Multi-Browser User & Power

Does anyone else find themselves being a multi-browser user? I use all of them, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Internet Explorer (in that order too). I do this just to keep up with the amount of accounts I have to have open. I run probably 2 or 3 Gmail accounts at a time, and this is the primary reason that I need multi-browser functionality. True, Firefox has some features that will allow a person to use multiple accounts per browser, but with Google Docs, Calendar, etc. I find I just need to keep them separated to reduce confusion.

Then there is performance. Has anyone else noticed Firefox has been very slow lately? Many times I find my browser hanging. Not only that but games that access Directx such as Everquest, freeze the browser when loading / on load. Often you cannot switch between your game window and the browser window without a few seconds of pause.

Chrome on the other hand does NOT do that. It must use a different rendering technique or separate itself from the main GPU’s processing. Chrome has it’s own issue…it hogs memory liks crazy as every tab is treated as a separate instance.

Internet Explorer sucks at everything, even doing a simple search on Google or Bing. It is slow, and unreliable. Sadly, many different web apps are written for IE only, crippling me with certain business tech that I have to have running.

Safari isn’t bad, though I admit I do not use it that often for heavy browsing.  I can only imagine any webkit based browser performing well.

One of the best features of Firefox and Chrome is being able to drag a tab out to become a new browser. I love it. IE does not have it. Also, the amount of extensions that exists for Firefox and Chrome (in a relatively short period of time for Chrome) is amazing. I love being able to access Gmail, Google Apps, Remember the Milk, SEO Tools, etc. straight from the browser window. Firefox has add-ons that allow for website debugging and even on-site FTP Access to certain files and stylesheets once set up so your browser becomes your editor (Fire Bug, Web Developer). FireFTP is the only FTP client I use besides Dreamweavers own internal build, and the amount of social media and bookmarking plugins and links is almost getting…out of hand.

The reasons for multiple browsers are many, but I find myself being unique in that I use them all at once. Most average users browsing habits don’t leave a single tab, little less a whole other browser window without them getting confused as to where they are or what they are working with. It is interesting how the mind can either have a quick and in depth understanding of IT, or none at all. When you ask someone, what the internet is, and they point to the blue E on their desktop…do you every wonder…Do they just not care? Do they just not know? If you taught them would they care?

I find that most people don’t care and don’t want to know. WHY is beyond me. Why would I ever not want to know something (unless some kinda of social, legal or financial implication followed)? Weren’t we brought up with the saying “Knowledge is Power?” I am interested in almost every single thing around me (except sports 😉 ). Cooking, Hunting, Construction Work, Computers, Video Games, Exercise, Martial Arts, etc. The list goes on an on. How can some people limit themselves so much that they are unwilling to learn something that is not going away and only going to show it’s face more frequently in day to day life…technology and computers.

Wouldn’t you want to know more about the machines that will soon become your unrelenting overlords? 😉 I won’t stop learning, I’ll keep on myself and let the proles keep their self imposed limitations. To quote Jim Carrey as the Riddler in Batman Forever:

“If Knowledge is Power, then a God am I.”

Shouldn’t we all strive to achieve the same goal.