Microsoft playing hardball?

[Pingu]

Well since updating to IE8 I can't get google to stick in my pop-down list of recently used sites. If I go to google, then want it again 3 or 4 minutes later it'll be there. But once I've closed IE and open a new session it vanishes - almost as though Microsoft have a list of sites that they purge from the cache on starting. Is this how they hope to make us use Bing?

[reberclark]

Is "Delete History On Exit" checked in your Internet Options?

[BenNichols]

How about adding the google search bar to the top of your browser instead?

Or switch to firefox. It is much better.

Also worth noting is that apparently Windows 7 will not be shipping with a browser! Its as if Microsoft are finally admitting that firefox is way better and more widely used. Question is, how do you download firefox to use if you dont have a browser to get online with?!

Maybe microsoft will charge extra for a browser, or perhaps there will be a dialogue box during installation asking what browser you would like to use, then it downloads and installs it for you......

[Skysaw]

Time to switch to Google Chrome! I'm using it and liking it so far.

[MMOSC]

Time to switch to Google Chrome! I'm using it and liking it so far.

+1 for Chrome

[Raymond62]

Speaking is silver, silence is gold and searching is CHROME (LOL).

Who else?
Raymond

[SteveMitchell]

Easy to lock Google into place.

In IE8, go to the Tools menu, and select "Internet Options", and on the default "General" tab, click "Search Options", and you'll have a chance to select "Google" as your default search engine. If Google is not listed in the options, look to the lower left of the window, and click "find more search providers...."

Steve

BTW, I use Firefox 3.5 - it's much more extensible, and also features AdBlock.

[LFO]

How about adding the google search bar to the top of your browser instead?

Or switch to firefox. It is much better.

Also worth noting is that apparently Windows 7 will not be shipping with a browser! Its as if Microsoft are finally admitting that firefox is way better and more widely used. Question is, how do you download firefox to use if you dont have a browser to get online with?!

Maybe microsoft will charge extra for a browser, or perhaps there will be a dialogue box during installation asking what browser you would like to use, then it downloads and installs it for you......

The reason Microsoft is not including IE in Windows 7 (at least by default) is due to legal reasons. There have been questions around IE being a monopoly or Windows being a monopoly because IE is integrated with it, depending on where you look.

There will be no extra charge for IE. Unfortunately, the IE market share is still larger than Firefox and it will still take a year or two of growth for Firefox to catch up to IE.

I use Firefox 98% of the time. If I run into an issue with a site that requires IE is use a Firefox extension called IE tab. It basically loads IE in a Firefox tab and works like a charm. :)

-Kevin

[ejr]

The biggest problem with IE 8 is that it is s-l-o-w. I installed it on one of my machines to check it out. But I'm not installing it on the others.

[BenNichols]

. Unfortunately, the IE market share is still larger than Firefox and it will still take a year or two of growth for Firefox to catch up to IE.

I use Firefox 98% of the time. If I run into an issue with a site that requires IE is use a Firefox extension called IE tab. It basically loads IE in a Firefox tab and works like a charm. :)

-Kevin

In what ways is firefox 'behind' IE? Whenever i use IE i always feel that firefox is way ahead. Much more user-friendly and quicker, and as Steve said "adblock" is brilliant.

I cant find that extension called IE tab. Could you post a link to it Kevin? Thanks!

[keithjfuller]

this might be because google is making an OS (also called Chrome) to compete with Windows.

[LFO]

In what ways is firefox 'behind' IE? Whenever i use IE i always feel that firefox is way ahead. Much more user-friendly and quicker, and as Steve said "adblock" is brilliant.

I cant find that extension called IE tab. Could you post a link to it Kevin? Thanks!

When market share for browsers, conducted by multiple independent firms, is measured IE still comes out ahead of Firefox. This is not surprising given that IE has a) been around for much longer b) is installed with Windows c) is the default standard for .net web applications and d) does not have the visibility (yet) that Firefox has. The visibility piece has improved a great deal for Firefox and that is one of the reasons that Firefox has increased its share of the browser market. (That and the fact it kicks the tar out of IE)

You can find IE tab here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1419

Note: It won't work on a Mac because it requires the IE OLE engine to function and that is proprietary to Windows.

-Kevin

[Steve_Karl]

In what ways is firefox 'behind' IE? Whenever i use IE i always feel that firefox is way ahead. Much more user-friendly and quicker, and as Steve said "adblock" is brilliant.

I cant find that extension called IE tab. Could you post a link to it Kevin? Thanks!

A bug in printing pdf is a big behind in my opinion.

[LFO]

A bug in printing pdf is a big behind in my opinion.

I print to pdf from Firefox all the time with no issues on both my Windows and Mac boxes. What kind of bug do you experience? If you have an issue then have you tried adding an extension that might resolve your problem? The beauty of Firefox is that many bugs or features not in the program are resolved with extensions.

-Kevin

[dudefromthebronx]

Just switch to Firefox or another browser. Microsoft is just one big spoiled brat that wants to have everything his way.*()

[Sonare Coeli]

Just switch to Firefox or another browser. Microsoft is just one big spoiled brat that wants to have everything his way.*()

+1

Apple has a similar disposition.

Firefox is much more stable all around. *()

[rwayland]

Well, I have no PDF problem with Firefox, my primary browser. I also have had no troubles with Bing searching, and like it so far.

I tried Chrome browser, which was the slowest browser I have encountered, slower even than IE. It has now been used in a vanishing act.

Richard