Browser Alternatives and Add-Ons

You don't need to stay wedded to the features and abilities of the major browsers. Numerous alternative browsers and add-on utilities are available. Here's a look at some of our favorites.

By the time you read this, Mozilla will have released Firefox, a small and fast next-generation open-source (meaning free) browser. Firefox is an alternative to Mozilla, but won't replace it. For additional details, see our early look at "First Look at Mozilla.org's Firefox".

Some new browsers essentially sit on top of IE, using its core engine to extend and improve your Web experience. Avant Browser and MyIE2 are similar packages, but each has its unique flavor and features. And the price is right: Both are freeware, though donations are requested.

Avant Browser and MyIE2 (above, top and bottom, respectively) add considerable security, cookie, and ad-blocking controls to Internet Explorer. But the biggest feature in both packages may be tabbed browsing, which lets you open multiple Web pages within a single browser window and quickly move among them by clicking on tabs. In IE, by contrast, you need to open a new copy of the browser every time you want to add a new page. Tabbed browsing not only uses computer resources much more efficiently but it also makes keeping track of multiple pages easier. (Both Mozilla and Opera also feature tabbed browsing.)

And now for something completely different. Wymea Bay's IRider costs $29, also sits on top of IE, and also allows you to open multiple Web pages at once. Instead of tabs, though, IRider presents hierarchical thumbnails to give you a visual way of accessing multiple pages. Because IRider takes a different approach from all other browsers, using it effectively entails a learning curve. But once you're used to it, it's unmatched for fast Internet browsing. Another unique feature is something called "surf-ahead," which lets you open a link from a Web page in the background by right-clicking the link.

One caveat: IRider, unlike most of its competitors, offers no way to stop banner or pop-up ads (although pop-ups appear under the Web page you're viewing). You can add blocking capabilities by using a utility such as the $20 PopUpStopper.

Stan Miastkowski is a PC World contributing editor. Contact him at stan_miastkowski@pcworld.com.