So as we all know Firefox and IE are the two main browsers. Safari is coming up fast though, but there are so many more browsers you have not tried. You just figure “Hey, Firefox works fine for me and it’s great!” That may be so, but without trying all of the alternates there is really no way to tell. Most of you have tried at the most 2 browsers and that’s it. I am going to go through every browser I can find on the internet for the Mac OS X. Many of these browsers work on more then that, but I run a Mac, so that is how I am going to do it.
The browsers I have tested are:
- Firefox 2
- Safari 2
- Flock BETA
- Camino 1.5
- Netscape 9
- Find it! Keep it! BETA
- Opera 9.5
- Sunrise
- Shiira 2.2
- SeaMonkey
Those browsers are the browsers I have tested. I will also tell you what my favorite one is. I will not do any speed reports. If the browser is noticeably fast or slow I will mention this, but I will not time it. I find most browsers are one or 2 seconds difference at the very max (except IE 5.5 which is very slow.) Also I will not be putting any Add-Ons onto them. Simply as you download it is how I rate it.
Firefox 2:
Firefox has been around for awhile and has the awards to prove it’s greatness. This is a great browser. It’s fast and reliable. Enough Add-Ons to blow your mind. There are so many people who use it tech support is a breeze. Not only that, there are updates frequently. Now for the pros and cons list:
Pros
- Widely used. You can go on just about any site and it will work.
- A lot of Plug-Ins. If it doesn’t work the way you wanted it to there is probably a plug-in for you.
- Source is color coded. Very handy if you are a web developer.
- Super easy to customize the look and feel.
Cons
- Compared to other browsers, I don’t find it as “pretty.”
- Takes awhile to boot up. Noticeably longer then the others.
- Loading bar is extremely inaccurate.
- Just not really a stand out browser after I had researched all these alternatives.
Download it at: http://firefox.com
Safari 2
Safari is a newbie in the browser world. It’s been introduced to windows in a BETA and is now the default browser for all Apple products such as the iPod Touch, iPhone, and all the computers. It’s got great CSS3 compatibility and as a web developer I enjoy adding text shadows in simple CSS and I’m glad some one supports it. I also love the fact you can go to youtube (or any other website with flash videos or any media for that matter) and open Activity in Window and copy and paste the flash video link in Downloads and have it downloaded. Private Browsing makes this a unique browser also. Turn it on and nothing is saved (back and forward buttons will work until browser is shut off though.)
Pros
- Has really great CSS3 compatibility.
- Opens nice and quick.
- Love the “snapback” feature. Great for Wikipedia and Google when you get lost searching.
- Has a really neat Debug mode. (You need to turn it on in the Terminal)
- Private Browsing. Great for shopping for gifts when more then one person uses your computer.
- Using Downloads and Activity in Window you can download Flash files super quick.
Cons
- Source is not color coded.
- Shuts down at random times. (Huge con)
- Is not widely used yet. Support isn’t as easy to find as is for Firefox.
Download it at: http://www.apple.com/safari/
Flock BETA
So where do I start for this browser. It’s not like any other browser. It IS the Web 2.0 browser. It really is like no other browser. If you use Photobucket, Blogger, Wordpress, Flickr, Youtube, or even have your hosted blog you should use this browser if you use any of those services on a day to day basis. You can simply drag and drop photos and video into the media browser and have it uploaded to any of your accounts. You can write blogs and publish them from the browser as well as copy and paste all kinds of content to the web clipboard for later use in a blog or or maybe just a link to revisit. I really suggest you read my pros and cons and then really go to their site. It is supported in Windows and Linux as well as Mac.
Pros
- Great for anyone who uses any “Web 2.0″ services or blogs. Makes it really quick and easy to add or delete content.
- Has a web clipboard to save just about anything to for later use in a blog or just about anywhere.
- Really nice design and layout for the browser. My favorite design for a site.
- You can add search engines from just about any site to your search bar on the top right. For example I have Myspace, Photobucket, Urban Dictionary, and Wikipedia for extra search engines.
- Code is color coded, but you can also highlight, on the webpage its self, and right click and do view selection source. This makes it quick to look at a certain part of a site and not having to go and look around for the code.
- You can use many, but not all, Firefox plug-ins.
Cons
- A bit clunky looking before you make some customizations. A huge fix I found is by just getting rid of the bookmark bar it makes the browser window much more clean.
- Really has no plug-ins for its self.
- Community is not big yet and support will be harder to find.
- Only in BETA at the moment.
Download it at: http://www.flock.com/
Camino 1.5
Camino really is just a nice looking Firefox for Mac. Has some nice features though. Really love the icon and the design. It has spell check and session saving, but the best feature is the ad blocking. It not only blocks out the pop ups, but the physical ads on the web pages. I actually used this rather then Firefox once I found it. It is not my default browser now, but I will tell what is at the end of this blog.
Pros
- If you like Firefox, you will like this. It matches your Mac much better and you can migrate all the data from Firefox to it.
- Session saving makes it easy to save a group of tabs and come back to that set at a later time.
- Ad blocking. No not just pop ups, most all ads on any web page.
- You can drag items directly to the trash.
- Starts on a dime.
Cons
- Not to fond of how the bookmarks look and have had problems with being able to delete some.
- Not much a customizable search field.
- Not a whole lot of unique features.
Download it at: http://caminobrowser.org/
Netscape 9
What once was a major browser towering above them all is now not even in the top browsers anymore. Netscape 9 isn’t all that bad though. It actually has some really great features that I wish were in other browsers (without the plug ins). I like the green design and the icons within it also. It even has a built in weather feature that site on the bottom of the browser window with updates to the weather and temperature. Has a LinkPad so you don’t clutter up your bookmarks with temporary links you wanted to go back to. It also has one feature no other browsers, I know of, have but is actually pretty useful. It has a side browser. It opens as if it were a sidebar, but it opens a new browser window in the same browser window.
Pros
- Great new design. Came a long way from version 7 from little over a year ago.
- I really enjoy the “Mini Browser” for comparing sites.
- Imports from just about every browser.
- The LinkPad is just what I need because I find lots of links I want saved just temporarily.
- Weather and Forecast feature at the bottom of the browser is unique and it’s super cool.
- Fixes links if you type them wrong. For example, myspace.xom a dialog pops up asking if you meant myspace.com
Cons
- Not as much technical support as other browsers.
- Unlike many of the others which have nightly builds, Netscape seems to only have one version, 9.
Download it at: http://browser.netscape.com/
Find It! Keep It! BETA (15-25)
Another unique browser. I have yet to find another browser like this. Find It! Keep It! does what it sounds like it does. You go to a site and you can simply save the web page just like it is as you see it and tag the page for a quick find. I use it to save versions of my website or blog design and see it change over time. You can save you tube videos, streamed media, and more. Plus, after you save a site you could go back to it and show your friends and not have to wait for the video to load. You can also take your favorite flash games on the go. One big downfall however, it isn’t free unless you are using the BETA version like I have been. I have tested it from BETA Version 15-25.
Pros
- Unique from any other browser.
- Save any web page/site.
- Ability to tag web pages for quick finding later.
- Great support for file formats.
- URL notepad for saving links in addition to bookmarks.
Cons
- VERY little support.
- No view source (well, at least I cant find it)
- UI not to clean.
- Still in early BETA stages.
- No tabbed browsing.
- Had some problems with it on some websites. I believe those issues were addressed and corrected after a bug report.
Download it at: http://www.ansemond.com/
Single User License - 39.95
Family License - 69.95
Opera 9.5
Opera is another old-schooler here in the browser world. Used to be the third alternative in the browsing world after IE and Netscape. Now it’s fallen back a little in the desktop browser world, but taking a huge leap in other places. The Nintendo Wii uses Opera to power their browser and you can download the browser for your cell or Pocket PC. It’s free for desktop use and not for most other ways of using it. Wii is 5 USD and smartphones are about 8.50 USD. Opera is no where behind in features though. Many features are not used enough. Many no other browsers have. Such as control clicking on ads to block them or the note pad for jotting down notes.
Pros
- Been around the block before. Has great support and is very stable.
- Note Pad. Jot down notes on anything for later use.
- Block content with a simple key stroke and keep it blocked.
- Speed Dial allows you to use a key stroke to open a favorite site without having it take up room in the bookmark bar as in Safari.
- Great CSS3 compatibility.
- Saves the tabs you closed in a trash bin. You can then open one if you accidentally closed one or wanted to get back.
- If you know about the Firefox Web Developer plug-in and you liked it, Opera has something like that built in. All those features, but under view > style. If you haven’t heard of it, it outlines block elements, shows tables, switches to black and white, disable floats and more.
- Has a zoom feature in the status bar area.
- BitTorrent app built into it. No need for a separate one.
- To many more to talk about in one list!
Cons
- Still not really a browser that web developers develop for. Many web applications do not fully support it but support Firefox, IE, and Safari.
- It has trouble viewing some sites because of how it is strong on web standards.
Download it at: http://opera.com
Sunrise
Sunrise has changed a lot in the last couple versions. It used to be a lot about web developing and is slowly changing into another browser for every day use. Huge changes such as a editor in it and now, no editor. Transparency in the editor, but now only for the web pages. There are a couple really cool features though. One is save a web page as a PDF. Pretty usefull because it saves the entire page. Another is thumbnail pops up when you hover a link. Very cool. This can be done with plug-ins on other browser. Another is the ability to resize a screen to 640, 800, 1024, and 1280.
Pros
- Specific screen resize. Good for web developers.
- Opacity bar. Change the opacity of the web browser.
- Save a entire page as a pdf.
- See thumbnails of web pages by hovering them with the cursor.
- Cool looking thumbnail bookmarks.
- Has a view source with. You can set it up so it will view source if your favorite text editing software.
- The tab design is my favorite.
Cons
- No support. Small project from what I have found out about.
- Has been many changes to the UI and more.
- No built in view text source.
Download it at: http://sunrisebrowser.com/en/
Shiira 2.2
Shiira has made vast changes in the browser since the 1.0. I started using Shiira probably about a year ago when I was trying to find an alternative browser to Safari. Shiira came up and it looked really neat. The GUI has changed a lot and one feature on this is above them all. The Tab Expose feature. You can view all the tabs you have open in an Expose feel. Super great and the best feature on any browser in my opinion. It also has the normal tabs in case you liked them better, but you can also have thumbnail tabs. They are thumbnail pictures instead of tabs. Very cool.
Pros
- Tab Expose is a whole new way to have tabbed browsing.
- Thumbnail tabs make it easy to view websites with close to the same title.
- You can save the page as a printable PDF.
- You can view the source and it comes up in a window that has the CSS, images, HTML, and more all in this little source editor
- Cool page transitions. Makes it look like a book.
- You can open all the links by highlighting them and right clicking.
- Private browsing as in Safari.
- Fastest start up browser yet.
Cons
- Every time I try to open iCart it shuts down and resets my custom browser settings.
- Pages seem to take a MUCH longer time to load. I made sure it wasn’t just my internet by using other browsers and it just is Shiira. It wasn’t like this prior to 2.0. I think it has to do with the thumbnails or Expose.
- Not very much support, but it is updated constantly.
- Find Job is in Japanese.
Download it at: http://shiira.jp/en.php
SeaMonkey
SeaMonkey looks just like Netscape 7 on the Mac. If you don’t know what it looks like, it looks like, an 80s browser. It is Mozilla based and is pretty much Netscape 7. It has a nice little email client, but doesn’t really beat Mail which is built into the Mac. It also has an address book, but still, doesn’t beat the built in one on the Mac. One feature I do like is the built in text editor. Renders fast, but still, just reminds me of Windows 95 way to much.
Pros
- Really great built in editor. Best of any browsers.
- Built in Email client.
- Built in address book.
- Hover above tab and view a thumbnail.
Cons
- Reminds me of Windows 95 with the modern theme and looks just like Netscape 7 on the Classic theme.
- Massive file size for a browser. Just in comparison, Safari = 18MBs and SeaMonkey = 64Mbs.
Download it at: http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/
Overall Favorite 3
So what are my my personal favorite three? I put the three into reasons why you would use them and I am now creating a script to find you the best browser. Just put in details and tell you the best browser for you and why, but until then here is my reasons:
Just average user who wants stability and want to make sure it supported on almost all sites? You want something fast? Something that if it breaks you can find support fast? Then Firefox is right for you.
Web developer? Want to be able to outline elements on a web page. Want to validate the markup? You want something stable? You want something other people use, but want all the features for a web developer and also for home use? If this sounds like you I would go with Opera.
Are you a Web 2 o’er? Do you blog and use photobucket? Do you upload photos to Flickr on a regular basis? Do you find your self on websites and find content you want to blog about but have to open a text document to put content for later use? Do you like Web 2.0 design? Are you finding subscribing to videos on youtube? Are you a del.icio.us user? The I would most likely go with Flock for all your Web 2.0 needs.
My Personal Favorite Browser:
Flock
Flock has been my favorite browser ever since I downloaded it. I have used many, many browsers, but none of them really did everything I needed. The look I love as a graphic designer. The Web Clipboard is something I have always been looking for. I like it better then the Notes in Opera or the LinkPad in Netscape. I also love viewing the selection source. I even wrote THIS blog post IN Flock.
This blog took me months to do, and a week to type. I am hoping someone finds it useful. I also hope that people will find my Browser Picking script useful as well.
Blogged with Flock
What is so great about Photoshop? Yes, it’s