Last week we stirred a little trouble by making readers tell us which operating system is best: Mac or Linux. We deliberately narrowed it down to just the two operating systems so we could get a definitive answer once and for all on what you readers prefer. Guess what? It’s Linux.
After collecting 865 votes, the answer was very clear to see: 71% voted for Linux; 29% voted for Mac. Linux is clearly well-loved in the MakeUseOf crowd.
Full results and this week’s poll after the jump.
As you can see, Mac fans are somewhat outnumbered by Linux fans in the MakeUseOf readership.
This week’s poll question is: Which Browser Do You Think Improved Most In The Last Version?
There have been major version releases of all the big browsers lately (see news on Chrome 10 and Firefox 4). Most have improved the interface, design, add-on handling and hardware acceleration. Aibek wants to know which of these upgrades you think has been the best. Please honestly vote for the browser you believe is most improved, not just the one you wound up using the most!
So, what decided your vote? Was it design upgrades or speed? Usability or extra features? What ultimately made you decide that the browser you voted for was lightyears ahead of its predecessor? Let us know in the comments!
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I voted for IE9 because what came before was so bad it was hard for whatever they did not to be a massive improvement, Firefox 3.6 was already a good browser on the other hand.
Definitely IE9. IE9 is like night and day compared to IE8. Firefox and the other major browsers were great to begin with, but with each new version they seem to get better and better.
Opera 11.10
Opera’s now been added if you want to change your vote. :)
IE9
IE9 they made it more like Chrome. I have to use IE or Safari for school.
Firefox 4.. The speed improvement, especially noticeable when opening the browser with 50 tabs or so, the new simplified layout, and the customizability of the addons (which admitedly existed before but I never took full advantage of), have really made my day.
Why is Opera not in this list? According to me, Opera is THE inventors of any new feature in a browser and others are just copycats. Opera truly deserve better acknowledgement. Truly amazing that so many people still opt for IE?! Any developer will acknowledge that IE is THE worst browser ever!
I nearly put Opera on the list, but it’s in no way one of the major browsers, even though it’s a leader in features. I suppose I could add it. :)
For me opera made significant changes when they released the 10.0 version. Now – not so much. Firefox on the other hand made some MAJOR changes towards embetterment. Still, my browser of choice for laptops is still Chrome although it’s the newest and kind of spying.
IE9 – As it has been evolved from a über-crappy to a bad browser. That’s an improvement for sure ;-) But to be serious; FF4 & Opera10.
IE9 is almost usable so that gets my vote.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I feel my computer and browser is freezing more regularly after installing FireFox 4? Does anyone else feel the same after installing FireFox 4?
my FF 4 crashes at least once a day (i use browsers for more than 12 hrs a day)…
although i havent used any previous version of FF as i was happy with chrome.
but as my below comment suggests chrome has also gone bad.
strange, try uninstalling and reinstalling it…ff4 works perfect here :/
I upgraded to Firefox 4 before I finally upgraded my laptop to Windows 7. Under Windows XP I had some minor issues, like a temporary freeze or lag. Under Windows 7 Firefox 4 is stable, doesn’t freeze at all, and overall appears almost as responsive and fast as Chrome (subjective impression), although it still carries the load of tons of active addons.
Chrome has gone worse. There are many bugs. It crashes more often. The dialog boxes like “wait for download to finish” and others become fullscreen and is very irritating.
DO OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THIS PROB TOO ???
Since the question is which browser has improved most in the last version, not which browser is the best or has brought forward most innovations over the past decade, the answer must be Internet Explorer 9. It’s still not a great browser, but it has improved massively compared to IE8.
Thank you for adding Opera to the list. It’s my favorite browser and ‘hell on wheels’ on a netbook (and I run all the top browsers). I like this poll because it doesn’t focus on favorites or best but focuses instead on a “what have you done lately” scenario. Having said this…
I’d like to say IE based on what I’ve read BUT… I run XP and Microsoft isn’t focusing on this OS anymore. I think Mozilla’s latest Firefox update has seen the most improvement and so I’m voting FF now even though Opera remains my primary (and I think) best browser available for the XP platform.
FF4 – mostly becouse of new design. As for the speed – we will see. FF3.6 was also fast at the beginning and at the end it had some trouble.
IE9 – almost nothing new in the design. Speed and Accelleration – well if we look back at IE8 and say that version had zero in both fields than right now IE9 is the winner.
As for the Chrome – I think it hasn’t change much from the beginning – mostly becouse from the start it was a high quality browser. Also FF4 and IE9 take some of the design features from Google Chrome.
Cheers.
This one is a no-brainer – IE9.
You guys forgot to put in list Pale moon and Avant Both are quick and presice But i use Opera 11 most of the time
I also vote for Firefox 4 but there are still rooms for more improvement.
Chrome has been impressive to me with it’s speed but since upgrading to FF 4 it’s just as fast and I can still use add ons.
Stupid pool. Most people use one browser – how can you expect them to appreciate changes in program they don’t use. Make several specific pools – each for users of a specific browser, then the data you get will be of use. As it is, the poll is nothing but an “I think” rather than “I know”.
Meaningless and useless
I’m sorry you think that. I figured that most MakeUseOf readers were in the habit of reading about & occasionally testing new products in order to make educated decisions on which they should use. Judging from the comments, I’d say most people have paid attention to the big browser releases and the changes apparent in each. We’ve got a good crowd here!
I wanted to vote for Firefox 72 but that dosnt come out for a week or two………………………………..
LOL