Time To Upgrade Your Browser? - Comments Page 1

Hi Ron, I'm wondering if I can use two browsers on my computer? I have IE 9 with windows 7, but would like to try Google Chrome and wondered if I can have the 2 on my computer and use them separately. Maybe I would like one for some things and the other for other things? What say you? Thanks in advance.....

I use Firefox 3.6 I have the paid for version of Roboforms 6. Roboforms 6 does not work with any later version of firefox. As a pensioner I do not intend paying for a later version so that means I am stuck with the old Firefox.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm pretty sure that if you have a paid Roboform license, you can upgrade to the latest version, which works with FF v8.

Normally I agree with current is better but MS tends to launch their ships before they are ready to sail (Vista, Windows Millenium, etc). IE9 is a good example. MS updated mine before I was ready and IE9 does crazy things. 9 times out of 10 it does not finish the web page you send it to, or it can't find the web page or goes straight to an MS web page. You try going to another browsers site and it takes you to BING. Prefer to use a good browser that does not force you to its sites of preference.

For an old clunker (but it was given to me free by my former employer) Dell laptop, we have XP Professional and IE8.0, which my husband has to use to access his work email. However, due to not having install disks when we had to reformat the hard disk last year, we're running some borrowed software that my son came up with, and can't get any security updates from MS. I use Firefox and avoid IE, but any suggestions for getting the IE security patches?

Hi Bob,
You're right, some of the reasons for not upgrading browsers is down right stupid. I have 3 different ones installed on my machine, and keep all of them updated. IE is the least used, and only used because I can't upgrade the operating system without it. If I could use another browser for that I probably would. I like Firefox the best, it's a great browser.

Another reason for NOT switching browsers, related to the "legacy software" issue, is that many publishers are slow to update their browser plug-ins.

I use Firefox, with RoboForm for password management. Unless something has changed recently, RoboForm doesn't work with any Firefox version newer than 3.6. If I'm wrong, please correct me!

When browser publishers adopt a "rapid upgrade release" model, it makes it tough for add-in publishers to keep up.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I use the latest version of RoboForm with Firefox V8.

Installing IE 9 creates a mess for anyone using Windows Mail. The ability to see email attachments disappears (paper clip icon gone missing), "save attachments" is grayed out and unusable, and the yellow information bar that allows you to download blocked images in an email has gone missing too. The TO and FROM and SUBJECT also are displayed in some giant courier font.

This is not unique to my machine, everyone using Windows Mail has this issue. (One step forward, two steps back.) I uninstalled IE 9 and went back to 8, all is well again.

Installing IE 9 on Vista creates a mess for anyone using Windows Mail. The ability to see email attachments disappears (paper clip icon gone missing), "save attachments" is grayed out and unusable, and the yellow information bar that allows you to download blocked images in an email has gone missing too. The TO and FROM and SUBJECT also are displayed in some giant courier font.

This is not unique to my machine, everyone using Windows Mail has this issue. (One step forward, two steps back.) Apparently Windows Mail and the browser have a very deep relationship, although they are separate programs. I uninstalled IE 9 and went back to 8, all is well again.

I just updated Opera today from Version 11.52 to 11.60 and there seems to be a glitch on the top toolbar where an "&" sign is printed over the first letter of each word. I hope they release a fix soon.

Someone asked a question about multiple browsers on one machine. I have four of the five illustrated ones on my machine. If one "breaks down" the others often work. Also, each one has a different purpose (type of browsing) for me.

How about 64 bit browsers? I now use the 64 bit version of IE9 and the 64 bit version of Firefox (which is called Waterfox 8.01 ... google Waterfox to get it). The old disadvantage of 64 bit browsers was that they were not supported by flash. The new Flash 7 works with 64 bit. Try them. You'll like them.

And we're in a catch 22 at work. We have to have IE8 to use our own websites but most of the other sites won't work with IE8 (they just error out or won't work at all). Not to mention our reporting software wont' work with anything above IE6 (though I did find a workaround for that). It's ridiculous. So, I have IE6 on one machine so I can get to the non work sites I have to get to and IE8 on another for everything else.

To answer Patricia McIntyre if I may be so bold :-)

yes, you can have more than one browser on your computer and use different ones for different things.
Foe example, if you have more than one eBay account, cookies only allow you to be logged in to one of your ID's at a time. Opening different ID's in different browsers solves this problem.

We receive our utility bills by e-bill. At least one of the utilitiese-bill site won't work with IE9, only IE8 or older. As far as I know it requires IE rather than any of the other browsers, so we're stuck with IE8. I will update when the issue with e-bill site is resolved.
Is this what's called legacy software?

In response to Ken McLeod's post, I have and use IE9 and Windows Mail on my Windows 7 Home Premium system and have never had ANY of the problems he has mentioned!

So maybe he didn't uninstall IE8 before installing IE9? Or didn't upgrade IE8 to IE9 properly through Windows Update? Maybe he is using a dodgy copy of Windows? Maybe he doesn't clean out his temp files and IE cache regularly? Or maybe his operating system or computer is old and just cannot cope with newer software?

I'm sure there must be dozens of other possible causes for the type of problems he reports - but they are definitely not caused simply by using IE9 and Windows Mail on an up-to-date operating system!

Bob,
Back in the spring of this year I 'attempted' to upgrade from IE7 to IE8. My OS is Windows XP Home. It rendered my computer useless? Had it not been for Acronis and my full backups, I would've been forced to reinstall everything and start from scratch! I've consulted several geek/experts, both locally and online, and they're all at a loss to explain it? I still wish to upgrade, but after that close call I more than a little gun shy. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as I trust your recommendations completely.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is my major gripe with IE. It's too closely entangled with the operating system, so in some cases a simple thing like updating your browser can have unintended consequences. Suggestions? Try Firefox or Chrome.

Many new programs insist that you use 'Chrome'. I will not use it again, after the "He's Dead Jim" attack.
Screwed up everything on my new desktop before I had all the new up-dates down-loaded.

I am staying with Firefox.

I do not want to update my firefox browser because I love the addon clip marks ,which does not work with the latest firefox I believe this is a problem with other addons too.

I bought a secondhand laptop on which OEM Vista had been overwritten by a dealer with his OEM XP Pro - two legit Windows copies on the machine but not politically correct so MS won't let me upgrade IE7. Says my copy isn't legal.
I have been mainly using Firefox and Thunderbird but have had enough crashes (including one where the MozBackup profile refused to work) that the rapid release process now induces me to let a few versions pass before updating (just went from FF5 to 8). If they would stop losing all my email and favourites i'd be more amenable.

When I installed FireFox Version 4, it obliterated my Version 3.
There's some rigmarole that allows co-existence, but I choose to omit rigmarole.

If I could install the newest version without losing Version 4, I would. But I'm sticking with Version 4 until I'm forced to replace it.

When something fails in FF 4, I try another browser. Sometimes Chrome does better at displaying videos, but that's all I can say for it.

Regards, Bob