Browser like IE

[88V8]

I've always used IE. I like IE. I like the solid way it renders text. I like the Favourites.
But increasingly website warn me it is or will be unsupported.

Tried Edge - slow.
Chrome text is whispy and there are no Favourites.

So many browsers... which browser is most like IE?

V8

[ReformedCharacter]

I've always used IE. I like IE. I like the solid way it renders text. I like the Favourites.
But increasingly website warn me it is or will be unsupported.

Tried Edge - slow.
Chrome text is whispy and there are no Favourites.

So many browsers... which browser is most like IE?

V8

They're all a bit different. In Chrome favourites are called 'bookmarks' and should perform the same function. You can tweak the text rendering on Chrome:

https://coderwall.com/p/9tecwq/fix-poor ... on-windows

RC

[Dod101]

I am no expert but there are favourites on Chrome, just that they are called Bookmarks. Access via the three vertical dots on the top right hand corner. You can even import favourites from IE. I find that Chrome is faster on at least some sites than IE. RC has just beaten me to it.

Dod

[monabri]

Chrome : You can also place your favourites/bookmarks on a toolbar so that they are just one click away.

[kiloran]

Chrome : You can also place your favourites/bookmarks on a toolbar so that they are just one click away.

And/or use the SpeedDial extension to put your choice of bookmarks on your Home screen or whenever you add a new tab.

--kiloran

[AF62]

Tried Edge - slow.

How long ago - i.e. did you try old Edge or new Edge based on Chromium? New Edge is very good and I tend to use in preference to Chrome these days.

[Breelander]

I've always used IE. I like IE. I like the solid way it renders text...

So did I. Very few seem to have noticed (or at least, commented on) the differences in text rendering between browsers, but for those few of us to whom it mattered IE was always the best.

I find Firefox to be a close second best these days.

[PrincessB]

I've always used IE. I like IE. I like the solid way it renders text.

What an interesting question.

I'd never really thought about it before, when tried side by side Firefox has a slower scroll rate while the alternatives whisk up and down more smoothly.

I have a reaonable collection of browsers on this machine, Chrome (which I never use but # 1 Daughter prefers), Edge is used for banking while my personal choice is Firefox (which does crash from time to time).

As a second question, what kind of display? I tried the a few browsers and dialled to the Lemonfool site and this question and I didn't see much difference. I'm wondering if IE has a superior smoothing when used on a lower resolution display.

[Breelander]

I've always used IE. I like IE. I like the solid way it renders text.

What an interesting question....what kind of display? I tried the a few browsers and dialled to the Lemonfool site and this question and I didn't see much difference. I'm wondering if IE has a superior smoothing when used on a lower resolution display.

Any display really, I see a clear difference in the text between Firefox and IE on a 1366x768 laptop display, the text in IE looking 'fatter' and easier to read.

See this screenshot comparing the two, with a small section enlarged so you can see the different ways the two render the same text: https://imgur.com/a/yHwCTJc

[Lanark]

I'm wondering if IE has a superior smoothing when used on a lower resolution display.

IE does have a special version of ClearText which is turned on even if you turn ClearText off in the Control Panel.

Personally I hate ClearText, but everyone is different, it is now very much out of fashion because ClearText will not work on a tablet, when you rotate the tablet all the pixels are sideways and so the whole idea doesnt work.

Also now that we have retina class displays, ClearText is not really needed - just buy a better screen. I don't think ClearText exists in Edge.

The bookmarks in Firefox are much closer to IE favourites that the equivalent in Chrome, and you can import them all.

[GeoffF100]

I find Firefox, Chrome and Edge to all be OK. If you use Windows 10, Edge is the obvious choice for online banking, because then only one company is responsible for security.

I mostly use Firefox on Linux. The reviews that I have read all suggest that Firefox is a solid choice, and it is fully open source. You can customise the fonts Firefox uses, if you wish. I do not like smooth scrolling and untick that box in Preferences. That makes scrolling very quick and positive. You can also change the mouse settings in the OS.

[Julian]

I've always used IE. I like IE. I like the solid way it renders text. I like the Favourites.
But increasingly website warn me it is or will be unsupported.

Tried Edge - slow.
Chrome text is whispy and there are no Favourites.

So many browsers... which browser is most like IE?

V8

How long ago did you try Edge? Microsoft switched across to use the same base Chromium web engine as Google Chrome uses fairly recently and apparently has got a significant speed increase because of that. I use Google Chrome so I don’t know if the Edge-based-on-Chromium version is the generally available one yet or if it is still in beta but I am sure others here can tell you that in a heartbeat.

- Julian

[Breelander]

...I don’t know if the Edge-based-on-Chromium version is the generally available one yet...

The current Windows 10 version 1909 still comes with the original legacy version of Edge. The Chromium based Edge is now on general release for Android, iOS, MacOS, Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10. If downloaded for Windows 10 it will replace the legacy Edge.

The new Microsoft Edge is based on Chromium and was released on January 15, 2020. It is compatible with all supported versions of Windows, and macOS. Downloading the browser will replace the legacy version of Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 PCs. With speed, performance, best in class compatibility for websites and extensions, and built-in privacy and security features, it's the only browser you'll ever need.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/hel ... n-chromium

[88V8]

Thankyou all, I shall give them a go.

The other thing I forgot, there is an adblocker for IE; one rather gets used to seeing no ads.

V8

[Breelander]

The other thing I forgot, there is an adblocker for IE; one rather gets used to seeing no ads.

There are ad blocker add-ons available for most browsers, but I don't use any of them. Instead I use a HOSTS file that blocks ads and other 'nasties' across all browsers at once.

You can use a modified HOSTS file to block ads, banners, 3rd party Cookies, 3rd party page counters, web bugs, and even most hijackers and possibly unwanted programs. This is accomplished by blocking the connection(s) that supplies these little gems.

http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm

[GeoffF100]

I use the uBlock Origin ad-blocker, which you can add to any browser as an extension. It works in a similar way to a whitelist, but gives more information and control.

[Julian]

The other thing I forgot, there is an adblocker for IE; one rather gets used to seeing no ads.

There are ad blocker add-ons available for most browsers, but I don't use any of them. Instead I use a HOSTS file that blocks ads and other 'nasties' across all browsers at once.

You can use a modified HOSTS file to block ads, banners, 3rd party Cookies, 3rd party page counters, web bugs, and even most hijackers and possibly unwanted programs. This is accomplished by blocking the connection(s) that supplies these little gems.

http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm

An increasing number of sites that I visit now have a method of detecting that the visitor is using an add blocker and pop up a message along the lines of "We see that you are using an adblocker. Please unblock us to see content on this site". I usually do a one-time pause on the site and then refresh the page to get at the article I want to read which isn't that difficult but I'm wondering whether the code typically used by these sites to detect ad blocking can still detect that ads aren't being displayed when someone uses the HOSTS file blocking technique as opposed to having an ad blocking extension installed.

At this point it would be helpful for me to give you (Breelander) a link to a page that triggers the behaviour I describe but unfortunately they are always links thrown up from a Google search so I can't find an example right now. Sorry.

- Julian

[mc2fool]

An increasing number of sites that I visit now have a method of detecting that the visitor is using an add blocker and pop up a message along the lines of "We see that you are using an adblocker. Please unblock us to see content on this site". I usually do a one-time pause on the site and then refresh the page to get at the article I want to read which isn't that difficult but I'm wondering whether the code typically used by these sites to detect ad blocking can still detect that ads aren't being displayed when someone uses the HOSTS file blocking technique as opposed to having an ad blocking extension installed.

I use the HOSTS file method and, yes, some sites can detect that I'm not seeing their ads with similar results, although it's not that many and I can't think of one off the top of my head.

The solution, which you'll want to have anyway, is to have a convenient way of switching hosts files. The one I use is https://sourceforge.net/projects/hostsmanager/ which is a simple tool that sits in the task bar and lets you switch between hosts files at a couple of clicks (and flushes DNS). I have two hosts files, the full blocking one and another that's basically empty and I just toggle between the two as needed.

[Breelander]

An increasing number of sites that I visit now have a method of detecting that the visitor is using an add blocker and pop up a message along the lines of "We see that you are using an adblocker. Please unblock us to see content on this site".....

I use the HOSTS file method and, yes, some sites can detect that I'm not seeing their ads with similar results...

The solution, which you'll want to have anyway, is to have a convenient way of switching hosts files...

The majority of such sites I come across ask you to turn off the ad blocker before letting you in. And, when you click their 'yes, I will' button, let you in anyway.

For the (very) few sites that don't let me in, I find the easiest way to turn off my HOSTS file is just to use File Manager, go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc and temporarily rename it. In Windows 10 I find that renaming HOSTS to (say) HOSTSx is effective immediately, as is renaming it back to HOSTS when done.

[mc2fool]

For the (very) few sites that don't let me in, I find the easiest way to turn off my HOSTS file is just to use File Manager, go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc and temporarily rename it. In Windows 10 I find that renaming HOSTS to (say) HOSTSx is effective immediately, as is renaming it back to HOSTS when done.

Open File Manager and go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc and rename the file!?! Faff! Only "easiest" if you don't have an easier method!

That is, of course, what Hosts Manager does (well, actually replaces it with another file), but it does it on just two clicks. That's easiest! Try it out Bree, you won't go back.

The place I find I need to turn it off most often for is google search results when I'm looking for stuff to buy, i.e. shopping searches.