Ron Bongo here once more to give you more insights on business and how you could learn more about open source concepts.

Learn more about web browsers with Ron Bongo and know how open source elements have become part of these widely used applications.

As open source applications are slowly moving into mainstream use in practically all popular computer operating system available, computer users wanting to get the most from their web browsing experience now have a wide variety of web browsers to choose from. Opensourcesoftwarenews.com presented a basic listing of the 5 major web browsers available for users – all aimed at enabling computer users to surf the net.

Although there are several elements in each web browser that are common to most, some features are unique and available to only a few. While most are proprietary, others operate under open source licenses or have some open source elements as part of the overall development of the particular browser. Users should try to explore each feature that the web browser provide to have a clear understanding of what the application can do for their needs. The following is a brief description of these leading web browsers:

* Internet Explorer – the most widely used web browser and a default application in the Windows operating system. Features are available enabling users to customize their browsers, as well as synchronization features between other browsers, documents and even mobile devices. Tabs can be saved and viewed even while closed. It also offers parental control tools to filter out what can be browsed and viewed by children. Email and telephony are also well-supported.

* Mozilla Firefox – the most widely used free and open source web browser and second only to IE in the overall popularity rankings. The browser is compatible with MAC, Linux, Windows and other operating systems  and features tab browsing, customization, spell check, live bookmarks, private browsing, parental controls, geolocation, and the Seamless Download Manager for fast and pop-up free downloads. It’s open source community of developers have come up with a wide variety of add-ons which can be easily activated and used in the browser.

* Google Chrome – based on the open source Chromium project which was released under a BSD license, Chrome is released with the distinctive Google branding. The browser is compatible with Linux, Mac OS X and Windows operating systems and offers a wide variety of features including customization, synchronization, thumbnail preview and as Seamless Download Manager. The browser however, does not have parental controls.

* Opera – is a proprietary software for web browsing but has open-source components and is compatible with MAC and Windows operating systems. It also has the same thumbnail preview, tab browsing, synchronization, seamless download manager and other features similar to other browsers, but it also offers other features that are not available with other web browser applications. These include the Mouse Gestures which is similar to shortcut keys but this time is done using mouse movements. It also features Voice Interaction which is an innovative way of communication between the browser and the user. It does not have parental controls.

* Apple Safari – this is the proprietary and default browser of Apple’s Mac OS X operating system, as well as the iPhone OS. It does have some components released under GNU and LGPL and is compatible not only with MAC, but with Windows operating systems as well. It also has similar features with other systems such as the ability to save tabs, spell check as well as customization however, there are not parental controls provided.

Come back here to learn more about the benefits of open source and how it can help your business or profession as brought to you by Ron Bongo.