Keeping Browsers Current

Keeping our computer and programs updated can seem like an irritating and never ending process. But as the growing importance of the internet plays in our lives, the priority of keeping your web browser updated is one of the most important software components you need to keep current. Here is a quick run through of the most important reasons:

Security

We all know the dangers that the internet can pose to your computer. Most people know about the importance of firewalls and anti-virus software, but even with the best of these, older browser can be a major security vulnerability. Newer browser protect against the current trends in security threats.

Speed

We tend to think of newer programs as being larger in size and therefore slower, but the latest trend in browsers is smaller is better and thus they tend to have smaller resource footprints than older browser and operate faster.

Privacy

New browser offers increased options for keeping your internet usage private and to prevent websites and others from tracking your personal activity.

New Features

The internet is constantly evolving and major changes are just around the corner and are already being implemented. Two major changes are to HTML and CSS the fundamental building blocks of most of the internet. HTML (hypertext markup language) is the framework upon which the vast majority of websites are built with. It is undergoing a major upgrade that is being implemented by newer browsers. CSS (cascading style sheets) is what adds style to HTML. For example, it tells the browser what color the text on the page should be. As these new features are added, a growing number of sites are dropping support for older browser.

JavaScript

JavaScript is a program language that runs in your browser that helps make web sites interactive. Newer browsers offer better and faster JavaScript performance. JavaScript is a key component of the HTML upgrade and will be a major alternative to FLASH.

Maximized Display

Older browser have a lot of space dedicated to menus and tool bars. Newer browsers have a minimalist approach that maximizes the amount of a web page that a user can see. The downsize of this is that it takes a little while to get use to.

Extensions

Apps are all the rage these days with smart phones, but you can also get apps for your web browser. For advance users both Chrome and Firefox allow users to increase and customize their browsers through extensions.

Recommendations

My preferred browser is Chrome, it has the best overall speed, JavaScript performance, and is leading the charge for HTML and CSS implementation and in minimalist design. The downside is that some video content will not work with Chrome because they already have moved to the new HTML standard for video. Many people like Firefox but it has been having problems keeping up with the current trends in browser design. No matter which browser you prefer, keep Internet Explorer (IE) up to date, because, there are some sites that require IE to operate correctly. The downside to IE is that it has a historical problem with processing HTML, CSS, and is slower at running JavaScript. With each new browser, IE is becoming more HTML, CSS compliant and providing better JavaScript performance.