Useful Windows, Making Windows Useful, Tips and Tricks

With the release of Windows Vista Microsoft released both a 32bit and 64-bit Version, (which really unlocked a lot of hardware),  and a fair share of computers shipped with Windows Vista x64.  It is a different OS from its 32bit counterpart.  So what is the best internet browser?   Well here are my conclusions.  I ran all tests uncashed on a computer running Windows Vista Ultimate on 4 Gb of ram and a 2.8 Ghz Intel Pentium D, with the newest versions of the browsers, Flash, Java, and Windows. Now before I go on, I must mention that there is only one 64-bit internet browser now, Internet Explorer, we may see 64-bit versions of other browsers in the future but for now all other browsers are 32bit.

1. Internet Explorer, Now I know, I know but give Internet Explorer 8 a try.  For those of you that know there are two versions of IE in 64-bit Vista, a 32bit version and a 64-bit version.  The 64-bit version is fast on every site I tested.  It really has the speed that people want, and seemed faster than the other browsers especially with large sites.  Also If you install Java in the 32bit version of IE go back and fire up the 64-bit version and redownload Java, there is a 64-bit version available.  The user interface is something even beginning computer users seems to pick up easily.   I love some of the new features in IE 8 like the Accelerators, which is pictured below, select some txt and right-click to search on Bing or Google, look up what a word means and so on.  Put that with Web Slices and the Visual Search and IE8 is a full featured browser.  You can download IE8 at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx

Internet Explorer 8 under Windows Vista X64

2. Firefox 3.5  Now Firefox has come a long way and has matured into a great browser.  It would be nice to see a 64-bit version in the future as Internet Explorer 8 is the only 64-bit one we tested so far.  This is not the fastest browser, in fact it was one of the slower ones, but it’s features the face that the user interface is easy to use , and how fast they release security updates still makes this a great browser to be considered.  Furthermore you can extended the functions with plugins, and install skins to change the look.  It really has something for everyone and was my prefered browser for a while before Internet Explorer 8 was released.  There are versions for Mac OS and Linux as well.  you can get it at www.getfirefox.com

Firefox 3.5 under Windows Vista X64

3. Opera 10.  Now I have not liked this browser in the past with an awkward user interface and how sluggish it seemed.  I also have disagreed with it trying to say Microsoft is the reason why Opera has not done so well, it was a horrible browser.  But here is version 10 and I have to say wow.  It is a welcome improvement.  A nice user interface and there are visual previews of the open tabs which is pictured below.  It opens fast and loads pages fast as well, faster than Firefox.  If you have written it off in the past, take another look.  Opera is also available for the Nintendo Wii, Windows Mobile, Mac OS, Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris.  You can get it at www.opera.com

Opera 10 under Windows Vista X64

4. Safari 4, This has come a long way since version 3 being ported to Windows, it looked just like the Mac version the drab grey and was very slow.  Now it actually looks more like a Windows program and is a little faster but still is not that fast.  It seems to try to copy Google Chrome in many ways including its top sites feature, but it’s version is very slow, pictured below this feature does not load the thumbnails for the sites very quickly and you can only see the top row it takes as much as a minuet to load all the pictures.  The nice thing about Safari is that the user interface is different and a little easier to use than Chrome.  You can download Safari at http://www.apple.com/safari/download/

Safari 4 under Windows Vista X64

5. Chrome 2, this browser is still quite young and it shows, It lacks features and has a confusing user interface.  The installer is a bit of a pain too, however the installer is fast.  It loads pages faster than Safari but it is no show winner. The default page with shows most visited sites loads the thumbnails fast almost instant and is a nice feature.  It will be interesting to see what is coming in version 3.  You can get it at http://www.google.com/chrome/index.html?hl=en&brand=CHMI&utm_source=en-et&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en

Chrome under Windows Vista X64

It is clear that 64-bit versions of operating systems will be the future in no time, but will be have good software to keep up?  It should be interesting to see.  I hope this helped and stick around for my next review on a different version of Windows.

Go back to Part 1 the Introduction

Go to Part 3 for Windows 2000