Browser Competition - Game On

Over the years our monthly newsletters have covered the history and evolution of web browsers. We've always been quick to point out how difficult it is to build sites that function in all browsers. In an older newsletter, Browser Battles, we calculated the number of browsers we have to support. Taking into consideration the various point releases (5, 5.1, 5.2, 5.2.1, 5.5, etc.), the various platforms, and the various operating systems, there are hundreds of browser platform combinations. Any one of these browsers can have bugs or flaws that will make certain websites break. So when we hear of a new set of browsers coming out, understandably, we get afraid--very afraid.

But on a positive note, browsers have generally been improving--falling into line with web standards. The radical differences between browsers has diminished, thus making the life of a web developer much more livable. Our last newsletter on browsers, Browser Détente, reflected on this trend and looked with hope toward a future in which browsers would continue to emphasize compatibility and compliance over unique feature sets. Today, that future has arrived, but did it bring with it the synergies we had hoped for?

Yes, it seems that it did.

Now, it may be premature to make such a pronouncement. Any new browser release takes some time before bugs can be discovered or security flaws exposed. Upon first review, however, it seems that the most fundamental aspect of a web browser--properly displaying a web page--has been maintained in these new releases. Overall, it seems that the new features enabled by the this new crop of browsers can be safely enjoyed without fear of web implosion. So what are these new features?

Internet Explorer 7
Internet Explorer 5 was a nightmare. It caused untold problems for developers and users. When IE6 came out we all let out a great sigh of relief. In general I'm in no hurry for new browsers. Past experience causes me to cringe at the thought of buggy new browsers messing up all our existing websites. They tend to cause more problems than they fix. But even I have to admit that five years (IE6 was first released in March of 2001) without a major upgrade is way too long. Internet Explorer 7 is way overdue. Additionally, while I like the new version of IE, it really only catches up with what innovative browsers like Firefox have had for years. And the new version of Firefox is already raising the bar for the new Internet Explorer.

Nevertheless, its nice have these new features in Internet Explorer.

Tabbed Browsing - Tabbed browsing is one of those browser features that, once used, makes one wonder how we ever got along on the web without it. Firefox has had tabbed browsing for years and its about time Internet Explorer caught up. Rather then opening new browser windows for every open website, tabbed browsing allows each new site to be opened within the same browser under tabs. Toggling between tabs is much easier than navigating multiple open browser windows. Internet Explorer 7 has added a nice Quick Tabs feature, which displays, in thumbnail view, all open sites in one window. This makes toggling between open sites a breeze.

Page Zoom - Internet Explorer's page zoom is kind of cool. It allows you to view the page at various percentages of zoom. This is especially helpful for web developers that need to make sure thin rules or subtle changes to text are set precisely.

Print Preview - IE7's print preview is also a nice feature. Print preview shows how a web page will print before it is sent to the printer. There are options for scaling, shrink to fit, multiple page views, and headers and footers can be turned on or off. This feature will save lots of paper. I don't know how many times I've printed something from the web and had to re-print.

Add-Ons - Another way that Internet Explorer has caught up is implementing an add-on program. Firefox has offered extensions for some time. And because Firefox is open source their list of extensions is impressive. Internet Explorer now has add on support so developers can create their own add-ons. But since the browser is so new there aren't nearly as many add ons as are available in Firefox (over 1600). But this will certainly change since Internet Explorer enjoys such a large share of the browser market that developers will quickly build many IE add ons to extend the performance of the new browser.

Considerations before installing Internet Explorer 7
Aside from the fact that this release is so overdue and really only catches up with the rest of the industry rather than innovating anything new, there are a few other aspects to consider before installing Internet Explorer 7.

As with any new software there are bound to be bugs and security issues that will need to be fixed. Early adoption of a new browser is risky business. Heightening this risk is the fact that IE6 is overwritten when IE7 is installed. There are directions on the Microsoft site for reverting to IE6 but it's not simple. Therefore, before installing Internet Explorer 7, I would advise creating a system restore point to get back to IE6 if necessary. Setting a system restore point is simple, just go to Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore. Select "Create a Restore Point" and click next. Name it something like "pre IE7 install." If Internet Explorer 7 isn't everything its supposed to be just go to the system restore and revert to the pre-install point.

ClearType - The default text setting of Internet Explorer 7 enables ClearType. People tend to either love or hate the smooth font rendering of ClearType. I personally prefer the sharper, crisper unaltered screen text. In any event the setting can be changed under the Internet Options Advanced tab.

Firefox 2
Firefox has gained considerable ground in the web browser market. The popularity of this open source browser is growing fast, and among web developers it is almost universally preferred. In part because of tabbed browsing. But also because Firefox's extensions, like the web developer extensions, provide tools like table and div layer outlines, screen rulers, and color identification pickers. Such tools have been available for Firefox for some time. Internet Explorer while getting close to Firefox still has a bit of catching up to do in this regard. And isn't sitting still, version 2 is raising the bar again.

Now most of the upgrades to Firefox 2 aren't things that show up in normal use, but rather make developers really happy. As such I'll only mention one important improvement in Firefox 2 over Internet Explorer. While it's only one feature, in my opinion, it blasts all other features out of the water. What is this amazing feature? Inline spell checking!

Inline Spell Checking - Seriously, inline spell checking is so huge, especially for me who couldn't spell my way out of a paper bag, that I will use Firefox 2 over Internet Explorer 7 every day. One of the great things that's happening on the web is the rise of the web based applications (see our newsletter AJAX: The Next Generation of Web Applications). I've been on a mission to see how much I can get away from desktop applications and rely on web based applications. I've successfully moved to Google's Gmail and Google calendar so I no longer need Outlook. Not only can I know access these critical business tools from any computer, I can even get to them from my phone. Currently I'm moving toward using online word processing and spreadsheets. Right now I'm writing this newsletter in what was Writely but was purchased by Google and is now called Google Docs and Spreadsheets (Writely was a much better name). Problem is I'm a horrible speller. So when writing online or sending Gmail, I no longer have Outlook or Word to cover my embarrassing mistakes. But now, thanks to Firefox 2, I immediately get those wonderful red squigglies under all my typos. This is exactly what I needed to be able to rely on web applications for my day to day work and communication. This feature also improves Newfangled's own content management system since content typed directly into a page's editing screen is also spell checked on the fly.

There are lots of nice features in the new browsers, and since they appear to be in line with most standards and display pages properly, I have to admit that I'm happy about the outcome of competition in the web browser market. And over and above all the improvements in these browsers, I am most psyched (and able to spell "psyched") about spell checking. Inline spell checking, wow, that's what I call a good thing.