I keep hoping I can find an alternative to Internet Explorer that allows me to navigate my work-based websites (which are Korean designed and based). I'm not sure why… I don't necessarily have anything against Microsoft, at least with respect to their browser, in particular. I guess I just like to keep my options open.
But the Korean-based websites are stunningly Microsoft-dependent. Last night, I had a moment of elation when, messing around with my laptop at home, I downloaded and installed the latest Opera browser. I went to my work website, successfully logged in, and saw normal-looking Korean hangeul writing instead of gobbledygook, which is what I get in both Google Chrome and Firefox. Nevertheless, the work website was useless because the ActiveX embedded site-navigation widget that appears on the left hand side (which, in fact, loads in Firefox successfully) failed to load in Opera. Net result: a gain in one area (flash-based rendering of Korean characters) was offset by a loss in another (navigation widget broken). Ultimately, I'm still married to Internet Explorer.
I like the Opera interface, though. I may end up spending some time with it.