Top 5 browsers reviewed and download links
Following on from our review yesterday on the current changes in the browser market, Dr Search reviews the top 5 browsers.
To download any or all of the browsers, please click on the links or the logos themselves.
Firefox was the phoenix that rose from the ashes of Netscape (in fact, it was originally to be named Phoenix), after the non-profit Mozilla Foundation decided to create a new browser as a rival to the potential Microsoft monopoly. Launched in November 2004 with additional funding from Google (which remains the browser’s default search engine), it is still the world’s second-most-popular browser. The “streamlined” Firefox 4 will be released next year.
RECOMMENDED- It’s quick to download, is security conscious and frequently introduces new features ahead of the competition- as being freeware has masses of free addons/plugins that really will improve your online experience.
Opera 
Opera was first released by the Norwegian company of the same name in 1996. Opera is the only browser of European origin to appear in the top five browsers of the browser ballot box. It was also Opera’s creators that initiated the anti-trust suit against Microsoft which led to the browser ballot. Though it has the smallest market share of the big five browsers on desktops, Opera’s mobile version is much more successful and available on most smartphones. We are still waiting to hear whether its iPhone app would be approved for release by Apple.
Safari 
Safari- Apple’s native web browser is more highly regarded since the launch of Safari 4 last year – though it’s still much better in its original Mac version than on Windows. Thanks to the iPhone, for which it remains the default browser (and so far, the only browser worth the name for the device), it has also surged somewhat in popularity. Despite being overtaken by Chrome, its market share continues to increase at the expense of Internet Explorer.
Google Chrome
Chrome- released in Autumn 2008, Google’s browser was explicitly designed for life in the digital cloud. By stripping away the browser furniture to the very edges of the screen, Chrome makes it possible to conceive of a desktop that operates solely online – not least because Google recently launched Chrome OS, its suite of online applications designed to replace desktop software and data storage.
In December, Chrome overtook Safari to become the world’s third-most-popular browser. However since Google launched Buzz in February there has been a storm about data privacy issues.
Internet Explorer 
First included on Windows operating systems in 1995, the ugly Internet Explorer triumphed in the first “browser war” with Netscape Navigator, emerging as the world’s most widely used web browser in 1999, a position it has retained ever since.
After reaching a peak 95 per cent market share in the early 2000s, it now enjoys a more modest 60 per cent or thereabouts. Internet Explorer 8 – an improvement on clunky past efforts – was released last year.
