Pixel-Friendly Browsers

Recently, the good people at Lifehacker.com wrote an article comparing various web browsers to see which one was the most "pixel friendly" - meaning which one provided the most space to the website instead of wasting it with toolbars, etc. Since this topic is one that is near and dear to my heart, I wanted to pass along the results for everyone to see. Charting is all about the pixels and if your browser is stealing them, then maybe it is time to get another browser.

Here's a link to the article that compares Windows browsers.

Here's a link to the article that compares Mac browsers.

Bottom Line: Google's free Chrome browser is the most "pixel friendly" browser for general use. If however you use the browser's Full Screen mode (F11) then Firefox and Opera are the best.

Combined with Chrome's speed advantages, there really is no reason not to at least try Google Chrome and see if it gives you a better StockCharts experience.

Finally, take a look at your screen right now. If you see more than one third-party tool bar at the top of your browser window, you really owe it to yourself to read my Vertical Pixel post from back in April.

- Chip

You reminded me of this Dilbert comic strip from early July. http://www.dilbert.com/strips/comic/2010-07-06/

Posted by: Chris Sartison August 17, 2010 at 12:12 PM

Agreed. Other reasons: 1. When I open another tab to view a chart from my summary view, the tab opens next to the tab that has the summary view, not as a tab to the far right. No need to move your mouse that far. 2. When I open a new window, it opens up as an unmaximized browser window, allowing me to move the window quickly to my extended screen on a 2nd monitor. It's one click less to deal with. 3. A nice piece of extension allows to capture, crop, and add annotations my charts and save as a jpeg file. No need for another screen capture utility. This is called Awesome Screenshot. 4. An RSS reader extension keeps me posted on new feeds. As I had gotten to appreciate Firefox's RSS reader which appears conveniently on the bookmark bar, I didn't want to leave Firefox for Chrome unless Chrome has an equivalent to offer. The extension, called RSS Live Links, allows me to view feeds with the use of even less screen real estate. I use this to check on Stockchart's blog posts. 5. Another extension, called Chromey Calculator, gives me a calculator - based on Google and Wolfram/Alpha. To call it a calculator gives it not justice, but it was an effective way to draw my attention from the tons of extensions available.

Posted by: Michael Lim August 17, 2010 at 12:35 PM

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