Section 2.3. Browser Choices

2.3. Browser Choices

If you have a Windows -based computer, a copy of Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser is already on your hard drive. Likewise, if you've got yourself a Macintosh machine running the Mac OS X operating system, Apple's Safari browser is right there in your Applications folder.

These built-in browsers get you tooling around the Web with a minimum of fuss, but someday you may find yourself wanting, well, more . More security and flexibility in the case of Internet Explorer, or more sites that work with your browser in the case of Safari, which still encounters some Mac-browser bias here and there from certain Web sites that only display their pages properly for Windows browsers.

Lucky for you, there are plenty of other Web browsers to choose from. If you think you want to surf with new software, you merely have to point your current browser to the right download page, snag a copy of the new program, and install it on your computer. This section gives you a look at some of the other Web browsers worth a look.

2.3.1. Firefox

Free, fast, and fun to customize, the Firefox browser has only been out since 2005 but has already been adopted by more than 10 million peoplemany of whom were rattled by Internet Explorer's vulnerably to malicious tampering. So what makes Firefox so great? For one thing, it can do just about everything Internet Explorer can do, and then adds these chocolate sprinkles on top:

Cross-platform . Firefox is available, in nearly identical versions, for both Windows and Macintosh.
Better security . Internet Explorer allows the use of little bits of code called ActiveX controls to run Web-based games and other interactive features, but Firefox doesn't. So when rogue programs or spyware (Chapter 21) try to install themselves on your machine through your Web browser, Firefox slams the door shut. After a flurry of IE- related security incidents, some experts even advised people who use Windows to ditch Explorer altogether and run with Firefox.
Pop-up blocking . Pop-upspesky extra windows that multiply all over your screen on behalf of an advertiser or worsemake browsing more aggravating than it should be, but Firefox blocks them from even opening. (The latest versions of Internet Explorer can block pop-ups as well. Safari also wields a pop-up shield.)
Tabbed browsing . The ability to have multiple Web pages open in the same windowwith each one sporting a folder-like tab at the top for easy clicking back and forthisn't as unique to Firefox as it once was now that Safari and Internet Explorer 7 have jumped on the tabbed browsing bandwagon. But Firefox still makes elegant use of this time-saving innovation and keeps your desktop free of extra browser windows.
RSS . With blogs , news sites, and even technical support pages constantly updating themselves, Firefox's use of RSS feeds (Section 5.5) makes it much easier to keep up with all the latest headlines each time your favorite sites add new information. Subscribing to a site is as effortless as clicking a button.
Extensions . Firefox is a spawn of the Mozilla Foundation, an open source (volunteer) software group dedicated to sharing code among programmers and building a better, sturdier product than companies that keep their code closed to public view. And with so many people contributing to Firefox's development, it's only natural that really fun add-ons called extensions would develop alongside the browser. Adding a few extensions to your Firefox browser can make it do really cool things, like flash the current temperature, control your MP3 jukebox program from the browser window, or zoom in on images; check out the Extensions list at https ://addons.mozilla.org/firefox.
Find box . When you search within a Web page for a specific word or phrase, Firefox gives you a convenient Find box down at the bottom of the browser window that doesn't block your view of the page you're searching.
Search shortcuts . You don't even need to jump to a search engine page to search the Web with Firefox. The browser has a search box embedded right in its toolbar with shortcuts to many different sites including Google, Amazon, and eBay.

But while other browsers have added similar features, Firefox still continues to make great strides in Web surfing. On the downside, some sites just won't display properly or even work right if you try to view them with Firefox. But back to the upside: Firefox can import your bookmarks, passwords, cookies, and other information from Internet Explorer, Safari, and older versions of Netscape, so switching browsers is easy.

2.3.1.1. Getting and setting up Firefox

If you want to join the millions of people on Team Firefox, point your current browser to www.getfirefox.com and download a free copy for yourself. It works with Windows 98 or later and Mac OS X 10.2 and beyond.

Once the installer file downloads to your computer, double-click the file to install the program. As part of the setup process, Firefox asks if you'd like to import information from another browser. If you say yes and tell it which one you use, the program snags all your bookmarks and Web-site passwords, plus Internet connection settings and the data that lets Internet Explorer and other browsers automatically fill in your name and address on Web forms.

After you install the program, you can find it on your Windows machine at Start All Programs Mozilla Firefox or as a desktop shortcut. If you choose to make it your default browser during the installation process, the Firefox icon replaces Internet Explorers at the top corner of the Start menu. Mac folks can find the Firefox icon nestled inside their Applications folder, where it can easily be dragged onto the Mac OS X Dock for easy access.

2.3.2. Netscape

Once the King of Browsers, thanks to its fast start out of the gate in the early 1990s when the Web was still young, Netscape found itself dethroned and booted to the royal curb by Internet Explorer before the turn of the century. It's still around in versions for Windows and Macintosh systems and can be downloaded from the Browser link at www.netscape.com (a not-so-bad portal page in its own right). The Mac edition inevitably lags a version behind the Windows browser, though, which often annoys Mac people enough to ignore Netscape and use something else.

The latest version of Netscape for Windows includes spyware-stopping security, support for RSS feeds (Section 5.5), pop-up blocking, tabbed browsing, and many of the features becoming standard on most modern-era browsers. Installing Netscape is basically the same procedure as the Firefox installation described earlier: Download the installer program from the Netscape site, double-click the downloaded file to install the browser, and follow the onscreen instructions for configuring the software.

2.3.3. Opera

Bursting onstage from a Norwegian laboratory comes Opera, a versatile alternative browser with versions for Windows and Macintosh at www.opera.com. Not content to just stay on the desktop, Opera's also the browser of choice on a number of cellphones and the Nintendo DS handheld gaming console.

The browser's Web site boasts of its page-loading speed, plus its tightly woven programming code and excellent security record. Other features include the usual tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, and integrated quick search bar.

Tip: For people still using Mac OS 9 systems and unable to surf with Safari or Firefox, both Netscape and Opera have older versions of their browsers available on their sites that still work with OS 9. For those wondering whatever happened to Internet Explorer for the Mac, Microsoft stopped supporting it and removed the program from its Web site at the end of 2005.

2.3.4. Top Tips for Setting Up Your Browser

Since your browser speeds you around the Web and all its sites, it's only natural that you'd want to customize it for a more comfortable ride. Instead of sheepskin seat covers, a big stereo system, and fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror, you can make your Web vehicle fit your needs by choosing your own home page, rearranging your program's onscreen buttons and controls, organizing your bookmarks, and adding on helpful browser toolbars that save time and mouse clicks.

2.3.4.1. Choose your own home page

Every time you sign on to the Web, your browser starts by showing you the same darned pageprobably one foisted on you by Apple, Microsoft, or Firefox.

One of your first acts, therefore, should be to change this startup page to a more desirable starting point. For example, you may prefer www.dilbert.com, which is a daily comic strip; www.google.com, the Web search expert; www.nytimes.com for the day's headlines; or even your own home page, if you have one. Thereafter, you can instantly return to your startup page by clicking the little icon shaped like a house in your browser's toolbar.

To change it, you need to go into your browser's Home Page settings (a sample of which is shown in Figure 2-3). Here's where to find them in the most common browsers:

Internet Explorer . Choose Tools Internet Options General
Safari . Choose Safari Preferences General
Firefox (Windows) . Choose Tools Options General
Firefox (Mac) . Choose Firefox Preferences General

Figure 2-3. In the settings or preferences box for your browser program, add the URL you'd really like to call Home.

In the box under Home Page, you can type or paste the URL of your preferred starter site. If you happen to have your browser parked on the very page you want to use, just click the "Use Current Page" button in the box. Once you've typed, pasted, or clicked, click OK to close your settings box. Your new home page is set.

Most other browsers keep this setting in a similar place within the program. Check under the Tools menu in a Windows browser or in the program's Preferences area on a Mac.

Tip: Internet Explorer 7 lets you have multiple home pages that all open in separate tabs when you start the browser. Choose Tools

Internet Options

General, and hit the Enter key after you add each URL in the Home Page box so each address is on its own line. If you regularly visit the same handful of pages, this multitab tool is a real timesaver.

2.3.4.2. Customize your button and toolbars

Your browser's button and toolbars are like your dashboard controls that help you navigate your way around the Web, and they're easy to adjust. For Internet Explorer and Firefox for Windows, right-clicking in the toolbar area of the browser brings up a Customize option on the shortcut menu (Figure 2-4). Control-clicking the Safari or Firefox toolbar area on the Mac brings up the same menu.

Figure 2-4. Top: Right-click (or Controlclick for you single-button Mac folks) in the toolbar area of your browser to get the Customize menu option Toolbar.
Bottom: In the Customize box, you can pick and choose the toolbar buttons for your browser to make it better suit your point-and-click needs.

Once you get the Customize Toolbar box (Figure 2-4, bottom) on screen, you can drag and drop new buttons (say, History, Copy, Paste, or Print) onto your toolbar, drag buttons you never use out of your sight, and add vertical separator lines to group your buttons into sections. You can often adjust the size of the icons on your toolbars and even add whole new toolbars.

The View menu of most browsers also has options to add to your browser window, like a Status bar that shows the progress of a loading page. You can also open vertical panes along the side of the browser window to display your History file or bookmarks.

If you decide you want to return to the browser window as you first found it, use the Restore Defaults option to go back in time and put the browser back to the way it was.

Note: In versions of Safari before 2.0, you customize the browser buttons by selecting items listed on the View menu.

2.3.4.3. Set up and organize your bookmarks

Imagine vertically stacking every book you own in a large, unalphabetized pile and then trying to find a particular title in a couple of seconds. If you don't have very many books, this isn't difficult, but the higher the pile, the longer it's going to take to find what you want. Bookshelves that let you divide up your library by topic or title are one way to get that pile of books organized, and most Web browsers include features that let you similarly get your bookmarks in a sensible order.

Just about every browser has an Organize Favorites, Show All Bookmarks, or Manage Bookmarks option under its Favorites or Bookmarks menu. Selecting this menu item opens a window where you can see all your bookmarks or favorites in a list, as shown in Figure 2-5. In this window, you can drag the titles of Web pages higher or lower on the list so they appear that way in your Bookmarks/Favorites menu. You can also click and delete the bookmarks of sites you no longer wish to visit.

Folders . Want to have all your bookmarks on a certain topic grouped together in the list? Just make a new folder in your bookmark manager window and drag in the desired site titles so they all appear in the same section of your list. For example, if you constantly check out news on your hometown pro football team and want to find all the right bookmarks for it, make a new folder, call it "Cleveland Browns," and drag in your bookmarks for the team's official Web site (www.clevelandbrowns.com, but you knew that already), plus the Sports Illustrated , ESPN, NFL, and Cleveland Plain Dealer Web sites.

Figure 2-5. Just about every Web browser gives you some way to organize your collection of bookmarks or favorites. For example, Firefox (top) and Internet Explorer (bottom) let you drag them into a different order, group similar sites into folders, and rename them.
Dividers . For further organization and eyeball ease, most Web browsers let you add horizontal separator lines between certain groupings of bookmarks in a list.
Sorting . If you're not super-fussy about topical organization, you can make the browser sort your list alphabetically , based on the Web page's title. Look for a Sort By Name option in the menus or when you right-click on the list.
Links or Bookmarks bar . Many modern browsers let you sport a horizontal clickable list of your absolute, all-time favorite bookmarks right on a "bookmarks bar" area of the browser window so you don't even have to pull down a menu to get to the site. One easy way to add a bookmark to this area is to simply drag the address out of the Address bar and drop it on the Bookmarks bar (flip back to Figure 2-1 for a reminder of where both these bars are).

Once you get your bookmarks the way you like them, you can browse the Web much more efficiently with all your favorite sites within easy reach.

2.3.4.4. Add a Google, Yahoo, or MSN toolbar

And when your browser doesn't give you enough toolbars on its own, you can always add more. Specialty toolbars from Google, Yahoo, and MSN add their own search boxes and a number of enhancements to the browsing experience, but not every toolbar works with every browser, so check the system requirements carefully before downloading.

Google Toolbar . Available for Internet Explorer and Firefox (both Mac and Windows flavors) and shown back in Figure 2-1, the Google Toolbar lets you share Web pages you like by email, text message, or blog. You can highlight your search terms in bright yellow on the pages you find, automatically fill in and check your spelling in Web forms, and even translate English words into different languages when you wave the mouse cursor over them. (http://toolbar.google.com)
Yahoo Toolbar . The Yahoo bar, which works with Internet Explorer and Firefox for Mac and Windows, helps block spyware from infiltrating your PC and brings along a box full of buttons you can click to check your email, see your bookmarks, and add RSS feeds with one mouse tap. (http://toolbar.yahoo.com)
MSN Search Toolbar . Designed for Windows 2000 and XP systems running at least Internet Explorer 5.0.1, the MSN Search Toolbar brings tabbed browsing and pop-up blocking to older versions on Microsoft's flagship browser. (An earlier version of the toolbar is available for Windows 98 systems.) The latest version of the toolbar also includes a feature to automatically fill in Web forms and Window Desktop Search, which lets you search for files and documents stored on your PC's hard drive. (http://toolbar.msn.com)

Once you've got your browser custom-fitted to your liking, you're ready to zoom around the Web in style. But before you get too far from your home page, remember that the Web's not always the safest place to travel. Check out Chapter 21 for the lowdown on how to stay safe when you're online.

Note: Sometimes add-on toolbars can cause bad browser behavior like constant crashing. If you install one and your browser immediately heads south every time you try to launch it, odds are you have a bit of a software war in progress. To uninstall the toolbar, choose Start

Control Panel

Add/Remove Programs, select the toolbar from the list of programs, and click the Change/Remove button to yank that thing out of there.

UP TO SPEED
Essential Software for Your Software

Once you get a Web browser, you may need to install a handful of little helper programs to see all the different kinds of files and documents available on the Web. These helper programs are usually called plug-ins because they plug right into your existing Web browser, giving it additional powers.

When you start your Web-surfing adventures , you may even get warning messages from some Web sites telling you that you need a particular plug-in to properly view the site. Here are some of the more common plug-ins and what they plug you in to. (You can also find links to these plug-ins on this book's "Missing CD" page: www.missingmanuals.com.)

Adobe Reader . The Adobe Reader plug-in lets you view and print files in the Portable Document Format (PDF). PDF files have become the lingua franca of the Web, as they preserve the original look of a printed document, down to the typefaces , pictures, colors and other elements. Click the button for Adobe Reader at www.adobe.com to get yourself a copy of the free program.

Flash . Web pages that have graphics, pictures, or animations all bouncing around onscreen often use Adobe's Flash Player plug-in. If you don't see anything bouncing or get a message about not having the plug-in, you need to download and install the latest version of Flash Player. Don't worry, the plug-in is free, as is its sister software, Shockwave Player, which is used by a lot of online games. You can get both of these by clicking on the links for them at www.adobe.com.

RealPlayer . Many news-oriented Web sites (see Chapter 5 for information about finding your favorite news spots online) that offer digital video clips use the RealPlayer software from RealNetworks to create these Web- sized videos . To watch any of them, you need the RealPlayer plug-in installed on your system. Real will try to sell you a monthly service and fancy player software for a price, but look for the free version at www.real.com.

QuickTime . Apple's video-playing program shows up everywhere from iPods to home video productions ; most big-budget movie trailers are also made with QuickTime. If you have a Mac, you already have this plug-in. If you use a PC you can download the free plug-in at www.apple.com/quicktime. Either way, you can watch dozens of upcoming movie trailers at www.apple.com/ trailers .