The Web browser is a very important element of any platform or device. For Day 15 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I spent some time examining Internet Explorer, and exploring the other browser options for Windows 8 on a Surface Pro.
I use a variety of browsers on a regular basis. I have traditionally used Internet Explorer as my primary browser, but I also have Chrome, Firefox, and Safari installed. When I switched from a Windows PC to my MacBook Air, Internet Explorer was no longer an option, so I had to choose a new “primary” browser. I spent a long time going back and forth between Firefox and Chrome, and eventually settled on Firefox before I decided to switch to Safari because of how it syncs and integrates with the browser on my iPhone and iPad.
Part of what I’ve determined in using all of the major browsers is that none of them are perfect, and the differences between them are mostly trivial or superficial. They all get the job done, and my satisfaction or issues as the case may be are often just a function of what I’m used to. Once I spend a reasonable amount of time getting comfortable with a given browser, it works as well as the others for my purposes.
As I played with Internet Explorer and other browsers in Windows 8 on the Surface Pro, though, I uncovered some weird behavior. First, there are really two entirely separate Internet Explorer browsers depending on whether you’re working in the Windows 8 Modern / Metro interface, or in the desktop mode. Second, how those two Internet Explorer browsers work, and how other browsers in Windows 8 work, changes depending on which browser is the default. Bizarre.
Check out Surface Pro, Day 15: Bizarre browser behavior for more about the weird way browsers work in Windows 8 on the Surface Pro.
