The number one feature that has been in Opera for longer than I can remember, and in Firefox via add-in or by default for nearly as long, is that of restoring a session when the browser or system crashes.
I lean on this feature. I use browser tabs as a todo list. Sometimes I have to-read tabs open in my browser for only minutes, and other times those to-read tabs are around for weeks and into months.
Internet Explorer was a no-go on this feature, until I noticed it today.
My laptop (I blame hardware – or poor Dell drivers) did not go to sleep when I shut the lid this evening. After a 5 mile bike ride and a 12 mile car ride home in a well insulated back pack, the laptop was frozen and pretty warm when I got home and unpacked. I had to reboot.
As soon as I logged in I remembered that I had left an Internet Explorer window open with something I wanted to read. I cursed because I thought I would have to find it and I usually struggle finding things in browser “history”.
I was surprised when I was greeted with a “restore last session” prompt from Internet Explorer.
Good job on a great feature, Internet Explorer team.
Will I be using IE as my default browser? Absolutely Not. RequestPolicy and NoScript are required browser add-ins for my daily browser usage.
IE8 is much better than IE6 and worse than firefox, I think.