Mucking Up the Works

This image is a conglomeration of three different photos.
firefox_community @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/firefox_community/
Akuo Yeh @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/akuoyeh/
JASElabs @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/jaselabs/

As is with most of us, I get fascinated by the all the different trappings computers have these days. The technology is supposed to make our lives easier, right? I admit that in several ways it does. However, many of the additives I’m coming across are pretty much worthless. And not every app or extension is compatible with other applications and programs installed on my computer.

This last week I got fed up with Mozilla’s Firefox. The thing kept freezing and crashing. Supposedly, it was all because of the program, Shockwave by Adobe. I don’t know if this is true or not. All I know is that my Firefox browser was freezing and crashing at least once a day. I do 99% of my research for my book online. Having this problem reoccurring time after time is infuriating. I’ll be on a map page studying where businesses are in a town when in a split second, the entire window with the browser freezes. I tried all sort of weird maneuvers trying to get to get some action on the screen. Even the mouse will freeze. Often, I’ve had the shut down the computer and start it up again.

I let this bedevilment go on for a few days. When the browser would crash, a box would pop up from Mozilla apologizing and asking for feedback. Dutifully and with a little exuberance, I would put my two cents in and send it on it’s way. After four days though, I decided Mozilla had screwed around so much with their product they had made it a complete disaster. Time to switch to one of the other browsers.

I had tried Chrome before, but I found it was impossible to know which apps and extensions to add that were right for my use of the Internet. Nevertheless, on Saturday I downloaded and installed the program hoping I was smarter this time, or Google had made it simpler. The darn thing was slower than mud if I used more than one tab. In addition, the apps and extensions are more ludicrous than they were before. For example: you can download an app or extension for email, download another one for a calendar, and download still another one for an address book that has more than the email address. Yet, try to find an app or extension that will do all three (other than Gmail), you probably won’t find one, or if you do, it’s taken you half of your day. Apparently I’m not smarter and Google is still full of thoughts about owning all of technology and trying to dupe everyone. Time to find another browser.

Seeing that I have Windows, Internet Explorer is already installed. I clicked on the icon and began using multiple tabs to test it. The one drawback is I have to apply my bookmarks manually to this browser. It doesn’t play well with others, I guess. I’ve had four tabs going at the same time with the performance of the browser still staying fast and clear. Once in a great while, the browser would hide for just a second while it was loading a page into another tab. But I didn’t have any freezing, actual slowness, or any crashes. I found my browser. 😀

All this hullabaloo got me thinking. Maybe you need to pick your browser by the operating system in your computer. What should a person using Linux have for a browser? Should Mac users be using Chrome for best performance? What operating system should use Firefox?

For years, IE had a bad reputation. Those were the days when you just had to have an antivirus program that you paid for if you wanted to stick with this browser. Chrome wasn’t developed yet, so many people were using Mozilla’s Firefox or Opera. Firefox was popular back then because hackers either couldn’t figure out how to put in a virus through it or, at least, it was difficult. Most of us got along find with a free antivirus program if we used Firefox. Now, antivirus programs are free for casual/home use no matter what the company is. Paid security is still recommended for commercial use though.

∴

IE has changed, of course, so I’m learning what is new with it. Still, I’m glad I’ve gone back to something made for my operating system. 😛