I have read dozens of pros and cons about IE9 and it’s enough to drive one nuts about whether to install it or not…

I tried Firefox a couple of time and hated it but others just love it and wouldn’t consider using anything else…

Usually, most of these editorial opinions don’t mean anything except to the author and most people will never be concerned whether a page loads a few milliseconds faster or not.

I suggest to just try it and if it’s not for you then use something else and while all these reviews are worth reading and informative the only review that really counts is does it work for you…If yes, keep it.

Some of the reasons there are just added to create a nicer title like “5 good reasons…”. I guess 4 wouldn’t look so nice. The first reason, namely that IE 9 does not run on XP is a valid reason if you run XP. If not, I don’t see how it can be given as a reason – solidarity with those who run XP is a nice feeling, to which you can add a nice little “bash Microsoft” attitude. It’s just not a valid technical reason (unless you’re on XP).

I agree that Chrome is a pretty good browser, but not without it’s quirks. A major downside for me is that I cannot use Google’s own toolbar, which I use manily because of instant bookmark syncronization between all browsers and OSes in a much better way than anything else.

Firefox is a solidly built browser, but for me it’s a clear 3rd choice. I use it when everything else fails and there, Firefox usually works.

Agree with Banyarola – it’s basically about personal choice. It’s funny how these tech writers tend to rationalize everything to the point of ridicule, sometimes. I will use IE 9 as my main browser, Chrome a distant second and Firefox as the fail safe point when all else fails. I am glad I can choose, though.

My point exactly ruirib.

Not all, but a great majority of browser reviews end up MS bashing in one way or another…

I always liked Outlook Express and could write a review listing ‘Ten Reason Why You Should Use Outlook Express’ and then read someplace ten reasons why you shouldn’t use it….

Some people like drop down menus but I like menus on the screen where I can see them….It’s just a choice and it doesn’t mean one is better then the other except to the person using it.

My browsers are (in order of preference) IE 9, Chrome 11 beta, oh wait, that’s all. No FF on my PC. It has been a distant 3rd for quite some time. I find IE 9 (32 Bit) is faster than even Chrome 11 beta. I also have given up on XP and will never go back, so in my case I do not care that IE 9 will not work with an obsolete OS.

I guess the point is that yes personal preference is why we pick out browsers and for me IE 9 is the best choice. I sometimes use Chrome, but have uninstalled FF and do not plan on a reinstall.

I hear a lot about speed but to be honest, I have never really noticed these speed differences between different versions of IE…

I plan to install IE9 today and will watch for any speed differences…

One thing I never liked is that they just love to change the names of things just to confuse us.

Like when they always had Directories and then changed the name to Folders…That was easy to adjust to but after that they just seem to have gone wild with changing the nomenclature of things that do exactly the same thing…

It’s difficult enough learning a new browser or OS without having the familiarity of the nomenclature of the previous version..

IE 9 feels a lot more responsive, in normal use. The RTM improves over the RC version in speed, but mainly in memory usage, as far as I can say – the RC was just too “greedy”.

One problem with Chrome is that the thing is always changing. Just now I had version 9.x.5xxx or similar and now it has jumped to 10.0.6xxx. It’s just crazy. I guess that’s the google way, “it won’t stop until we die”. Stability is not too bad a thing and the balance should not be between something that does not change for a year and one that changes almost every week!

Yeah, I could never live with Chrome changing so often…

What works for some doesn’t work for others.

I’ll be installing IE9 today after I make full images etc.

One thing that concerns me is if I will lose my Favorites bar that I have in IE8…
I seem to remember reading you can put that back in IE9….I hope so.

Whatever browser you choose these days will most likely be “fast enough”. IMO, the five “reasons” are mostly nonsense if you read and think. Microsoft is no longer the rech darling and will be bashed for whatever they do.

1. Operating System incompatabilities – sorry XP users. Time marches on. Microsoft made some design decisions with IE9 that render (pun intended) it incompatible with XP. I don’t care what the other browser vendors do. That is their choice if they care to expend development resources on XP. As far as non-Windows OSes go, who cares? If you are Microsoft and your OS market share is 85% – 90+%, why spend the time & money to satisfy critics who won’t be satisifed whatever you do.

2. Performance – This is the most ridiculous section. If you read the linked articles you’ll find that Google has concocted some tests they use to tune their own Javascript engine. Which software do you think will perform the best? Why not test hardware acceleration for performance? Oh, that can’t be done because the current versions of other browsers don’t do full hardware acceleration so they will look terrible compared to IE. I say again, these days any major browser will be “fast enough” for most users.

3. 64-bit version of IE9 is second rate. – Right now, who cares? The only reason it is “second rate” is that it does not use Microsoft’s latest Javascript engine. As with other 64-bit software (i.e. Office 2010) most addons have not been upgraded to 64-bit. I’d be surprised if Microsoft did not upgrade the 64-bit version during the support cycle for IE9.

4. Lack of security – I’m so tired of seeing this statement. If anyone looks around at the majority of security issues these days, social engineering is the big reason for problems. All browsers are susceptible to this type of malware which tricks the user to go to a bad site. The author fails to mention that you can disable ActiveX in IE9 which removes one of the biggest security issues in IE. How can really tell if FF or Chrome are safer as the author contends? They both periodically release udpates that fix some large number of security issues that have previously not been know unless you scour the development sites for bugs. At least Microsoft has a formal method for publishing what is being fixed. Then the user can choose what appropriate action should be taken.

5. Lack of compatability – this is an issue for two kinds of sites. Those sites that were written specifically taking advantage of older IE versions that had “features” that are no longer supported. Microsoft gets bashed for having non-standard features and then they get bashed again for making the default rendering in IE9 not support those features. The other sites are those who are written to take advantage of standards that are not really standards. Web standards have been and are evolving. Some browser vnedors choose to implement features that are in various stages of proposal and acceptance as standards. Microsoft has chosen with IE9 to become much more standards compliant with those that are real standards. They get bashed again for choosing not to use “standards” that are not really standards (i.e HTML5 is one of these evolving standards).

Joe

So Joe—What’s your point? :rolleyes:

People can always find ways to bash MS so why not the browser as well. After all we are talking about “Big, Bad MS”. As I have often stated, I love Win 7 (whatever version – we use Ultimate and HP both 64 Bit and 32 Bit in our 3 PC’s). I will NEVER go back to XP or Vista. I am beginning to seriously like IE 9 (now the RTM version) and will never go back to FF or IE 8. As stated Chrome 11 beta and even Chrome 10 seem to be updated every week or 2. It gets difficult to keep up with the updates. Test can be concocted to show any app in better light than the competetors app, as it appears to have been done in the original op’s links.

If you have been an IE basher then you will continue to be an IE basher no matter the evidence to the contrary. If you love FF or Chrome, that will continue. Yes I use IE 9 and Chrome 11 beta although IE 9 is default and will continue to be.

Joe,

I agree with just about everything. Very well said.

I guess both Mozilla and Google thought Microsoft was not really a contender, in the browser arena. They were proved wrong and maybe they even haven’t realized, especially Mozilla, who seems to have turned quite a lot into what they previously bashed. I hope MS does not stop here, and keeps dealing with upcoming versions the same way they did with IE9. I have been using IE 9 since the beta and will gladly do the same with the next version.

Well, now that we are all in agreement, let’s go have a beer and discuss third world problems..

Rui,

Thanks. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to bash Microsoft. So many of these tech “writers” keep recycling the same tired, old quotes.

I too hope Microsoft continues to forge ahead with IE. In some ways I’d like them to adopt an even more aggressive release approach but I also would really like a predictable release schedule of 9 – 12 months. I really do not like the Chrome barrage of updates and releases. I think that Google has now taken the approach that “if you don’t like our never ending betas we’ll just call it a release version”. Although this may be OK with some non-business consumers I don’t think this approach will ever fly with businesses.

Anyway, I’m already looking forward to the next IE cycle.

Joe

The article made me laugh because of a conversation I had with my roommate this past weekend. He has a PowerPC Mac G5 running OSX Leopard, which is the highest he can go without an upgraded processor. He happened to stop by my room right after I installed IE9. (Yes, couldn’t wait a few days till the release.) I started to say, “I like the look of the new Internet Explorer-” when he cut me off to rant about newer versions of IE not being available for his computer. (The rest of my statement, which I got to finish sometime later was, “-because it looks more like Chrome.”)

Well, there’s a lot of stuff that’s not available for his computer. This does not make MS evil. In the comments of that article, a guy stated he might switch to Mac because of MS’s lack of IE9 for XP. For years, IE was “the browser to hate” and now so many people are in an uproar because they can’t get it.

I was using Chrome almost exclusively (except for IE-only sites) on this machine but for the last several days I’ve been switching back and forth between Chrome and IE9. I have a variety of other browsers installed on my other computers. I just use what works. Having LastPass and Xmarks makes things easier. Now that it’s in release, I’m planning to put IE9 on my two Vista machines.

Christa

I thought it would be good to go ahead and install IE9 on my desktop and get a ‘handle’ on any changes before I install it on my husband’s laptop. He does not like change on his computer. Gaaaack! I hate the hidden menu bar/tool bar business. Read on a couple sites about making changes in the registry to make these always visible, and always on top. But before I do that, I want to hear what you guys say about this…….. meanwhile I have reverted to IE 8.

BJ

If you want to have a toolbar permanently visible right click on a blank spot in the address bar/tab area and then select the toolbar you want to be visible from the list. Repeat as desired.

Joe

Have you tried reinstalling the networked printer drivers after IE9 is installed?

Joe