1. Define: Browser
1.1. A Web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. ...
2. Explroer
2.1. cons
2.1.1. - not completely standards based (ex. uses own version of code parsers -> different interpretation of Javascript and DHTML) - no popup blocking for Win2k or XP SP1 users
2.2. pros
2.2.1. - largest market share; March 2005 browser statistics list 63.8% for IE 6 - only browser that works with Windows Updates (via web)
3. Opera
3.1. pros
3.1.1. - a new "free" version for education recently released, no ads - tabbed browsing, sessions, "wand" password manager, pop-up blocking
3.2. cons
3.2.1. - has web developer tools extensions, but they are difficult to find, download, and access quickly. In general, Opera extensions are not nearly as easy to find, install and use as Firefox's. - small market share; as of March only 1.8%; not as widely adopted if you're looking at a product besides IE
4. Sources
4.1. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1C1GPCK_enUS374&q=define:web+browser&defl=en&ei=Sp27S8uqBI7gswOow6GdBQ&sa=X&oi=definer&ct=&cd=1&ved=0CAQQowMoAA
4.2. http://www.upenn.edu/computing/eval/2005/webbrowser/procon.html
5. Firefox
5.1. cons
5.1.1. - recently released as a version 1.0 product - security issues on the increase due to accelerating popularity
5.2. pros
5.2.1. - RSS news and blog headlines in the bookmarks toolbar or bookmarks menu (via Live Bookmarks feature) - user scripts which lets users change not only how a site looks, but also how it functions (a.k.a. Mozilla/Firefox "Greasemonkey")
6. Safari
6.1. pros
6.1.1. - doesn't have the kinds of security problems that plague IE on Windows - user style sheets ("Pimp my Safari")
6.2. cons
6.2.1. - RSS feature not yet available (only in Tiger when it releases) - has web developer tools implemented via JavaScript Bookmarklets, but poorly organzied and difficult to use compared with Firefox's similar web developer extension
7. Chrome
7.1. pros
7.1.1. - Process Isolated Tabs and Add-Ons – this adds stability to the browser in case a particular plugin or a page goes rogue. Also, since each tab is its own process, overall security should be better.Faster JavaScript Engine – Chrome uses a custom built JavaScript environment which Google claims to be faster than anything currently in the market (though next version of FireFox is supposedly going to have something much faster).
7.2. cons
7.2.1. - Some users reported that animated GIFs are jerky on Chrome. - Most sites with Flash on them are in deep trouble.