A Tale of Three Browsers

Recently I made a switch from Avant Browser to Firefox. Before I get any flames from rabid Firefox supporters, I should make it known that I tried Firefox about a year ago, but it just didn't rev my engine like Netcaptor did at the time.

Tracing my alterna-browser history back to high school, I recall that I made the switch from IE to Netcaptor around my 10th grade year. It was my holy grail of web browsing. I was introduced to Netcaptor by the network administrator of our district when I would hang out in the server room and shoot the shit with him. When dry moments would pop up in the conversation, he would browse around in this foreign application I had never seen before. He would click and open up new websites, but he never added another button to his taskbar.

"What IS this glorious application," I thought to myself.

At the time, I was a bit intimidated by this guy. I mean, I was an aspiring computer geek (yeah, quite a lofty goal to set one's sights on, eh?) and this guy knew his shit. I wasn't about to just come out and ask a dumb question like: "Gee, what program is THAT?"

I wasn't about to come off as a n00b.

So, I did what seemed to be the best approach. I snuck a peek at the program title positioned top of the screen, and rushed off to hurriedly write it down before I forgot proper spelling and capitalization (NetCaptor). Impatiently waiting for that 3 o'clock bell to ring, I was anticipating a glorious monument to efficiency, or, on the other hand, a horrific awakening into my non-savvy world.

Maybe this was a program only the leetest of the leet used, and a fledgling computer user with mere months of experience under their belt (such as myself at the time) just wouldn't get it.

I hoped for the best, and I prepared for the worst.

Arriving home, and immediately connecting to the internet, I recall google taking an ETERNITY to load. Maybe it was my terrible back-woods location coupled with the agonizingly slow dial-up service we had, or perhaps it was my impatience which had grown from nervous knee-bouncing, to unprovoked, angry shouting.

"LOAD GODDAMNIT!"

Google hesitated, but soon complied. I frantically entered my search query and hit enter. A deluge of blue links graced my screen, but I only needed one. The first one. It's description read: "Internet browser for power-users that opens sites in separate tabs."

It was for times like this that the term "Eureka" was coined.

Looking around the Netcaptor site, I immediately found a "Download Now" link, and did just that. Sort of...

Dial-up is a vile mistress that I am pleased to say I never have to rendezvous with again. I (and I may regret saying this later...) would rather do without internet access than go back to dial-up again.

There was no "Download Now" option for me. No, for me, it was more like "Click this link and curse the town you live in for being too small for DSL, now."

~30 minutes later, I'm able to install my newly acquired application. Thank the heavens above and all that jazz for not disconnecting me during the download. That would've been a broken mouse waiting to happen.

Installation was complete, and now I was ready to see what Netcaptor had to offer. It didn't take long for the holy shit moment to take hold.

I was not only able to browse in a more sleek and sexy browser, I was able to do all of this while taking up one insignificant slot on my taskbar thanks to tabbed browsing. I had no way to describe the amount of freedom I felt at the time, but now that I've read more into NADD, I believe it was my earliest introduction into fast, efficient, and convenient information indulgence on the internet. Holy shit, indeed.

Flash forward 4 years. I'm in my fourth semester of college, and Netcaptor fucks up. Luckily, it was in the middle of the semester and there wasn't an urgent research project I had to attack. I thought long and hard about what to do. Should I upgrade to the newest Netcaptor and hope it gives the same pleasure as the original?

I hadn't upgraded from my initial installation version because I was WAY too content with it to give it all up for unnecessary bells and whistles the newest releases promised.

No, I wasn't going to upgrade. I felt my time with Netcaptor was well-spent, and perhaps it was a signal (No, it wasn't a fucking SIGN. The stars don't determine my destiny. Shut up.) to move on to something more suited to my taste.

So, I researched.

I shamefully admit that I used IE to perform my alterna-browser research, but, hey, what else was I going to do in that situation? Netcaptor was belly-up, and I was desperate.

First, I tried Firefox, but it's system of downloading extensions for customization just didn't suit me. I wanted everything pre-packed and ready to go. No extra work for me, buddy! I'm a busy college student! I got beers to drink, and bong hits to take.

It was through MajorGeeks that I learned about Avant Browser. A freeware application that pimped tabbed browsing. Tabbed browsing, you say?! Why, SURE I'll give it a try!

Entering into my session with Avant Browser like a SWAT team would enter a building locked down by crazed gunmen, I double-clicked the new icon on my desktop. Within seconds, I was greeted by a flashy splash screen, to which my initial reaction was "pfft...Unnecessary eye-candy." Call me a purist. Call me an idiot. Either way, I had my standards, and they were being challenged.

Avant Browser loaded; The interface was sexy. I was reluctant to admit it at first, but it was definitely more sexy than Netcaptor. Trying not to get distracted by the fluff, I started browsing. It didn't take long for me to warm up to the interface of Avant Browser because it behaved very much like Netcaptor after a few adjustments in the options menu. I realized what I was doing by making Avant behave like Netcaptor, but I didn't care. I liked my new browser, and it was going to do what I wanted it to do. Net_Eric was pleased, and the world rejoiced.

Flash forward to one week ago, or ~1.5 years after the previous incident. Avant Browser just didn't do it for me anymore. I was having trouble with javascript, and there were many other minor problems I just didn't want to acknowledge. Individually, they were benign and capable of being ignored. Collectively, they were the bane of my internet presence.

So, I researched.

This particular stint of research wasn't so much acquisition of knowledge as it was checking up on weblogs I frequent. Okay, so yeah, I was slacking. Anyway, I was reminded of Firefox while reading the newest entry on Wil Wheaton dot net. One of his links was a button which read: "The browser you can trust." Reminded of my browser woes, I clicked the link with much aplomb.

I looked around the website and liked what I saw. Essentially, it was the same browser I had experienced roughly a year prior to this, but for some reason I was intrigued. Perhaps it was the tabbed browsing...

So, I downloaded.

Upon installation, my first objective was to get a new theme. The default look of Firefox rubbed me the wrong way, and I was happy I could customize it to suit my taste. +1 point to my opinion of Firefox.

After playing around with Firefox, I quickly learned that it's tabbed browsing was foreign to that of Netcaptor and Avant. I decided to deal with it. -1 point to my opinion of Firefox. Total Score: Apathy.

For a week now, I've been using Firefox for all my browsing needs and I've come to appreciate this new system of tabbed browsing. I've also gained appreciation for the ability to customize like mad. I CAN CONTROL WINAMP FROM MY BROWSER??!!1 JESUS GOD TELL ME MORE!!

To sum everything up, though, things are going great. I honestly don't think I could be much happier with my browser than I am now. Sure, nothing will ever have the magical first impression that Netcaptor had, but I can find solace in knowing that there are programmers out there who know what I'm looking for. To show my appreciation for such a great browser, I've decided to throw a button up so I can do my part in spreading the word.