With browsers in particular, there are lots of folks who just don’t care what they use to get around the Internet. Many don’t even understand what a browser is. To them, the little blue “e” on the desktop isn’t a shortcut to start one particular Web browser out of many. It’s just “the Internet.” They don’t understand that there are good browsers and bad browsers. They don’t know, or care, that they even have a choice.

I’ve been a dedicated fan of the Opera Web browser (or Internet suite, as its supporters like to think of it) for about seven years now. For the last four of those years I’ve also been an Opera volunteer, working in one capacity or another to improve the product and encourage others to use it.

That last task isn’t always easy. Once you get people to actually try Opera, they become fans, but getting them to try it can be tough. The people who only know the little blue “e” often don’t care enough to install and learn something new, while fans of alternative browsers like Firefox can be just as dedicated in their beliefs as I am in mine, diehards who are difficult to persuade.

(For the record, I also like Firefox a lot. There are several Firefox extensions that I really enjoy and find quite helpful. When I need them, I don’t hesitate to load up Firefox and get to work. I always try to use the best tool for the job, and sometimes that’s the ‘fox.)

When it comes to evangelizing for Opera, I’ve often struggled to explain all of its advantages in a concise, easy to understand way. Fortunately, not everyone has that same problem. Yesterday, I came across a blog post from a Firefox user who gave Opera a shot and liked what he saw. I’ve read many articles like this over the years, but quite frankly, this is one of the best I’ve ever seen. It sums up dozens of Opera advantages in a fair, even-handed, open-minded way, a way that might actually encourage people to make the switch — or at least give Opera a try, after which they can make up their own minds.

I urge everyone, no matter what browser you use, to read this article: A Firefox Lover’s Guide to Opera.

A word of warning, though. Some of the features he talks about are only available in the new beta versions of Opera 9.5, which can still be a bit unstable. If you’re adventurous, by all means, check it out. You might find the benefits worth putting up with the occasional quirks of the beta product. You can always find the latest test releases and snapshot builds here: Opera Desktop Team. You’ll also find changelogs, comments from the developers, and interesting posts from volunteer testers.

If you prefer to use a tried and true stable version of Opera, then you can find it right here, along with tutorials and other helpful information, skins, widgets, an incredible user forum and the whole amazing worldwide community of Opera users.

Read, enjoy, try. Then pick the tool that’s best for the job, best for you.

Just remember that you do have a choice, and choice is good.

I’m going to study up on the arcane sub-field of Web development known as “IE hacks” — an array of tricks you can use to make IE6 (and IE 5 and IE4) behave properly — and with any luck, this site will someday look perfectly acceptable, even when viewed with an antiquated browser.

In the meantime, may I recommend one of the free downloads listed below? Any one of them is preferable to IE6. They’re more stable. They’re faster. They’re packed with many more features. They’re more standards-compliant. And most important, they are much, much more secure than IE6 could ever hope to be.

Check out one of them, or check out all of them. You won’t be sorry.

Firefox 2

Opera 9.1

Internet Explorer 7