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This week, Ars Technica’s Eric Bangeman posted an exhaustive comparo shootout among nine OS X Web browsers. Eric notes:
The contenders are: Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.2.3. (freeware) Opera Software’s Opera 6.0.3. (Opera 6.0.3 is US$39.00 and includes a free upgrade to Opera 7.0 when it is released, although it can be run as free adware) iCab 2.9.5 (Still in the “preview release” stage, as a free download. iCab Pro, when released, will go for US$29.00, although a free “light” version will continue to be available) Camino 0.7 (freeware) Mozilla 1.4 (freeware) Mozilla Firebird 0.6.1 (freeware) Netscape 7.1 (freeware) OmniWeb 4.5 ($29.95 shareware) Safari 1.0 (freeware) Eric’s tests were performed on a Quicksilver G4 tower with dual 800 MHz processors, 1.5 GB of RAM, and a GeForce4 Titanium video card. Testing was done using a freshly-launched browser with an empty cache. Refer to Eric’s article for detailed benchmark results. I was not surprised that Camino and Firebird proved generally the fastest, with Safari close behind, as that squares with my own experience, even though I use much slower hardware and have a poky dialup connection. Eric’s evaluations of the various browsers also for the most part echo my impresssions. He found Camino fast, compatible and competent, but crash-prone, and development seems to have bogged down. Firebird is also deemed fast, with good compatibility and very nice preferences implementation with a smaller footbprint than the other Gecko/Mozilla based browsers. Eric objects to what he characterizes as a “non Mac-like interface.” I rather like the FireBird interface, and find it unobjectionable. I did find the current preview release build of FireBird a bit buggy, something Eric didn't dwell on. iCab is probably where we part company the most. Eric complains that support for CSS and JavaScript still lacking, and that iCab is slow. This is true, but I remain addicted to this browser, which for certain workaday tasks I do every day, such as posting articles to the Web and software downloads, no other browser is as convenient, and iCab is as fast in practical terms as the others. I also like iCab’s Download Manager and handling of Bookmarks and History better than any other browser. The Preferences dialogs in the latest OS X version is excellent, iCab’s implementation and configurability of its tabbed browsing feature is the best of any browser, and CSS/JavaScript support are coming. It’s also rock stable in the OS X version. iCab is the one browser I always have running. Internet Explorer is praised for rendering pages similarly to Windows versions and working seamlessly with bookmarks and settings from OS 9 and earlier (but iCab does this too). On the downside, Microsoft has terminated IE development, it doesn;t support tabbed browsing (fatal as far as I’m concerned), and it’s Microsoft software, which I do my best to boycott. I don’t use IE except in occasional emergencies. As Eric notes: “The current version feels like a quick and dirty port to OS X and has some problems with more complex web pages. It’s a shame that this is still the default browser in OS X installations....There is really no good reason to use this anymore.” I agree entirely. Mozilla is compatible and supports Web standards, but is humongously large and still uses user profiles, which are superfluous in OS X. I like Mozilla, and I think that if i were limited to just one browser, this would be it. It’s a competent jack-of-all-trades and master of many, and despite its bulk, it’s still very fast. Netscape is essentially an older version of Mozilla with some AOL bells and whistles added. I prefer to use the pure and up to date Mozilla. Netscape is a good browser, but development will stop with version 7.1. OmniWeb is drop dead gorgeous, feels and looks like an OS X application, is customizable and has a nice preferences dialog. Unfortunately, there is no tabbed browsing (as I said fatal), as with iCab JavaScript and CSS2 support are incomplete, and it’s slow, with some stability problems. I love the look and OmniWeb is an interesting browser, but I’ve never found any compelling reason to use it. I tend to go for speed (FireBird/Camino/Mozilla/Safari), or convenience/utility (iCab). Recent adoption of WebCore and JavaScriptCore technologies should help. Opera has a somewhat quirky interface that you will either like or not. I’m ambivalent. It has a floating Bookmarks palette, which I don’t like, but the preferences are very flexible. However, Opera is slow, and I’ve never warmed to it in multiple attempts. I am, however, delighted that Opera continues to confirm its commitment to the Mac platform. Diversity of choice in broswer software is a great thing, and I expect that some of these applications are going to fall by the wayside over the next year or so. Safari tends to be the “other” browser besides iCab that I use most lately. It’s not quite as fast as the Canino/Firebird cousins, but it’s close, and its rock-solid stability and overall dependability make it the comfortable choice. Apple has done an amazingly great job with Safari, given its short history so far, and it will only get better. It’s excellent already. Stuff I don’t like are the hideous brushed metal interface (but I’ve changed that to Aqua using Safari Enhancer), and the Download Manager sucks compared with iCab’s. I’m also not smitten with the way Safari handles Bookmarks, although it’s usable, and the tabbed browsing is great, although iCab’s implementation is better here too. In summary, I agree with Eric that no one of these browsers stands head and shoulders above the rest as a lead pipe cinch choice. I tend to use iCab as my general dogsbody utilitarian browser, and supplement it with whatever of the others is offering the best performance at the time -- essentially so far meaning that I switch among the Gecko/Mozilla fleet and Safari. And I also concur with Eric that no matter which of these browsers you choose, your surfing experience will be a positive one. I find this fleet of browsers one of the most compelling reasons to stay booted in OS X. Aside from iCab, browser development for OS 9 seems to be frozen at 2002. Eric ends up with a proposal for a composite ideal OS X browser, which would feature: I can get behind most of that, although I would specify iCab’s Bookmarks and History implementation, and I like its tabbed browsing and preferences configuration best too. You can check out Eric Bangeman ‘s excellent article here. fyi Macintosh Browser Smackdown From judson This URL.Hi Judson; Great minds think alike. See above. Charles
The OS X Odyssey archives may be accessed here: Note: Letters to Moore's Mailbag may or may not be published at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context. Opinions expressed in postings to Moore's MailBag are those of the respective correspondents and not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Editor and/or Applelinks management. If you would prefer that your message not appear in Moore's Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published. CM
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