MIS Infrastructure: Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, & Google Chrome

Internet Explorer showed the best results in Microsoft’s IE Fishtank which demonstrates a browsers hardware acceleration. Memory usage tests “see just how well a browser controls its memory usage when loading a decent number of sites, and also whether it’s able to release that memory once you’ve closed the tabs” (Ryan, 2009). For a single tab, Internet Explorer requires the least memory usage of all three browsers. Internet Explorer was also found to exhibit good memory management as well (Overa, 2011). Internet Explorer also has the preferred tab browsing system.

Mozilla Firefox has a Do Not Track feature that gives the user the option to opt out of any website that may be attempting to track them. As far browsing faster, “Firefox actually blew away both Chrome and Opera on the SunSpider JavaScript test” (Noyes, 2011). Firefox also takes up a minimal amount of RAM comparatively.

Google Chrome is the leading browser in HTML5 tests which is responsible for presenting the content that you find online. As far a memory usage and management, Google Chrome fell right in the middle of all of the browsers in all of the tests. On average, it is the most consistent. Because the browser has minimal options, people who aren’t as familiar with the internet may find the browser easier to use and less confusing and complex.

While Internet Explorer was found to use the least amount of memory for one single tab, its ability to utilize memory when having 40 tabs open was significantly less efficient that Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.  The browser is also known to have the most security flaws out of the three. Another complaint many users have is that Internet Explorer fails to support many free extensions. Lack of add-ons and extensions for Internet Explorer make it difficult to customize the browser and have the best browsing experience.

Some of the disadvantages of Mozilla Firefox are its initial startup time. It takes Firefox 14 seconds to start up as opposed to 8.1 and 8.5 seconds for Google Chrome and Internet Explorer (Tech Media Network, 2012). Another huge issue for many is that “programmers, coders and other users cannot directly edit HTML using Mozilla Firefox” (Smith, 2009). A lot of users also have compatibility issues when using the browser. Some website do not work at all when opened with Mozilla. The browser has problems loading many types of scripts and widgets and sometimes does not read text font colors that are written on top of one another properly.

Google Chrome has a limited interface that leaves a lot of users wondering where all the options went. Google Chrome also frequently gives alerts and messages using informal wording such as “ ’Aw, Snap!’ While this informal wording may appeal to some users, it can feel so unfamiliar that you may mistakenly think your computer is infected with a virus or malware” (McCoy, 2011). Google Chrome also doesn’t give the user the ability to manage bookmarks.

With all that said, I have always been partial to Internet Explorer. I work as an Acquisition Specialist for the Defense Logistics Agency and Internet Explorer is what our system expects us to use. It makes managing bookmarks simple and I know have to change any preferences that I need to due to all of the experience that I have had with it. I like the separation of different tabs and the icon that the page title is coupled with. The only problem that I have really ever had with it is browsing speed but wouldn’t doubt it’s due to the internet we have and not so much the browser itself. The only browser I prefer to explorer is Safari. Safari allows you to view multiple pages all at once and I found it very convenient to be able to see the home page of 9 different sites as soon as I opened my browser.

References

McCoy, W. (2011, July 19). eHow. Retrieved January 10, 2012, from The Disadvantages of Google Chrome: http://www.ehow.com/info_8755921_disadvantages-google-chrome.html.

Noyes, K. (2011, June 21). Five Good Reasons to Download Firefox 5. Retrieved January 10, 2012, from PCWorld: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/230805/five_good_reasons_to_download_firefox_5.html.

Overa, A. (2011, March 21). Tom's Hardware. Retrieved January 10, 2012, from Efficiency Benchmarks: Memory Usage and Management: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/internet-explorer-9-chrome-10-opera-11,2897-11.html.

Ryan. (2009, July 9). Browser Benchmarks. Retrieved January 10, 2012, from Cybernetnews: http://cybernetnews.com/browser-comparison-internet-explorer-firefox-chrome-safari-opera/.

Smith, L. (2009). eHow. Retrieved January 10, 2012, from The Disadvantages of Mozilla Firefox: http://www.ehow.com/list_5924888_disadvantages-mozilla-firefox.html.

Tech Media Network. (2012). 2012 Internet Browser Software Product Comparison. Retrieved January 10, 2012, from Top Ten Reviews: http://internet-browser-review.toptenreviews.com/.