recommended MSIE alternatives?

Another way to title this thread might have been:

"best/favorite browsers w/ the Trident layout engine?"

Found this nice list of IE shells at Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Explorer_shell

From this and other sources, I have found:

• Avant
  http://www.majorgeeks.com/Avant_Browser_d2346.html
  
• Lunascape (contains Trident, Gecko, and WebKit engines!)
  http://www.majorgeeks.com/Lunascape5_Genesis__d6004.html
  
• Maxthon
  http://www.majorgeeks.com/Maxthon_d1167.html
  http://www.majorgeeks.com/Maxthon_Classic_Version_d1244.html
  
• Netscape
  http://www.majorgeeks.com/Netscape_Navigator_for_Windows_d1143.html
  
• Sleipnir
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleipnir_(software)
  
• Teega
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teega

One other interesting thing I have come across is IE Tab, a plugin that delivers Trident functionality/compatibility to Firefox.

For the record, I mostly use Safari and Firefox. I love Chrome, too, but find Safari actually loads up quicker on this particular XP laptop... and crashes much less.

I mainly just need something to run Microsoft/Windows Update for a while, although it'd be nice to have a "non-IE IE" to run several of my college's web apps that are [for some strange reason] optimized for IE.

My IE no longer works after "upgrading" to IE8, and our IT Dept wants to take a look at that issue, but it will probably be a while...

 

I know we're not supposed to bump our own threads, but I figured waiting a month might make it a little less frowned-upon.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

Exactly what is your question?

 

"best/favorite browsers w/ the Trident layout engine?"

 

Ah, I should have recognized it. How could I have missed it? I mean, gee, I think about my layout engine everyday. :-D

Seriously, now I think I why this topic got no replies for a month. Who cares about whether their browser uses the Trident layout engine? Why should anyone care?

 

Anyone who would want to be able to run WinUpdate or MicrosoftUpdate without having to use Internet Explorer?

Or, in my case, someone who would want to run one of those but who could not use Internet Explorer.

I didn't honestly figure anyone (or at least very many people, outside of possibly web developers) would care what their layout engine was, specifically...

What I figured was a more likely scenario is that someone would recognize their preferred browser from the list and say "Ooh, I use BrowserXYZ and I absolutely *love* it because of ReasonsLMNOP."

 

Why could someone, who may have browsers other than IE installed, not use IE for Windows Updates? I have Firefox set as my default browser. That does not mean I can not use IE for Windows Updates in my Windows XP system.

 

Windows 7 does not have to use IE for Windows Updates

In fact, IE can be removed.

From your list, Netscape is incorrect. Aside from being a dead browser, it uses Gecko.

 

If you have the updates set to automatic there is no need for any browser what soever, they quietly show up in the tray!

 

Thats a good point.

 

From the original post:

Or from the post you quoted:

 

Oh, how I wish my netbook would have had Windows 7 installed!

(mainly so i could just dork around w/ it for a bit)

Alas, it was a gift...

And the laptop in question is a work computer that I have had since February; no telling when we will go to Win7, site-wide...

Sorry, I was just going by the "List of IE shells" wikipedia article, which said that it used both Trident and Gecko (Trident for whitelisted sites; Gecko for non-whitelisted sites).

 

I did not realize that! I thought they must still use the browser somehow, maybe running in the background or something...

Thank you, sir! I will try this and see how it goes.