Out of curiosity I have been asking people the following question: “With so many browsers available now like Mozilla’s Firefox, Google’s Chrome, and Apple’s Safari, why are you still using Internet Explorer?”
Final Update on This Matter ¤ (I decided to rewrite this whole post so it would sound “more betterer”;-) Anyway, There appears to be a never ending influx of newbie or novice PC users, and this is the part that sort of surprised me the most. See I figured that since children are exposed to, and taught to use computers at a very early age in school, by now just about everybody on this planet would have at least had access to, or outright own a PC and know the basics of it’s use.
Well, it turns out that for various reasons, not all children are exposed to computers or taught to use computers in school yet. There are also financial reasons for people not owning their own computer. Apparently everybody don’t have access to thrift stores like “Goodwill” or “Salvation Army” selling used computers for almost nothing. And there are also many people who just put off taking the plunge until they were darn good and ready.
So we have novice PC users with very limited understanding of how the PC works, what all that hardware is for, what software does what, and then we add to all that new stuff they must learn, the complexities of the internet and the world wide web, and they can easily be overwhelmed. They are often not aware that they need to update or upgrade software or that there are alternatives to what they have.
The next level of user is a little more seasoned, they can turn the computer on and off, they know the basics like how to check email, surf the web, download files, play games on Facebook or send out Tweets. They may or may not know which OS and Browser they are using. I have asked a client what browser they were using and not get a response, so I ask them how they go to their favorite website, and the response is “I click on the “e” down at the bottom” (i.e. shortcut to Internet Explorer on the Desktop Taskbar). This group may know what software they are using, but may not know how to update or upgrade it and feel it is too complex a task for them, so they stay with what they have. They feel it is working now, why take a chance that an update or upgrade will break it and then they would be in real trouble.
The next level up is the more technically minded, business people who use their PC regularly and mid level gamers are good examples. This group usually has a pretty good grasp of the computers they use and the software running on them. They usually know the importance of up-to-date software, but will often not update or upgrade immediately. They often will wait a little to let the kinks be worked out of the new version..i.e…I ain’t nobody’s guinea pig
The final level of user is of course the advanced user, these people live on their computers, they know how it works, they fix it themselves when it breaks; and they usually won’t tolerate quirky software, and their software is usually up-to-date. They realize the updates and upgrades are just that, IMPROVEMENTS to what they already have and since most are offered free of charge, why would they not stay current? They do however look into what the update or upgrade does to determine if they actually need it, and if it has the ability to be removed if it screws up something.
There is one additional level that could be added to the scheme of things, and that would include all the technical support people, hardware developers, software developers, and of course the web developers. This is a very special group of people that must take into consideration all the nuances of all the above mentioned levels of users and all their configurations of hardware, software, and experience and make it work.
There are many different types of browsers available these days. Often the differences between them are little more then cosmetic. The variations in speed at which they load pages may not even be detectable by humans. Internet Explorer is not the only kid on the block, so don’t be afraid to give a few of the others a try and see what the commotion is all about. Basically which ever browser you decide to use, the best advice would be to be sure to keep it as up-to-date as your hardware and software configuration will allow.
Here are a few browsers you may want to try out, or at least look over:
- Internet Explorer
- Firefox
- Chrome
- Safari
- Opera
- Flock
- Avant
- Kidrocket
- SpaceTime
- SlimBrowser
- PhaseOut
- SeaMonkey
Make sure your computer meets at least the minimum requirements before installing any software. I have not tried all the browsers above and cannot therefore recommend one over another. I do prefer to use Firefox and Chrome for normal internet surfing. The “Kidrocket” browser looks cool for parents with young children and I may one day try out that SeaMonkey Suite…looks real sweet 