Browser battle: IE 8 vs Opera 9.5 vs Safari vs Firefox 3

By Nate Lanxon on 28 March 2008

Tags: browser | firefox | flock | ie8 | internet explorer | opera | safari | beta | introduction | 9.5

Opera browser 9.5, beta 1

What's new?
The most interesting feature the lovely Norwegians at Opera Software have introduced in this version is 'Opera Link'. This syncs your bookmarks and Opera's 'Speed Dial' homepage selections with any other computers you use Opera on -- so wherever you are, you get the same browsing experience. It's similar to Firefox's Foxmarks Add-on, but having it native in a browser is a massive bonus. It worked perfectly for us across two machines. Very useful and very cool.

Another useful feature is the 'Full Text History Search'. Opera 9.5 indexes every word from every Web page you visit. You can type keywords in the URL address bar and Opera searches every site you've visited -- in real-time -- and suggests links for you. Although the suggest links list that pops down looks cluttered, it's extremely useful and a killer feature for anyone in the business of research -- students would love this.

Browser battle

It's worth noting that Opera is still the only browser we looked at that has a built-in mail client, and it still works well in this new beta.

How it compares
Along with linked bookmarks, the terrific page indexing and searching, and general ease-of-use makes Opera ideal for students, or indeed any researcher, who needs to quickly plagiarise look up a quote, reference or source.

We'll be very keen to see some critical Javascript-handling errors fixed in post-beta releases, as this would increase the browser's compatibility with certain Web sites. On the whole we think this is the best version of Opera yet, but Firefox is probably still better for most people.

Like this article? Click below to send it to your mobile for free!

Penguin30
30/03/2008 08:49 PM

IE is still the best dont care what you say

Report offensive content

firefox is better
31/03/2008 07:09 PM

This article is very true 99% of people who have tried firefox and ie say that firefox is better

Report offensive content

presario
01/05/2008 03:59 AM

I have tried Netscape, IE, Firefox and Safari, and I rate them as follows, Netscape 8.1 Because it is built on firefox code, but you can display pages as though you were in internet explorer, or firefox without restarting. Firefox Because of its stability and code, the browser is inpenetrable Safari because there are features in safari that i have yet to find in other browsers IE because even though this browser is fairly good, it is not because of its code. IE has the most leaks out of all the browsers, and till IE 7 came along, you were better off with Netscape 4.0 litterally.

Report offensive content

Opera Wiki
05/05/2008 07:08 AM

i go for Opera, its all in the package. no need to install addon made by who :) and FF always has core problems, too many crash, memory eatting too much... speed hack needed, addon to do the job right... another words it doesnt come standard!

Report offensive content

Fox
17/05/2008 09:23 PM

Opera 9.5 finally has the large improvement of focusing on the tab to the right when you close one rather than the last viewed. They didn't include the ability to focus on the one to the left, though. And if you want to move to a new version, it doesn't even try to take settings from your last install. The article specifically said memory magagement in FF3 was much improved. Either some of you guys are talking about the current release versions or didn't read the article.

Report offensive content

Fox
17/05/2008 10:25 PM

Nevermind, Opera does import settings.

Report offensive content

Patrick
17/06/2008 09:20 AM

I have always hated IE, so that is the lowest for me. Above that I like safari. Then I like opera and Firefox about the same. I use firefox, because, 1 it is open source, and 2, It comes preinstalled with ubuntu. Yes, I am a linux fan

Report offensive content

remy215
05/07/2008 08:02 PM

opera 9.5 rocks

Report offensive content

anonomous
07/07/2008 09:18 AM

i have IE 7 and i think it is great... i dont think that i will be changing to any of the other becuase IE is works for me...

Report offensive content

viper
08/07/2008 03:10 PM

"IE is still the best"? Have you ever used any other browser? It's both ugly, and full of problems

Report offensive content

get2oops
29/08/2008 02:44 AM

Guys/Girls..Firefox is strict browser .whatever tags of styling ie.in css and in javascript also are fix & they r following that..so they follow standard convension which good..IE is papulu browser watever present it accept..even px is not present,tag is outside style it take into considersation which is not good..caz its take more afford with time..now they realse IE8 which is strict support like firefox but they still work on it..so firefox is baap of IE8.

Report offensive content

nk100680
01/09/2008 09:05 PM

IE is good for Corporate but MS has concentrated on other area's than browsing for sometime. I expect IE 8 to do better but I think FireFox is that far in front when it comes to add-ons (FoxMarks, Foxy Tunes etc etc) and performance over the others that it only going to grow. P.S - HATE with a passion that Safari gets installed when you install iTunes even if you uncheck the ****!

Report offensive content

JF
02/09/2008 03:11 PM

Opera 9.5 is great! I have tried FF3 IE7 and Safari, and I could say Opera is quite superior as far as footprint on my system and performance. It is alos very Sleek!

Report offensive content

kiwiweb
03/09/2008 11:13 AM

Am I the only one, another ****** browser to support and design/develop for. It is hard enough now with IE, FF, opera and Safari differences than now chrome. My head hurts!!!!!!!!

Report offensive content

apollo martinez
06/09/2008 08:22 PM

opera 9.5 fastest ever experience than ie, ff, etc.

Report offensive content

Prove me wrong
08/09/2008 08:14 AM

They forgot to mention Opera comes with a built in torrent downloader. I think it's the only one.

Report offensive content

melbournedude22
24/09/2008 06:36 PM

Opera 9.52 the best as it is the fastest and secure then all the others. Safari can be a little fast but it is more vunerable to spyware and viruses.

Report offensive content

kumo
01/10/2008 09:36 AM

I was a firefox user for 2 years now untill it crushes lately for unknown reasons after an update. so I installed Opera to test it, and you know what! Opera is the best..it's faster, and all the addons I used to install in firefox come beautifully integrated with opera.. the fun part is it has plenty of widgets.

Report offensive content

RadianChalant
18/10/2008 02:16 PM

Opera 9.52 is very fast. Opera can not be used on certain banking and other sites requiring Mozilla or Internet Explorer engines / emulations. Mozilla Firefox 3.0 is a memory hog. Mozilla is a large program that slows down your computer. The World Browser 2.0 is a large program that uses a great deal of memory. The World Browser is highly controllable by the user. Google Chrome is just too simple. I prefer the speed of Opera and the controllability of The World Browser.

Report offensive content

  • Leave a comment

All fields marked with * are required

What do you think

Your e-mail will not be displayed

You must read and type the 6 chars within 0..9 and A..F

You must read and type the 6 chars.


  • Gmail gets colourful themes

  • Kevin Rudd joins Twitter

  • Gmail gets voice, video chat

  • Google, Telstra sign deal for Yellow Maps

  • Sensis kills its search, uses Google

  • Oi!: MTV Music is, like, the raddest thing ever

  • Britney arrives on Twitter

  • Oi!: An end to drunken, embarrassing emails?

  • Adobe Dreamweaver CS4

More articles »

Find the right software

Brand
  • Multiple options can be selected

    • Adobe Dreamweaver CS4

      Adobe Dreamweaver CS4

      Designers and editors who lean on Dreamweaver for complex dynamic websites will find plenty of tweaks and improvements in version 4.

    • Chrome (beta)

      Chrome (beta)

      Google has rethought the Internet browser — some of its basic underpinnings are quite novel — but users will recognise some features as they exist in other, open-source browsers on the market today.

    • Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2

      Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2

      Microsoft's release should retain its browser base but doesn't yet have enough to lure loyal Firefox users back to Internet Explorer.

    • MobileMe

      MobileMe

      MobileMe is the successor to .Mac, Apple's subscription service for publishing photos and other personal content to the Web.

    • Firefox 3

      Firefox 3

      If only for the speed, lightness of being and security alone, Firefox remains our Editors' Choice for best internet browser.

    More reviews »

    Membership benefits

    Create a personalised homepage

    Create a personalised homepage

    Choose your interests from our 16 categories and only see articles relevant to you. Sign up for a free CNET Australia membership now!