Before you get a resounding “YES” from half the flutherers. I just want to say that I was an avid IE fan, and then I got Firefox. I keep both on my computer because I honestly do believe that both have their advantages. IE is still my default browser, but I use FF for many things (such as fluther) too. There are certain sites/softwares that work better with one rather than the other. So I would suggest keeping them both, its worth the space.

PS – Welcome to Fluther. Hope you enjoy your stay :)

Same with me. I used to use IE until I tried Firefox and got hooked. I kept IE, but I rarely use it. Firefox is my default. No question.

No point in deleting IE. The amount of disk space is negligible and there are plenty of (poorly implemented) web sites that only work with IE (I’m giving corporate America the stinkeye right now).

Furthermore, Microsoft would likely just re-install it later with some patch. So keep it. Don’t use it if you don’t want to.

I use IE on a daily basis happily, I also use FF just as much, just as happily. I have a linux and a windows computer so I use both. With IE some programs actually use the IE rendering engine to show content (I’m thinking of the likes of BBC iPlayer and 4oD both in the UK and possibly internationally, I’m not sure) it’s really not worth the hassle at all.

You can remove Internet Explorer from your Start menu by right clicking it’s icon and choosing ‘delete’ or ‘unpin from Start menu’ depending on the instance in which it appears. The same is true of the Desktop and Quick Launch icons.

If you ever need to launch it in the future, choose ‘Start’ and then ‘Run’. Type “iexplore.exe” (without the quotes) and then click okay.

The caveat with using a non-IE browser is that Microsoft have so tightly integrated it with the system throughout XP, and it still cannot be properly uninstalled even in Vista. You will notice that the software update manager will always launch in IE throughout XP (isn’t a web browser a silly place to manage system updates?) and that some links from Microsoft applications like Live Messenger will always open IE even if it is not your default browser.

This said, I would wholeheartedly recommend Firefox. Do not look back. It is much easier to use, they don’t bury useful menu items under a plethora of strange icons, and I like the way it handles tabs and bookmarks much better. Your history, for example, is much easier to browse in Firefox than in IE.

To switch Firefox to your default browser, launch it for the first time and select to do so on the prompt that will appear stating that it is ‘not your default browser’.

Safari is worth keeping an eye on, but I wouldn’t bother using it on the PC yet. I’m really a Mac user, so I do use it on that platform, but I don’t think it’s ready to be a PC app quite yet.

Good luck, hope this helps.

Firefox is so superior that I have no words for it. If you’re a power user as myself the extensions (or addons) can really, really make a big difference. But even for more normal use it far surpasses IE. Try it, check out the addons (Tools -> Addons), and you’ll never go back.

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