what is your favorite browser in OsX??
i really like chimera's speed and looks and especially tabbed browsing, but too many times links and such don't work....netscape 6.2.2 is ok (most pages render well and links work), IE 5.0 is ok (all pages render well, but it is slow slow slow)....have yet to try mozilla and omniweb....is there one (1) browser yet that really fly and render all pages and links in Os X???? thanks....looking to clean up my dock from the three browsers in it to hopefully only one...g
Comments
In my experience, Mozilla clearly beats Internet Explorer for speed, especially on any pages with tables. However, Mozilla still suffers from a painfully slow and clunky user interface. Open a new window... wait two seconds. Open the preferences... wait two second. Ouch.
OmniWeb also usually beats IE for speed. However, this experience comes from using it on a dual-processor Mac. OW is threaded *much* better than IE, taking advantage of both CPUs for rendering. OmniWeb's interface works like a dream. It couldn't be much better -- it is a true Mac OS X app in every respect. It wins out over Mozilla in every aspect with regards to the UI. However, OmniWeb has real problems with most CSS, most DHTML, and a bit of JavaScript. Also, because OmniWeb uses an NSView object for every single element, it gets very slow when rendering large and complex tables. Even with that NSView kludge (which is being completey re-written and streamlined for OmniWeb 5), OW is still faster than IE on my dual 500.
Mozilla:
+ Fast, accurate page rendering
+ renders CSS and DHTML very well
+ tabbed browsing
+ themes (this could be a '-', though, as it is another example of how it fails to adhere to UI guidelines)
- slow interface
- impossible to customize the toolbar without rewriting some XML code.
- awful downloading mechanism
- completely freezes up when holding down the mouse button. click a menu or drag the scroll bar and all activity grinds to a halt.
- not threaded to take advantage of dual processors
- bloated! bloated! bloated! Mozilla is truly the "Swiss Army Knife" of browsers and tosses in everything but the kitchen sink.
- can't remove the bloat and opt for "browser only"
- Aqua elements are "faked" and don't operate as they should.
- uses fake, custom-drawn contextual menus
- *very* slow to launch -- it takes the same time to launch in OSX on my dual 500 as it takes to launch under OS9 on my 604e 250. WTF??
- does not make use of services in Mac OS X -- that means no spell check or any other service goodies
- does not properly respect the Dock's location and does not spawn a new window when clicked on
- some parts are extremely difficult to customize -- for example, to change Mozilla to you your default e-mail client instead of the built-in one, you have to hunt down and edit some code in a *.js file.
OmniWeb:
+ real, native Aqua interface that properly uses all Aqua elements
+ natively uses Quartz-rendered anti-aliased text
+ excellent toolbar -- quick to respond, easy to customize, extremely customizable, and looks pretty too
+ excellent download manager
+ very VERY threaded -- this means it can be rendering several pages at once and not skip a beat. also, this means that the whole app won't freeze up when you click the mouse, unlike Mozilla and Internet Explorer.
+ fully utilizes multiprocessor Macs (because it is threaded so thoroughly)
+ fast launch time -- initial launch is much faster than Mozilla and subsequent launches after the first launch are usually several seconds faster
+ uses services in Mac OS X -- I live for services! Mac OS X's spell check service is a godsend.
+ has an excellent privacy filter mechanism
+ filters ad banners
+ uses an auto-update mechanism to periodically check for newer versions
+ takes advantage of Mac OS X's speech recognition system for disabled users (or just for fun)
+ has a built-in source code editor with colorized syntax checking and highlighting
+ respects the Dock
+ has a feature to automatically check specified bookmarks for changes and displays the number of changes sites in an overlay on the icon in the Dock.
+ browser windows use proxies in the title bar
- slower page rendering than Mozilla
- renders CSS and DHTML very poorly
- renders some tables incorrectly
- no tabbed browsing yet (planned for 5.0)
Overall, OmniWeb "feels" much more like a true Mac OS X app. Mozilla, on the other hand, feels like a hacked port of a Windows app. True, Mozilla may be faster on the large pages and renders advanced code much better, but the browsing experience is far superior with OmniWeb. Whenever I do come across a site I need to view that OmniWeb either won't load or won't render properly, I just temporarily fire up Mozilla for it.
My vote: OmniWeb.
[ 06-07-2002: Message edited by: starfleetX ]
[ 06-07-2002: Message edited by: starfleetX ]</p>
swing
Actually, I tend to have classic running in OSX and often use IE for OS9...
<strong>Interesting...you guys find IE slow? To me it is by far the fastest (though maybe you guys have a high speed connection where I do not). I find OmniWeb just too slow, and Mozilla/Netscape are OK, not quite as fast as IE, but they do not load chat rooms, always telling me I need a non-existant plug-in.
Actually, I tend to have classic running in OSX and often use IE for OS9...</strong><hr></blockquote>
I agree about Omniweb being slow (cable modem w/ Airport). It's about the same speed as IE, if not slower at times. Even the latest of the Sneaky Peak/betas don't impress me, but they're much better than older versions of Omniweb.
OmniWeb seems faster for some pages, slower for others, but it looks the best and I like the interface.
IE may redeem itself when the update comes out, but for now I prefer to only use it when I have to.
Opera has potential, but I don't use it much at the moment. I'll wait for some updates.
Mozilla is decent, supports everything well, but I don't like the interface much. I only use it for testing pages I've created.
<strong>
Mozilla is decent, supports everything well, but I don't like the interface much. I only use it for testing pages I've created.</strong><hr></blockquote>
So just download a different theme.
<hr></blockquote>
I'd say it has, on my Cube.
Back on topic, OmniWeb is my browser of choice, with Mozilla as my backup when a page won't load. But in a few months Chimera will probably become my main browser as soon as the bugs are worked out and more features are added.
It's interesting to see what people are having luck using. I may switch. But I need the latest version of Flash and that rules out most of the newer browsers.
TiBook 667 (DVI) 768 Mb ram runnng on 10.1.5.
Bring on IE 5.5
Chimera is very nice though. Crashes too often on sites I go to though
[ 06-07-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>
I've been using Omniweb fairly exclusively since April of 2001, and it's really all the little things that it does right. Blocking pop-ups (I know Mozilla does this, but Omniweb did it first), the only browser I know of the blocks ads, Spelling services! (I agree with starfleetx, it's the greatest thing ever, sometimes I even write papers in Textedit instead AppleWorks just so it'll check my spelling as I type). Also, the great use of drawers and sheets, great preference options (like easy cookie management and the ability to have Omniweb pretend it's IE, which is great for stupid websites that think OmniWeb can't handle it's features, like iTools), and a really intuitive way of handling the browser history.
Now, I'll grant that OW renders some stuff incorrectly. But it renders most pages beautifully, and until 10.1.5, it was easily the best looking browser for text rendering, and it's speed as very very tolerable. For the few sites that won't work under OW for any reason, I use Mozilla (and will probably switch to Chimera as my backup browser when it's more full featured). I can't use Moz full time b/c, while it renders quickly, I have to again agree with starfleet the slowness (and ugliness and inconsistencies) of the Moz UI negates any speed advantages.
So, basically, IE offers nothing that OW and Moz don't. I see no reason to keep using, and I think it would be nice if Apple bundled another browser in addition to IE with Jaguar (similar to how both IE and Netscape come with OS 9). I'm all for options.
Netscape
Omniweb
Chimera
Mozilla
IE
Mozilla is the fastest, Chimera is the best looking, but the only one I can really use almost all the time is IE.
Try looking at <a href="http://www.jvc.co.uk"; target="_blank">http://www.jvc.co.uk</a>; and follow the products link. I think only two of the above browsers can render that page correctly. However IE isn't perfect by any means, it can't render the page <a href="https://www.dbai.dnb.com/uk/en/dbai_frame.html"; target="_blank">https://www.dbai.dnb.com/uk/en/dbai_frame.html</a>; correctly, the user ID box is in the wrong place. It also won't work with <a href="http://www.equifax.co.uk"; target="_blank">http://www.equifax.co.uk</a>; the rollovers don't work.
These three sites represent three very good test sites for browsers. Chimera will only work on 2 out of three for instance.
edit: I forgot about the popup ad blocking and the privacy settings that keep those damned annoying flashing ads off my screen. BIG points for that.
[ 06-08-2002: Message edited by: torifile ]</p>
<strong>It's gotten better, but pop-up windows and ads kill me. Also, IE seems to forget clicks a lot, so I have to reclick on a link when it decides not to load.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I used IE full time until about two months ago, when popup and -under ads (despite disabling scripting for the offending sites) started driving me nuts. OmniWeb was the obvious choice. It's sophisticated ad- and banner-blocking features are unparalleled. But as soon as I discovered <a href="http://chimera.mozdev.org/"; target="_blank">Chimera/Navigator</a>, I wcouldn't go back to any of the other browsers. Chimera is a brilliant example of simplicity. Unlike browswers that came before it, Chimera is a pure joy to use. I now download nightly builds of Chimera, and the progress is flabbergasting.
I don't visit a lot of secure or heavily scripted sites, so those features are less important to me. When I do need better compatibility, I start up IE or OmniWeb (which I paid for, out of principle and in support of its ad-busting stance). I'd rank my browsers as follows, in terms of time used:
1. Chimera, because it's fast and pleasing
2. IE, because everything works with it
3. OmniWeb, because it kicks ads' ass
I'm really curious to see what the final Chimera will look like. The big update to IE this summer will undoubtedly have an impact on its competition, which has been catching up fast. And sometime next year, there will be OmniWeb 5 as well. Long live the open market, filled with competition!
Escher
PS: I refuse to run Netscape and Mozilla because they are not standalone browsers. I can't stand these gargantuan pieces of bloatware that provide a bazillion functions I will never use.
PS2/rant: And what the **** is the deal with clicking on links in IE and them not opening? I've seen this god-damn annoying bug on some Windows version of IE too.