Decoding Internet Browsing – Where Each Browser Excels



Author: Kostas Papanikolaou

Categories: Technology

Decoding Internet Browsing – Where Each Browser Excels

There is no doubt that the Internet is one of the greatest inventions by humans, revolutionizing the world in the late 80s and early 90s. Thanks to the World Wide Web, we have achieved marvels in communication, medicine, and pretty much all fields, all thanks to Internet browsing. Regardless of who you are and what you do, you are bound to have access to the Internet, with over 65% of the human population being active online as of May 2021.

Despite that number being way too low considering several billion can’t enter the Internet, more than half of us are online, browsing. And to do that, we need Internet browsers. The software allows us to access the Internet and view all the pages we wish to visit. Internet browsing is important for many reasons and which browser you use may change your experience, depending on why you visit the Internet.

Today, we take a look at all the popular Internet browsers and suggest who should go Internet browsing with which, depending on what you want to achieve, and how you are using the web.

Microsoft Edge

The glorious successor of the “meme” browser, Internet Explorer, is nothing like its predecessor. Microsoft Edge is a whole other software, an IE rebuilt with Chromium at its core, and is the default browser for Windows. It also has versions for iOS, Android, as well as Mac!

Considerably faster than the one before it, Edge also has excellent privacy tools, and can save websites as applications. It also includes exciting features such as “Read Aloud”, as well as the option to cast media to Chromecast devices, great add-ons, and more.

As of 2021, more and more people have actually switched from the very popular Google Chrome to Microsoft Edge, thanks to the extreme difference in speed.

Google Chrome

Since we mentioned Chrome, let’s take a look at it now. First and foremost, we must not forget that Chrome is the world’s favorite Internet browsing software. At the time of writing, Chrome 79 was the latest version of the popular browser, with a fantastic library of add-ons to showcase.

Cross-platform support and synchronization make these even better, with the seamless sync of one’s Google account on two different devices allowing them to access the Internet in the exact same way, wherever they are.

Developers can benefit greatly from Google Chrome as well, while its auto-fill features allow everyone to go Internet browsing without worrying about forgetting a password or other credentials. Moreover, Internet browsing becomes much more personalized thanks to auto-fill features offered by Chrome. However, all Chrome users agree that this browser is hungry for (computing) power, and it becomes heavy for many devices really quickly.

Mozilla Firefox

When Mozilla Firefox hit the… market, everyone went crazy. A challenger to Chrome’s reign? Ney. A stand-alone, private browser that makes Internet browsing seamless for power users and keeps your secrets, secret. Version 72 which was the latest at the time of writing included alerts for data breaches that included your e-mail, blocked notification popups instantly, and brought picture-in-picture mode for Mac.

However, good work is not always successful work and Firefox is deep financially-wise. The company is bleeding money and is setting up campaigns to drive users to donate.mozilla.org, in an attempt to secure the future of a fantastic Internet browsing software. After all, they are up against Google and Microsoft, and that says a lot regarding the pressure they are under.

Vivaldi

Instead of creating an Internet browsing software with fixed features, why not allow people to do that? Former Opera developers gathered around and brought forth this unpopular browser which allows users to build their own Internet browsing experience. Vivaldi is built on customization, allowing you to tweak everything, from how you navigate the web, to how your interface looks like.

Built on Chromium, allowing Vivaldi users to have Chrome add-ons, it gives users the option of sticking toolbars wherever they want, adjust fonts of pages as well as colors, has notes in a panel, pin sites to a sidebar, and more.

Internet browsing with Vivaldi is without a doubt a very different experience, not only compared to other browsers but even between two Vivaldi browsers used by two different people! Great for power users that know what they want and how they want it. Not suggested for someone who likes to play with interface too much, it can be heavy for your device.

Opera

Did someone say “Built-in VPN”? Yeah, the Opera developers did. Internet browsing is a fantastic experience that can -and will- be hampered by several different things. Among these are constant ads that at times won’t let you do your job, as well as the “danger” of not being able to find the information you want due to access restrictions.

Well, with Opera you can forget about all these obstacles. The moment you install and run it, it allows you to enable its built-in ad blocker, use its own VPN, as well as activate its own Crypto Wallet for cryptocurrency if that’s how you roll!

Are you a gamer? Well, Opera GX is available to you, an Internet browsing software designed for gamers (probably BY gamers), allowing both Twitch integration and Razer Chroma support. Chrome add-ons can be used in Opera as well, while the Personal News feature allows users to personalize their news sources to the maximum.

In the case of mobile Internet browsing, Opera offers Opera Turbo as well. It compresses internet data to allow for faster loading times. This feature used to be available on desktops and laptops as well, but Opera devs thought it was too much for computers and put it to work where it truly matters.

Summary

As you can see by the features of each Internet browsing software, all have pros and cons. Each one is tailored around the specific needs of a type of user, and together they create a great team that offers solutions to literally anyone on the planet. If you are a casual Internet user, go for Edge. Are you a dev who wants more power, Firefox or Vivaldi is the way to go. Somewhere in between? Chrome is always the answer. Do you want privacy and hate ads? Opera, here we come! Do you already know what you need, how you need it, and only care about specific things to be in front of you? Go… crazy with Vivaldi.

Tags: browsers, Google Chrome, Internet, Internet Browsers, internet browsing, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Opera GX, Vivaldi