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Rarely does a program come along that truly changes how you use your computer. Slimbrowser is one of those rare programs.

Its name may make you think "Great, even browsers are going on the Atkins diet", but Slimbrowser is actually more like Internet Explorer (IE) on steroids. The "slim" refers to its small download size. It installs on top of IE and adds all the features that should have been added to IE a long time ago.

Since it installs on top of IE and uses IE's engine, menus are the same (with some new additions), pages load the same, and your favorites will remain. This is what makes Slimbrowser so easy to learn and use - almost everything will look the same as IE.

By now you're probably thinking "So, what's the big deal?" The biggest deal is in tabbed browsing. This is becoming all the rage and for good reason. You know how when you've been surfing the web for a long time you get like 18 IE windows open that fill up your entire taskbar? When you want to find a page you have open, you have to click on all 18 until you find the one you are looking for. Slimbrowser uses tabs instead. If you click on a link that would normally open a new window in IE, Slimbrowser just opens a new tab. When you type in a URL for a web site, Slimbrowser automatically opens it in a new tab. If you want to get rid of a tab, just double-click it. If you want that tab back, just go to the edit menu and select Undo Last Close.

I can't emphasize enough how great tabbed browsing is. I really think you need to try it to appreciate its benefits. If you are a heavy web surfer, it will change the way you surf by making you much more efficient.

Tabbed browsing is really just the tip of the iceberg. It has been so long since I've seen a pop-up that I hardly remember what they look like. That's how good Slimbrowser's pop-up blocker is. You can even block ads on web pages. Imagine never having to see an X10 ad again!

Alias definitions is another cool feature. I know alias definitions sounds scary (I shied away from it for months until I got the courage to try it). They are actually quite simple. Let's say there's a site you go to often. Sure you could go to the Favorites menu and find the site in the list. But that's too slow. Instead, you could give that site an alias that you then just type in the address bar. The alias can be a word or a single letter. For example, to go to my email, I just type "e" in the address bar and hit Enter. To check the weather, I hit "w" then enter. Make it easy on yourself and give geekyjock.com an alias of "g" for quick access.

I've really just touched on all the features you'll find in Slimbrowser. Luckily, It doesn't overwhelm you with options. It simply inserts new options into existing IE menus. The real treasure trove is under Tools > Options... (Internet options... is still there, too, just like in IE). This is where you can configure Slimbrowser to your liking. Pop-up blocking and tabbed browsing is on by default, just like it should be.

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