Browsing for an Answer

September 27, 2008

Browsing for an Answer

I'm nursing a little cold/icky stuff that started with a sore throat last night. The slightly feverish part of it seems to be making a question stick in my mind. You see, at school, when it comes to Internet browsers, I've noticed that Firefox is more popular among users than IE. I've also noticed that Dr. Red and several students open up multiple tabs on their browsers.

My question is, why use tabs? What's the advantage? When is it better to use tabs, and when is it better to open a new window--or does it even make a difference at all?

Comments

Lindsay said…

You know, I've noticed that most people open up new tabs in order to take up less space. I, however, prefer to open up a new window. The only time I use a tab is if it's something I'll only have open a few minutes. If I minimize everything, I like to see exactly what I have open, not have to open something else up in order to find out. I find it to be more ergonomic, but most people think tabs are more ergonomic. So, uh, to answer your question, I don't get it either.

See how much help I am?

9/27/08, 8:53 PM

Mr. Bingley said…

i've gotten hooked on tabs in firefox. i like having all the open sites right there up top.

9/27/08, 10:51 PM

Anonymous said…

I'm a fan of firefox and tabs...I find multiple windows is clutter. It's easier for me to click back and forth.
But I think it's just a personal choice.
I honestly forget why I switched from IE. A co-worker used IE on my computer and picked up a virus that Firefox had a patch for but IE did not. After spending over a day clearing that up I deleted IE from my computer.

9/28/08, 2:57 PM

Dave E. said…

I think it's mostly personal preference and what works best for each person. I tend to open more windows and work from the toolbar to switch between them but tabs can work that way also. My only problem with tabs is if I start having multiple windows open and then lose track of which window has which tab.

9/28/08, 4:48 PM

Kate P said…

Lindsay--I was wondering if it might be a space issue.

Bingley--aha, a visual preference. I can understand that.

A.C.22--you sound like a Virgo with all this anti-clutter talk. :) But that does make me wonder if that is the other reason Firefox is used more at school; it would be very bad if all the computers got a virus!

Dave E.--I think you just made my head hurt as I tried to imagine the exponential possibilities of tab/window combinatorics. Ow. ;)

9/29/08, 10:16 PM