New Browser Tools Give Cross-Browser Features

 
Aug 13, 2005

by Michael and Judith Dinowitz

Those Internet Explorer diehards who want their browser to have tabbed windows and greater security might be interested in Foxie. This new IE plugin (not a full browser) stands for Fox + IE and claims to provide ad and pop-up blocking, Malware cleansing and privacy and security protection, as well as some smart search capabilities. I haven't used it myself, so I can't give you a report.

The discussion on Slashdot did give some insight into why people might want to use a plugin that lets one browser mimic another. Even more intriguing was the mention of Maxthon, a new browser that uses the IE engine. Several people praised Maxthon and said how much they loved the browser. With the addition of an Active X plugin (the Mozilla 1.7 ActiveX Control Installer), Maxthon gives you the option of using Firefox's gecko engine instead of IE's engine. This would seem like a major boon for testing, allowing you to view the same page in IE and in Firefox with the flick of a switch. What a help this would be when dealing with CSS, DHTML, AJAX, and any other technology that differs between the two browsers (like standard HTML in some places)!

A trip to Maxthon's forums reveals that you can use either engine, but not at the same time. Each time you switch engines, you have to reset and restart your browser. This inconvenience mitigates any advantage the plugin might afford you.

One interesting comment came from Jez9999, who said:

Please explain to a luddite like me why you would want a bloaty browser that contains two other browsers' engines (one of which is guaranteed to be installed with the OS) when you could much more easily install those 2 browsers side-by-side?

Jez' comment is misdirected, as the bloat of the two browser engines only comes into play if you download the optional Mozilla plugin. However, he does reveal the main problem with any browser trying to make a case for itself in today's market. Most people will try Maxthon out, but unless they either fall in love with the interface or find a feature that they can't get in either Firefox or IE, they probably won't switch browsers. The ability to switch between browser engines (and thus to test out web pages quickly and easily) would be a compelling reason for most programmers to switch. Until they fix that Active X plugin, you can probably consider us Firefox diehards.

Foxie

Maxthon Tabbed Browser

Mozilla 1.7 ActiveX Control Installer (Maxthon Forums, June - July, 2004)

Plugin Lets Users Turn IE Into Firefox (Slashdot, August 31, 2005)

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