Thunderbird is the stand alone email client (and newsreader), Firefox is the stand alone browser. There have been some changes/additions to FF/FB since 0.7 and I'm guessing MP finds 0.7 leaner than 0.9. I haven't yet tried 0.9 but compared to some other apps I'd be surprised if it would be considered "bloatware."

Mozilla is the app that includes an email client, newsreader, IRC chat and a browser. http://www.mozilla.org/
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sorry, mozilla suite, that's what i mean.

Firefox .9 is a lot leaner than previous versions, it doesn't make sense to stick with .7 as it lacks some features. It may work for you, but I find .9 works the best yet.
I tried Opera, but never could get used to its clunky interface. I also used MYIE2 for a time, that is until Firefox became available. There is no going back, except for the WindowsUpdate and occasional problems with IE specific sites. Still it works the best for me and if MS cares about IE they sure don't show it. I want to use a program that has people working on it.

Opera's 7.5x interface can be streamlined considerably. I also didn't like the default with all the stuff taking up space so I configured it to be more minimalistic. But FF is pretty cool too.

Crazy Browser. It's easy to use. No hassles.

Crazy Browser as I recall is an IE shell. Of the IE shells I prefer MyIE2, but Avant is also popular. (Just thought I'd toss that out there in case anyone wants to look into those. Bascially they all use IE but add more features.)

Opera 7 - Very fast.

I was using IE, but I just got a DirectTV Tivo so I can watch The Screensavers every night and IE started reminding me too much of Swiss cheese, so at the moment I'm using Firefox 0.9.1. But I'm thinking of giving Opera a look. As a note- I replaced Outlook Express with Thunderbird while I was at it.

Looked at Opera. Don't want to have to pay for my browser and I don't want ads.....

I use mozilla..I love it.I dont use the e-mail chat or the newsreader..if i need to use ie i choose slimborwser...basically an addon like myie ...but similiar to mozilla. I ve tried opera and firefox but wasnt impressed with either I get rid of all the default settings and use a very few icons etc

Its My Secret

http://news.com.com/IE+flaw+may+boost+rival+browsers/2100-7355_3-5250697.html?tag=cnetfd.buzz

More recommendations for non-IE based browsers.

http://isc.incidents.org/diary.php?date=2004-06-29

Story starts on Slashdot.org Even if you don't want to use Mozilla/Firefox or Opera for your daily browsing, you might want to use it for your online banking and bill pay.
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Went from Mosaic to Netscape (1 till 4) to Mozilla and then to it's spin off FireBird (0.6 and upwards), erm, Fox.

Never been an IE user. Never liked the interface. Same goes for Opera.