Window Managers for X

There is a multitude of web browsers from which users can choose, although every program has its advantages and disadvantages. Two of the most popular web browsers are Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Microsoft Internet Explorer is still the standard web bowser for windows users even though installing it has become optional. Current browser statistic show that Internet Explorer is ranging between first and third place among web browsers according to the number of its users. The latest version of the browser is Internet Explorer 9, which was released in 2011. This version, however, only runs on Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems. Between the launch of the latest version in 2011, there was a relatively long development period between the previous version of 2009.

Older versions of Microsoft Internet explorer were said to be prone to errors, also called “buggy” in programming language. Due to the fact that bugs are only fixed by Microsoft itself, it takes a long time to eradicate them. Updates for bugfixes are only possible via frequent Windows updates. The early versions also lacked security, which is why they were particularly susceptible to phishing attacks. What has also been criticized is the rather late implementation of tabs, i.e. a window within window view that enables opening several websites without the need to open separate windows.

Mozilla Firefox has become increasingly popular during the last years. The current version on the market is Firefox 12, which works on Windows, OS X, Linux and features an Android version for mobile devices such as phones and tablet PCs. Most of the current browser statistics list it first place according to user popularity. Firefox’s most fierce competitor was Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, although this has recently changed with the development of Google’s Chrome browser.

The Firefox browser is based on an open source code that is licenced under GNU. The Mozilla Corporation develops new versions of the browser with the help of users. Bugfixes can be downloaded automatically or manually via an option in the browser menu. Since June 2011 there have been regular releases of new Firefox versions as well as add-ons for ad-blocking, Facebook and Gmail integration and add-ons for the download of Youtube videos.