Tale of Two Browsers

I use Internet Explorer for just about all my browsing. Firefox is just as good, but I prefer IE. It is like my choice in an automobile. I prefer to drive a Honda even though a Toyota is probably just as good. I simply like the look and feel of a Honda better.

I do use Firefox often. The unpredictable nature of the Internet makes having two browsers a real life saver at times. Here’s an example. When I do something in a browser that is going to require extended input, I use Firefox. When I grade papers, Blackboard has a page that lists all my students and I can easily enter all the student grades for one assignment on one page. If the grading process requires me to do anything else like check a web page, open a document, click a link in an email, that second browser will protect my work.

I can’t count the number of times that I have lost “form” information because another process took my browser to a new page and lost my form data. Since IE is my default browser, I don’t have to worry about an outside process changing my Firefox page. That alone makes the two-browser environment worthwhile.

I also use Firefox as my non-authenticated browser. I have so many sites that require authentication; I have IE automatically log me in to many of them. If I want to see what my delicious links (or some other site where I have an account) look like when I am not logged in, I use Firefox. Don’t point back to my post about passwords and my “security freakishness” and say that remembered passwords aren’t OK. My machine is locked any time I am not typing on the keys.

I find the two-fisted approach to browsing is handy. I even have Opera

http://www.opera.com

if I need to have a third iron in the fire.