My Browser History

Here's the situation: Our professor for Technology for Teachers in the Arts wants to know where we stand on browsers. I am a Firefox supporter.

Back in the day, circa 2002-2005 I worked at a non-profit organization and there everyone used Internet Explorer so I used Explorer. I continued to use it until one day in around 2007 or 2008 (I can't remember exactly when) I was at my (not-so-new) job at www.nick.com (Nickelodeon) and was producing a mini-site. The developer, Shawn, a super talented guy, came to my desk to see about a publishing issue. He's that guy who knows everything technical about the web. Any question I had he'd answer (patiently) even if he wasn't the dev (developer) on my project.

He looked at my screen.
Shawn: Why are you using Explorer?
Me: It's what I always use.
Shawn: It's lame. Download Firefox.

Of course I asked why Firefox was better and he started to explain but time was always of the essence at Nick. Plus, it was Shawn. So I quelled my instinct to question and followed instructions.

Firefox seemed to work better for looking at the different stages of publishing for our sites. The browser just became part of the culture at work-- most people used Firefox but then we would always check the sites on Explorer. Sometimes new content would publish on Firefox but was wonky on Explorer. It's interesting how a browser can become part of a work or school culture. Something to ponder.

I Googled, "firefox best browser" and this article on About.com popped up:
http://onlinebusiness.about.com/od/dailyoperations/a/firefox3.htm

There are five reasons listed why Firefox is the best browser but the #1 reason, according to the article, is that Firefox makes webpages load faster. According to Gregory Go, the article's author, Firefox 3 is faster than Explorer 6 and 7, Safari 3 and Opera 8.

As I was leaving Nickelodeon, people started using Google Chrome. So I downloaded it; it was still in its Beta stage and it worked fine but I was used to Firefox and didn't feel a need to change.

Occasionally I use Safari if my Firefox has a bunch of tabs and I just want to go to one site and not be overwhelmed by looking at all the open tabs. I downloaded Opera for class, but I just looked at the homepage--I haven't used it yet. I'll try it soon. I like the name. :-) For now I'm a Firefox girl.

I'm out for now on this rainy day.