed browsing. What a shame. Tabbed browsing is the greatest thing about the browser. No more multiple pages opening, sucking up your memory and cluttering up your panel/taskbar. But tabbed browsing is standard with most all Linux browsers. What about the other stuff? Extensions can add the simplist functionality like mouse gestures to the more complex such as total web page authoring. Simply go to the top of the browser and open the "preferences" tab under tools. Here you will find the button that takes you to the extensions home page. I promise, you will be amazed at the things you can add onto Firefox. Why don't these things come already installed? Choice! It's your choice as to what you want to do with your browser, not Microsoft or Netscapes...it's your choice. Build it to suit yourself.
Now while you were looking for extensions, you probably saw a button for "themes". This is so cool. You can "dress" firefox for a night out on the evening or dress it down to go slumming on the bad side of town. Firefox has the best themes of any browser in existance. Now, what makes this the epitomy of cool-ness is the way you install them. one click. Yep, no more stuffing files into different plugin folders and altering config files like you had to do in windows, one click and you are fini. It is no mystery why Firefox is going to wipe the floor with IE. Yes, they are trying to bring out IE7 to compete, but that's what happens when you get too arogant and forget your customer base. Someone else takes care of them.
Mozilla:
My sweetheart. While everybody flocked to ohhhh and ahhhh over Firefox, my tried and trusted girl got kicked to the curb by seemingly everyone but me. See, The Mozilla Suite started this whole thing and it has taken a back seat to Firefox sadly enough. Why? Beats me. Firefox has a total and absolutely magnificent mail client tied in with it that makes it almost perfect. It too supports extensions and themes, although the theme development seems to have fallen off with the introduction of Firefox. Mozilla is the browser of choice for my business; MobileMaster of Austin. It runs smoothly on a 29 computer network and has served us well since the 1.4 version, many moons ago. while not as "pretty" as Firefox I suppose, I use it because of its stability and strength. I have left my browser open for weeks at a time without closing it, multiple tabs open too. It never locked up or froze one time in the entire period it was open. Try that with IE. No...on second thought, with the vulnerabilities it is succeptable to, that might not be a good idea.
The Mozilla email client is first rate. Why they haven't "suited up" Firebird with Thunderbird is beyond me. They could at least offer it as an option you would think. The Mozilla email client has the capability of handling pop and imap accounts as well as multiple accounts for each. Not only does it handle mail superbly, it has a first-class news reader that rivals the ones found in Outlook and Outlook express. On whole, the Mozilla Suite is fast, light and rock-solid.
I can't believe I forgot something. Mozilla Composer! Not only can you browse and email...you can compose web pages with Mozilla. I am so pumped about this suite that it is hard to imagine why anyone would use anything else. Once you try it, I think you will agree with me that the Mozilla Suite is the Queen of the Internet You could not ask for more out of a browser OR an email client. I strongly suggest you try the Mozilla Suite. Yeah, there is a younger, prettier face on the block...but I'll take experience and know-how any time of the week. Know what I mean?
There are other environment-specific browsers too. Epiphany is the default browser for gnome as well as Dillo is another very light, fast browser you can get via apt/synaptic. While they do not offer the features of the above three, they are good solid offerings and after all...you get to choose. Now, hopefully you can do so in an informed manner
Written and assembled by helios and the Lobby4Linux Office Staff
Edited on 2005-06-03 23:58:39 by HeliOs
Additions:
So many browsers! Which one is for me?
That is an honest question. A person new to Linux is usually suprised and a bit befuddled by the choices she is presented with. Coming from windows, you only had one choice by default and that was Internet Explorer. I DO so hope that by now you approach IE with a bundle of garlic, a crucifix, a belt of silver bullets, a vial of Holy Water and a healthy sense of fear and foreboding. Our friends at Mozilla have provided us with not one but two choices for our internet browsing and we will look at those in a bit.
The question I am asked mostly is WHY are there so many choices. Well my friend, Linux is all about choice. Nevermore shall you be relegated to having your computer decisions being made for you. These choices are not limited to browsers. Linux has a ton of software bundled with it and the one thing you will never lack is choices. Let's take a look at a few of these browsers. This way you will know what if available to you and then you can make some informed choices.
Konqueror:
This is the workhorse of KDE. While we are only going to touch on the browsing capabilities of this browser, be advised that it is also your file manager and is tighly integrated with Kmail, Kontact and a whole slew of other KDE functions. Konq might not be as pretty as some of the other choices, but one you have it configured to your liking, you may just stick with it due to its tight integration. Lots of guys at PCLinuxOS use it instead of the other browsers just because it is so tightly tied into the system. (hint: Explore the "protocol options" within Konq. You will be astounded.)
We are not going to cover the mechanics of Konq here but only its browsing capabilities. A full explanation of Konq can be found elsewhere in this guide.
You will notice that there are many configuration choices across the top of the browser. It is within these choices that you find your ability to block popups, decide on your download manager and security levels. Konq used to have some problems rendering some web pages but those days are long gone. give Konq a try after you use the others. I think you will find that you use Konq for some specific browsing needs and Konq will shine for those jobs.
Firefox:
This is the current love affair of the Internet. Firefox is the great contender against IE. As well it should be. Actually, at one time this project was called Phoenix because it is a resurrected version of the old Netscape. Then the name went to Firebird and thru a whole list of problems and hassles, it ended up as Firefox. Not all that important in the scheme of things I suppose. What is important is the stability, security and usability of this browser. When you first boot Linux and open Firefox, well; it seems kind of bare. It is. See, Firefox comes with a basic compliment of "extensions" that add functionality to the browser. Now let's talk about extensions for a minute.
When you get IE with Windows, it pretty much comes with everything you could imagine...except for the things you really need. At the time of this writing, IE had not YET gotten around to tabbed browsing. What a shame. Tabbed browsing is the greatest thing about the browser. No more multiple pages opening, sucking up your memory and cluttering up your panel/taskbar. But tabbed browsing is standard with most all Linux browsers. What about the other stuff? Extensions can add the simplist functionality like mouse gestures to the more complex such as total web page authoring. Simply go to the top of the browser and open the "preferences" tab under tools. Here you will find the button that takes you to the extensions home page. I promise, you will be amazed at the things you can add onto Firefox. Why don't these things come already installed? Choice! It's your choice as to what you want to do with your browser, not Microsoft or Netscapes...it's your choice. Build it to suit yourself.
Now while you were looking for extensions, you probably saw a button for "themes". This is so cool. You can "dress" firefox for a night out on the evening or dress it down to go slumming on the bad side of town. Firefox has the best themes of any browser in existance. Now, what makes this the epitomy of cool-ness is the way you install them. one click. Yep, no more stuffing files into different plugin folders and altering config files like you had to do in windows, one click and you are fini. It is no mystery why Firefox is going to wipe the floor with IE. Yes, they are trying to bring out IE7 to compete, but that's what happens when you get too arogant and forget your customer base. Someone else takes care of them.
Mozilla:
My sweetheart. While everybody flocked to ohhhh and ahhhh over Firefox, my tried and trusted girl got kicked to the curb by seemingly everyone but me. See, The Mozilla Suite started this whole thing and it has taken a back seat to Firefox sadly enough. Why? Beats me. Firefox has a total and absolutely magnificent mail client tied in with it that makes it almost perfect. It too supports extensions and themes, although the theme development seems to have fallen off with the introduction of Firefox. Mozilla is the browser of choice for my business; MobileMaster of Austin. It runs smoothly on a 29 computer network and has served us well since the 1.4 version, many moons ago. while not as "pretty" as Firefox I suppose, I use it because of its stability and strength. I have left my browser open for weeks at a time without closing it, multiple tabs open too. It never locked up or froze one time in the entire period it was open. Try that with IE. No...on second thought, with the vulnerabilities it is succeptable to, that might not be a good idea.
The Mozilla email client is first rate. Why they haven't "suited up" Firebird with Thunderbird is beyond me. They could at least offer it as an option you would think. The Mozilla email client has the capability of handling pop and imap accounts as well as multiple accounts for each. Not only does it handle mail superbly, it has a first-class news reader that rivals the ones found in Outlook and Outlook express. On whole, the Mozilla Suite is fast, light and rock-solid.
I can't believe I forgot something. Mozilla Composer! Not only can you browse and email...you can compose web pages with Mozilla. I am so pumped about this suite that it is hard to imagine why anyone would use anything else. Once you try it, I think you will agree with me that the Mozilla Suite is the Queen of the Internet You could not ask for more out of a browser OR an email client. I strongly suggest you try the Mozilla Suite. Yeah, there is a younger, prettier face on the block...but I'll take experience and know-how any time of the week. Know what I mean?
There are other environment-specific browsers too. Epiphany is the default browser for gnome as well as Dillo is another very light, fast browser you can get via apt/synaptic. While they do not offer the features of the above three, they are good solid offerings and after all...you get to choose. Now, hopefully you can do so in an informed manner
Written and assembled by helios and the Lobby4Linux Office Staff
Oldest known version of this page was edited on 2005-05-29 00:41:12 by OkiE []
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