Sunday 17 October 2010

Alternative web software for Windows.

There is more than enough software to choose from for Windows computers and laptops but some is not so well known. But here are a few useful alternatives to more used or well known software.

Google Chrome is a very good browser that is Chrome based but there are others that are ahead and more advanced alternatives.





Chromium is the open source version of Google Chrome and has nightly builds and so it is updated daily and is one version ahead,the current version is Chromium 7.

Google Chrome Canary build is another open source version of Google Chrome made only for windows and is said to be faster than Google Chrome and is again one version ahead of Google Chrome,Google Chrome Canary 7. The only disadvantage is that it cannot be set as your default browser but that is only a small disadvantage.



Firefox is the most used browser after Internet Explorer as it is more advanced and does not have the problems that Internet Explorer has but there are also other versions that are not so well known.

Pale Moon is an open source version of Firefox that is made only for Windows unlike Firefox which is made for all computers. So because Pale Moon is for Windows only there are fewer problems and crashes with this browser and all of the Firefox add ons are compatible here.

Safefox is another open source version of Firefox but it is based on a slightly earlier version of Firefox 3. The latest version of Safefox is 3.5.2 but it is supported on all websites. Safefox is another browser that like Pale Moon is made only for Windows computers. It also has a password safe feature making this browser more secure. But there are also some people who will need an Internet Explorer based browser to view or go onto sites in Internet Explorer mode. But Internet Explorer is slow and crashes and not secure for browsing but there are alternative browsers that are Trident based on Internet Explorer's engine. But are more secure and work better than Internet Explorer.

One of these is Green browser is updated regular and is a simple and easy to use browser but faster than Internet Explorer. And more secure in that it has a pop up blocker,which you can enable or disable. Although it is made for Windows XP and Windows Vista it is also compatible with Windows 7. Most software compatible with Windows Vista will work in Windows 7 as they are both similar. So Green browser browser is no exception.

Aol Explorer
is an old browser,the last version was made in 2006 but it is still supported on the web and all sites. It is fully customizable and has advanced features of a security scan,as well as a pop up blocker. It is also a fast browser and supports all of the modern gadgets such as Google talk.

Pink browser is a pink themed browser.This is another browser that has not been updated since 2007. That is a bit like Flock's pink gloss edition that was brought out in 2008 but is no longer supported on the web.But Pink browser is. Although the makers claim it is made for women anybody who likes pink can use this browser.This browser is very secure with an advert filter and pop up blocker.It is fast and browses the web quickly. There is also a choice to set two home pages,unlike with most browsers.

Deepnet Explorer like Aol Explorer and Pink browser has not been updated. The last version was made in 2006 but it is supported on all web sites and is another browser that has advanced security features.This again is another fast and reliable browser.

Advanced browser is another old browser but supported on all web sites. Although the last version was made in 2004,it has features that some of the latest browsers now do not have.This is a simple but fast and reliable browser.

There are also several chat messengers that are available for Windows computers.

Windows Live Messenger is one of the most used messengers but I find often crashes and freezes.So I have uninstalled it.

Good alternatives I have found are Aim Messenger and Google Talk,there are many others but these two are the most reliable and user friendly. Also there are several email clients such as Outlook and Windows Live Mail but if you have Seamonkey web browser, that also has a built in email client.And if you have disabled or uninstalled Internet Explorer, then Seamonky will take over as the default email client if you have it installed.

Also although Windows will update it's software it does not update everything. So it is worth installing a software updater such as Secunia. Which will scan all of your software on your computer or laptop and tell you which is out of date. Some people will want to install a virus protection program, but I do not have this as I feel it may cause more problems than solve them. A virus protection program will scan and remove software infected but it will do this without asking you first. And then there is the possibility that it could block access to certain programs and mistake software that's not infected as a virus. This is one of the disadvantages of a virus protection program. I just use Windows Firewall and Windows Update which is included in all windows computers. You can change the settings to scan or block certain programs if you wish to.Both Windows Firewall and Windows Update are easier to manage than a virus protection program.

The most interesting thing is that the Trident based browsers like Green browser are said to need Internet Explorer to run. But I have uninstalled Internet Explorer on my laptop and Green browser and my other browsers like this are still working.Which suggests that they run off of Windows not Internet Explorer.

2 comments:

  1. I too have Windows 7. I have recently installed IE9 on my computer. But it does nothing but crash and slow down all the time and I have tried to revert back to IE8 but cannot uninstall IE9.I hate the new IE9. Jannet,Bristal,UK.

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  2. I also had this problem when I tried Internet Explorer 9 and I found that I could not uninstall the update. Which then restores IE8. You could try system restore or recovery,which will restore your computer to an earlier time before IE9 was installed.This may solve the problem and restore IE8 again. Andrea.

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