Are you the Internet Explorer type, or do you prefer Firefox for Web surfing? You might be riding the Netscape bandwagon. Surely, you’re not still using WebTV.

A good portion of my job requires that I monitor clarionledger.com constantly and make sure you’re reading the very latest news updates. I’m in and out of Internet browsers all day.

MANY BROWSER CHOICES

If you took a close look at the Internet browser wars, you’ll find Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Inc.’s Safari as the three top gladiators.

Bringing up the rear would be Netscape Navigator and Opera. You also have AOL’s browser, which wanted to set itself apart from the others but uses a version of Internet Explorer. And do you remember iCab, which is another alternative browser for the Macintosh that was developed by a German software company?

WEBTV IS ALIVE

Believe it or not, there are still some WebTV fans out there. This browser technology used your television as a monitor and enjoyed a short run in the spotlight during the late 1990s. Later Microsoft Corp. took them over and renamed it MSN TV.

WebTV was probably ahead of its time. With today’s flat-panel TVs, it might stand a better chance of survival.

You also might not be familiar with Konqueror. It was developed to be a file manager, document viewer and browser.

It uses a version of HTML called KHTML and has ties to Unix and Linux technology. According to their Web site, it’s one of the fastest browsers around.

And in case you didn’t know, Safari, which was unveiled in 2003, is based on Konqueror coding, which gave a huge boost to Konqueror fans.

No matter which browser is your favorite, it’s the features that make navigating the Internet an exciting task.

TABBED BROWSING

One feature I really like in Firefox is tabbed browsing. This allows you to open multiple Web pages in one window.

With a simple menu command, you keep your current page and add another. Tabs show the page names and allow you to switch by clicking the tab.

I keep several different Web pages open in tabs, instead of opening a new window for each.

For Firefox users, look under the File Menu and select New Tab. Safari users can follow the same steps. If you have Opera, you’re also in the game.

This feature alone might be worth upgrading to Internet Explorer 7. If you’re still using an earlier version, you’re out of luck unless you download and install the MSN Toolbar plugin.

RSS FEEDS

Perhaps my latest favorite thing is subscribing to RSS feeds for news headlines and news releases.

If you’re not using them, you’re missing out on an enhanced Web experience.

It allows information from topics you select to appear in a list in your menu bar.

Click it once and you get a long list of topics. Select a topic and you’re whisked to the Web page that contains the information.

When surfing around the Internet in Firefox, look for a little orange symbol that looks like a sound wave in the corner of the Web address window.

If you like the page, click the orange symbol and follow the instructions.

Doing most of your work on the Internet using browsers might sound like fun.

But I’ll stop short of saying it’s a dream job.

At the end of a long day, I’m still worn out and have to drag home.