Avant Browser - Single handed at it's best
reviewed by StevenBurn on 9/17/05, updated Sept 2006, Apr 2008 by ClifNotes, permalink - Web Browser
From Clif:
Back in 2005, my friend Steven Burn reviewed Avant Browser here. It's really been doing well as a replacement for Internet Explorer. I've never been a big fan of IE by itself, although I do hold out some hopes that IE8 will be better since they claim it will support web standards more closely.
This week, I saw that Avant is the top mover at Download.com and has been downloaded over 20,000 times this month alone. I'm not surprised. Since the last time I used Avant, they've added many new features and enhanced the older features so that users will find that it's much nicer than plain old IE.
- Online Profile Storage
- AutoFills
- Flash Animation Filter
- Built-in AD/Pop-up Blocker
- Built-in RSS/ATOM Reader
- Additional Mouse Functions
- Multi-Window Browsing
- Real Full Screen Mode and Alternative Full Desktop mode
- Built-in Search Engine
- Full IE Compatibility
- Control Your Privacy
- Safe Recovery
- Customizable Skins
Avant also now has a great stand-alone or portable version that works nicely on a USB thumb drive. If you decide to try out the portable version, all you have to do download and unzip it. You don't even have to be an admin on your PC to run it. If you don't like Avant portable, just delete the folder to uninstall it. It's not a big download, so there's really no reason not to give it a try.
Here's a personal tip. Avant has an awesome full screen mode (F11 key) that removes all the toolbars and menus from the screen. When you have multiple tabs open, just hold down your right mouse button and use the scroll wheel on your mouse to quickly switch between tabs.
You may also know that I'm a big Firefox fan. Sometimes I need to use IE when a website like Windows Update demands it. Avant uses IE's rendering engine, so that's not an issue. You'll also have to make sure to keep IE up to date so you don't have security holes in it. Scanit.be is a great place to see if any of your browsers are out of date.
From Steven:
click image to expand
Listening to Iron Maiden this afternoon, I heard "Journeyman" and a phrase within the song jumped out at me - "I know what I want, I'll say what I want and no-one can take it away". This very phrase sums up my feeling towards Avant Browser, having tried almost all of the "IE" and Gecko shells available, I have found I know what I want, and have only found what I want in a browser shell, in Avant Browser.
This wonderful application, the sole creation of Anderson Che, provides everything you could want in a browser, for free!. Although susceptible to the same flaws as the IE core, Avant has something IE does not - a dedicated developer that actually cares about us, the users!. Having been an Avant user since late 2003, early 2004 I've found myself growing to love using it more and more with each new release. Avant Browser provides (out of the box) an MDI interface (allowing multiple web pages within a single window), popup/ad/flash/script/sound/image/video and ActiveX blockers, along with an RSS reader, groups, and a whole host of other additions (and as an added bonus, I can use the generic IE contexts and restricted/trusted sites features etc). Had Avant NOT provided this, though it would have been less useful in the eye's of some, it would still be the shell of choice for myself as I am not stuck having to go through a learning curve to figure out how to block this, where to download that, as is the case with the likes of Firefox, Mozilla and K-Meleon etc.
Being a moderator on the Avant forums, developer of Avant utilities and generally loving all things Avant Browser related, one could say I am completely biased (which strangely, I cannot deny) and thus, my opinions are inherantly flawed, however, having been an AOL user (with the exception of trying Tiscali, this was possibly the worst experience of my life), trying Green Browser/Maxthon/Firefox/Mozilla/Opera/[insert browser/shell name] et al, I'm afraid the only answer I would be able to give to this argument would be to try it and decide for yourselves.
Myself aside, those having trouble finding their way around Avant, are provided with a wonderful support team in the form of the Avant Browser Forum moderators and admin's. These gents (and ladies) work tirelessly to ensure you find the answer you require and thus, are able to utilize Avant to it's full potential.
Homepage: http://www.avantbrowser.com
Support forums: http://forum.avantbrowser.com
Be sure to check out Steven's right click menu extensions for Avant.
http://support.it-mate.co.uk/?mode=Products&p=abextensionpack