For some time now…well, really, as long as I can remember, I’ve grown progressively more disenchanted with Internet Explorer. It’s been sort of like sticking with a relationship that you’re frankly tired of, but it’s comfortable and predictable. Of course, in the case of IE, the predictable part was hardly positive, and the comfort level was, well, not really terribly comfortable.
Three months ago, I gave up on IE altogether. If you can ignore it’s unreliability, the pop-up windows, the potentially serious security issues, and the lowest-common-denominator technology, I suppose IE has many admirable qualities. I just don’t want anything to do with them. Susan still uses IE when she borrows my laptop, but I would be quite happy to banish IE from my hard drive altogether. In a few months, she will be getting a laptop of her own. At that time, I may just have mine exorcised. Perhaps that will help rid me of IE. I’m not optimistic, but it’s certainly worth a try.
About a year or so ago, I downloaded a copy of Firefox on the recommendation of a friend in Minnesota. From day one, I’ve never had a moment’s trouble with it. Firefox has proven to be fast, reliable, and it does everything I need a browser to do, which frankly isn’t much. I’m a writer, not a techie, so my demands are fairly low level- just work, damnit.
My only complaint with Firefox is that, while I can open multiple tabs in the same window, it doesn’t remember the URLs on each tab whenever I restart my laptop. For those sites I like to be able to recall quickly, I use Opera, which is not as fast, reliable, or stable, but does allow me to restart and go immediately to the sites I had opened previously. If Firefox could come up with that capability, it would be absolutely everything I need in a browser. Opera has a tendency to just lock up for no discernible reason, which can be frustrating, but at least when I re-open it, everything is still there and available.
For my next trick, I may just switch from Windows to Apple. That’s a ways down the road, and it will take money that just isn’t available right now. Of course, Apple’s OS X has it’s own issues, and there is something to be said for sticking with the devil you know. Apple, though, has for years been like the girl I’ve always wanted to nail but wouldn’t marry on a bet. When I got divorced in 1989, I bought a Macintosh SE for myself as a way to congratulate myself for f——-g up my marriage. It ran at the blazing speed of 8 Mhz, it had a tiny screen (8”, if I remember correctly), and it was (in my mind, at least) state-of-the-freakin’ art. Fifteen years later, I am still tempted, but I don’t know enough about the operating system anymore to feel as if I can make an informed decision. I suppose I’ll cross that bridge when (or if) I get there. For now, I just want to figure out how I can banish Internet Explorer from my hard drive without incurring any unintended consequences. Of course, being the History major that I am, I’m somewhat out of my element on this one. I feel like I have an unwelcome house guest that just won’t leave.
