Sorry, but I forgot to give a little bit of an introduction on the first post. My name is Matt McGee and I am the author on The Daily Fuzz. The Daily Fuzz is a news parody site that I have been working on for the past 2 months. However, that can get a little boring sometimes and I wanted to branch out so I asked if I could do a guest post on A Blog About Nothing. So, without any further distractions…part 2 of our saga of free software.

In the first post, we covered necessities like antivirus and firewall software. Windows lovers are rejoicing as they download their free software as Mac and Linux users glumly stare at the screen waiting for the next installment.

So, now we get to the internet-centered software. This is where we talk about Internet browsers, e-mail programs, and IM clients. Most companies would classify some of these as productivity wasters, but if you use them right, it will actually make you a better worker.

Internet Browser:

Internet Explorer – This one doesn’t get a link because it is guaranteed that if you have a Windows PC, it is on your computer. In the beginning of the Internet, Netscape was the browser of choice. Internet Explorer hadn’t even been thought of.

One day, Microsoft decided that they would get rid of Netscape and they would make a browser and bundle it with their newest operating system, Windows 95. As soon as that happened, no one even thought there was another browser to use and thought the “e” symbol was the official symbol for the Internet.

Microsoft rarely updated its browser and refused to adhere to standardization. Instead, webmasters had to code their webpage specifically for IE (Internet Explorer) so their pages would look right on the most used browser out there…even though it made it significantly harder on them.

Then, a few more browsers gained popularity. Microsoft started feeling the heat as they saw the future of IE and it was bleak. So, they updated IE. They added tab browsing and became more conscious of web standards.

Now, IE7 is a decent choice for a browser and not just the default. This one has no link to go to because you already have it if you are a Windows PC owner. If you aren’t, you probably don’t want IE anyways.

OS Compatibility: Windows ONLY

Firefox – Firefox is IE’s #1 competitor for top browser in the world today. Firefox has all of the features IE has but has upped the ante with the ability to have extensions.

What are extensions? They are small programs that become a part of Firefox to add features and capabilities. For instance, Forecast Fox gives you your weather in the status bar of the browser so you always know what it is like outside. Or extensions like StumbleUpon that allows you to find things online you would never discover on your own. Webmasters love Firefox because of all of the helpful extensions available to help them do their jobs.

On top of all of this, Firefox has been proven to be more stable and secure than IE.

OS Compatibility: Firefox can be used with any of the main operating systems used in the world today. If you can see this page, you can use Firefox.

Opera – Opera is another browser that came out because of the alleged monopoly Microsoft was creating with IE. Opera and Firefox started the idea of tabbed browsing and Opera is the most standards-compliant browser available. If you want a browser that will show you every page the way the author intended EVERY time, pick Opera. Opera has some add-on capability, but doesn’t have the following or the extension library that Firefox has.

OS Compatibility: Windows Only

Safari – Safari has traditionally been an Apple Mac program but they have recently broadened their reach by producing a version for Windows. I have tried it and I find it a little clunky. To be fair, it is still a Beta release (testing version). It tends to be a system hog so make sure you beef up the ram before you install it. The foundation is there for a really great browser, but it isn’t ready for full time yet.

On Macs, Safari is the default browser and is integrated perfectly. It has tabbed browsing and is pretty good with standards, but doesn’t do much more than that. I have a Mac and I use Firefox as my primary browser.

OS Compatibility: Mac OS X and now Windows

E-mail Programs:

Outlook Express – Outlook Express is Windows default e-mail client. It does a decent job and has some spam blocking capabilities. My only beef with Outlook Express is its usability. I would place it smack dab in the middle between “What they HELL were they thinking!!” and “They should share what they were smoking!” Some stuff is where you expect it, but not much. Try changing your signature and you know what I am talking about. Now we know why it is free.

OS Compatibility: Windows (if you call that compatible)

Lightning– Lightning is Mozilla’s recreation of e-mail clients. It is a no-holds-barred powerful program that does whatever you want it to do. The great thing about it is that because it is part of the Mozilla line-up, it is able to use extensions to make it better. The possibilities are endless. More secure, more stable, more able…just MORE! Combining Mozilla’s Thunderbird E-Mail client with Sunbird’s calendar features and you get a beautiful e-mail client/calendar that rivals or even beats Outlook.

OS Compatibility: Pretty much any you can think of and they are still working on more.

IM Clients:

Everyone knows the main IM clients; Yahoo Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger, and AOL Instant Messenger. Here are some options that will be ad free and still keep all the functionality you love. We are going to cover the multi-protocol clients because they have a smaller footprint and better features.

Trillian – Trillian is a multi-protocol Instant Messaging client. You may be asking what that techno-babble means. All it means is that once you download Trillian, it will allow you to message people on Yahoo, MSN, and AOL all in one program. This is a really slick program that works with pretty much any messaging protocol…even IRC.

OS Compatibility: Windows

Adium – Adium is another multi-protocol client that runs on OS X. It fits well in the Mac GUI and provides all the features you know and love. I really love how you can customize how the contact list can look. If you are savvy enough, you can do some really awesome stuff.

OS Compatibility: Mac OS X

I know that Linux has quite a few messenger clients and you can find them in your apt-get program.

If you liked the post, COMMENT! I want to hear from you. Did I miss the greatest e-mail client of all time? Am I forgetting the end-game of IM? Hell, let me in on the secret of the newest browser! Whatever you want to say, just let us know.

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