Internet Explorer 9 will not support Windows XP

It's time to get ready to say goodbye to that Windows XP machine. If you can upgrade to Windows 7, do it. The new Internet Explorer 9 will not support Windows XP. This means that you'll be stuck with IE 8, or you could use Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Opera, or something else.

I still have a few older PCs that are running XP and I don't plan to upgrade the OS just so that I can run Internet Explorer 9. Also, if you have an inexpensive netbook that's running XP, it may not be worth upgrading to Windows 7.

The funny thing is that I rarely use IE. I spend much more time using Firefox or Chrome. I still occasionally use IE, but I could be using Safari or Opera instead.

Care to preview IE 9? Visit: www.IETestDrive.com.

Benefits of using different web browsers simultaneously

There are many reasons why you may want to simultaneously use different web browsers. Here's one key benefit:

• You can log in to different sites simultaneously using different user names. For instance, I can be logged in to Yahoo mail on Firefox as user1, and also logged in to Yahoo mail on Internet Explorer as user2. This is great if you have multiple accounts to various websites and you want to check things simultaneously. (talk about some serious multi-tasking!)
• Group your icons in your Taskbar. Assuming that you're using Windows XP, Vista, or 7, your taskbar may automatically group similar taskbar buttons. You can change this setting, but you may like it this way. If you have a tendency to open multiple web pages in separate windows, then it often helps to use different browsers to group them. For instance, all your news pages might be open on Chrome. Client-related sites may be on Firefox. etc. This way, you can quickly glance down and find your "group" very efficiently.

So which web browsers do I currently use? Mainly Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer. I also have Safari and Opera, but I don't use them very often to browse the Internet. Speaking of Chrome, did you notice the upgrade to version 3?

What's your favorite web browser?

There are so many web browsers to choose from these days. On my computers, I have the following installed:

• Internet Explorer
• Firefox
• Chrome
  
• Safari
• Opera

I mainly use Firefox and Chrome. Firefox continues to be my favorite browser because I'm so dependent on the Add-ons that are not readily available for the others. Chrome is a great backup browser that's quick and efficient. There are times when I'll open IE, but I rarely use Safari or Opera (even though I have them installed). Remember the old days of Netscape and the AOL browser? I wonder if anyone still uses those.

Most people still use IE, but the others are quickly gaining popularity (especially as more people move to Mac OS X from Windows). What about you? Do you have a favorite?

Xmarks - a great free utility

Xmarks (formerly Foxmarks) is a great free utility if you use more than one computer and you want to keep all your bookmarks/favorites in sync. I use several different computers at work and at home. As a result, this utility comes in very handy. I'm able to synchronize all my bookmarks/favorities automatically and it's so convenient to have the ability to switch browsers and still have all my bookmarks in sync. I mainly use Firefox and Internet Explorer and Xmarks works on both of those (for the PC). Xmarks works on Safari only on the Mac OS X right now. I'm sure that will eventually change, but for now, I'm fine with Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Computing tips: Ctrl + W and Ctrl + D

If you're like me, you like to open many different tabs on your favorite web browser. Whether you're using Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or Opera, this shortcut should work to help you quickly close tabs (or web pages) without moving your mouse. It's a simple tip: Ctrl + W

• Using Ctrl + W may save you some mousing movement and spare your hands/wrists from repetitive motion injuries.

Before you try the Ctrl + W tip, make sure you hit Ctrl + D. This shortcut adds a bookmark/favorite to your web browser. Make sure to bookmark my site (or subscribe to my RSS feed). I hope you'll be back for some more very simple computing tips.

Browser Wars

On my other site MedicalSmartphones.com, I wrote a short blurb about "Smartphone Wars." I'm continuing that theme to discuss a few of my thoughts regarding web browsers. Which web browser do you use? All of them? Let me list the ones that I use in descending order:

• Firefox
• Internet Explorer
• Chrome
• Safari
• Opera

Firefox has been my browser of choice, but I've recently started having some problems with Xmarks (a bookmark synchronizing utility). Is it time to switch to a different browser for a while?

Tip of the Day: F11

In most web browsers (like Firefox, Opera, and Internet Explorer, but not Chrome - unless you have Chrome 2.0 - or Safari), if you hit the "F11" key, you'll enter a nice "full-screen" mode. Away goes the navigation controls and the Google and Yahoo toolbars. You can view webpages in your entire monitor. Nice! To exit "full-screen" mode, just hit that F11 key again.

So, how do you remember F11? When I was in medical school, I was utterly dependent on mnemonics to remember everything. So, here's my mnemonic to help you remember F11.

The "11" almost looks like a box (it just doesn't have a top or bottom, but it has both sides of the box). Now, your monitor is a box, right? So, the F11= full-screen monitor

See? Now you'll never forget what that F11 key does when you're browsing the web.

Firefox 3.0.10

Q: Will Firefox 3.0.10 fix some of the problems I've been having when I visit certain websites?

A: No

I've been having problems with some websites while using Firefox 3. It's not related to my operating system (XP, Vista, Windows 7) because it happens on all my computers (and yes, I'm running all 3 of those Microsoft Windows operating systems). I like Firefox, but if I continue to have these issues, I'll have to switch my primary browser to something else.