Rating Nine OS X Browsers
1. Opera 8.0.2
Currently at the top of my browser hit parade is the Norwegian browser Opera, which I've had configured as my default browser (the one that opens automatically when I click on a link) since the first version 8 public preview was released back in January. Opera is arguably the most full-featured browser available, with tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, the ability to restore the last session you had open before quitting the program, full screen mode, mouse gestures support, extensive customizability, and even a built-in email client and newsreader.
However, notwithstanding it's everything including the kitchen sink feature set, Opera is relatively small and nimble, and very fast - indication of efficient and intelligent coding. I find that it mostly lives up to its claim of being the fastest browser on the planet, although some others are nipping and its heels. It also has a good download manager and smooth bookmarks import from other browsers.
The interface is the most unique of any Mac browser, but once you get used to have it makes pretty good sense. There is a neat pull-down Start bar in the URL field containing icons for Top 10 favorite links, Home and Bookmarks, as well as Amazon and Price Comparison search fields, and dynamic display of messaging features. This is all good stuff.
The icon on the right side of the address bar toggles display of the view bar, which contains several options to alter the appearance of a Web page to suit your needs. For pages that use a font that is too small, there is the zoom field, that allows you to zoom in on the page to make it easier to read. The Zoom function can magnify pages up to 1000% shrink them down to 20%. For pages that try to use too much space, and produce a horizontal scrollbar, there is the "Fit to window width" option that readjusts the page to remove the horizontal scrollbar, while still making it readable at almost any window width. Other features offered in Opera 8 include a "delete private data" option, a "trash can" that saves closed pages.
The "Show images" option allows you to choose if the page should be able to load all images, cached images, or no images. The "Author mode - User mode" option allows you to enable and disable style sheets on the page, including user style sheets or the in-built style sheets. The small, yellow security bar appears on secure sites and displays the name of the organization that owns the certificate. It also indicates the level of security present on a site. Opera supports Secure Socket Layer (SSL) versions 2 and 3, and TLS. Opera offers automatic 128-bit encryption, the highest available security of any Web browser.
One of the coolest features of Opera is the startup option of restoring the set of windows or tabs that were open at the end of your last browsing session.. When starting Opera, you can decide whether to:
Continue from last time
Continue from a saved session
Start with your home page
Start with no pages
You can also save a collection of open pages as a session and open them at a later time or in the middle of another session with just a mouse click.
Opera's '"Fit to window width" feature removes the horizontal scrollbar and configures Web pages to fit to the width of your screen or browser window, eliminating the annoyance of having to scroll horizontally, The "Fit to page width" feature improves printing.
Opera's Mouse Gestures let you use mouse movements control navigation. You can browse between pages, open and close windows, and navigate links with quick mouse movements. Opera lets you control pop-ups. You can configure it to block them all or open only pop-ups that you have requested.
Opera has proved quite stable since the first version 8 release. There was a bit of the rough patch after I upgraded OS 10.4.2 - not disastrous; just some flakeyness - but that seems to have subsided and smoothed out again with the release of Opera 8.0.2. The only thing that really bugs me about Opera is that it is so slow starting up, but once you're past that, it's a great vehicle for cruising the Web, and can handle your email too.
Operate is commercial software, and sells for $39, but there is also a free, ad-supported version that I find perfectly congenial to use.
Good stuff
Fast
Lots of features, some of them unique
Compact
Free ad supported version available
Not so good
Slow startup
Not the most attractive interface appearance, (but highly functional and interesting)
System requirements:
The current version of Opera is compatible with Mac OS X (10.2 and above)
For more information, visit:
http://www.opera.com/download/index.dml?platform=mac
2. Shiira 1.1
Shiira is a Japanese open source project based on Apple's Webkit for Safari, and it's the other browser besides Opera that I've been using a lot lately. In general, I would say that it's not quite as fast as Opera, but it's still very swift most of the time. Aside from speed, what I love about Shiira is that it just works, is delightfully small (the compressed file for downloading is only 2.4 MB), and has some interesting features like a Cocoa drawer that is actually useful, with three tabbed panels for Bookmarks, History, and Downloads. Cool.
Shiira has all the key features I look for any browser. For instance, a very nice implementation of tabbed browsing, and being a native Cocoa application, it has full support of OS X Services, which means that I can export selected Web page content into Tex Edit Plus or DEVONthink with a menu selection.
Shiira's default interface, which has been a bit funky in the past, now conforms to Cocoa standards, but if you prefer funky, a variety of optional appearance themes can be configured in the preferences. It also has smooth bookmarks import and can also share bookmarks with Safari, and it starts up quickly. As said, it just works. Indeed, I can't think of anything offhand to complain about. Sure that is freeware.
Good stuff
Fast
Small
Free
Good, useful feature set
Cool Cocoa drawer implementation
Not so good
Can't think of anything in particular.
System requirements:
Mac OS X 10.3.9
Shiira is freeware
For more information, visit:
http://hmdt-web.net/shiira/index-e.html
3. Firefox 1.0.6
Firefox, the Mozilla organization's flagship browser, is the most formidable challenger to Microsoft's Internet Explorer hegemony since the decline of Netscape in the late 90s. It's a fast, solid, full-featured performer that provides a very reliable browsing experience.
Firefox's main shortcoming is perhaps that it's a bit bland, partly because it is extensively cross platform. However, its support for plug-in customization can remedy that for those inclined to tinker. It's a speedy too, although I would say maybe not quite as fast as Opera and Shiira. Tabbed the browsing and pop up blocking are nicely supported, although I wish there were close buttons on the individual window tabs.
I find the interface the appearance a bit dull, but not unattractive, and it can be skinned. Start-up is a bit poky compared with Shiira and Safari, but it's quicker than Opera at getting up and running. Firefox is freeware.
Good stuff
Solid reliable performance
Supports plug-ins extensively
Actively developed
Fast with lots of features
Free
Not so good
Bland appearance
No close buttons on tabs
Firefox is freeware
For more information, visit:
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
4. Safari 2.0
The OS X mothership browser, Safari installs by default with OS X, and it's perfectly capable of serving most users' browsing needs very competently. Safari is fast, stable, and offers a comprehensive range of features.
That said, I've never really been a Safari enthusiast. As with firefox, I find the interface plain-vanilla bland and the features implementation likewise. It all works well enough, but blacks imagination, IMHO. Safari users also have to stay current with the latest OS X system upgrade/update in order to have the most up-to-date Safari version.
Back in the plus column, Safari is fast and stable. One oddball issue is that whether you use it for browsing or not, you need Safari around so you can set your browser default in its preferences (unless you have Camino), but since it installs with the Mac OS, that's not really so much of a problem as a quirk.
Good stuff
Fast
Installed by default with OS X - free
Good range of features
Stable
Not so good
Bland and not especially innovative
Only updates with the Mac OS
For more information, visit:
http://www.apple.com/safari
5. Mozilla 1.7.11/Netscape 7.2
Mozilla 1.7, and its fraternal twin, Netscape 7.3 are the last of the old - school suite browsers, descendants of old Netscape Communicator - king of the Web browsers before upstart Internet Explorer usurped the throne. However, just because they are not the flavor of the month doesn't mean these browsers take a backseat in the performance apparent. They use the same Gecko browser engine as Firefox and Camino, and thus are very speedy, thank you.
The downside is that they are being, humongous pieces of software, although the suite concept, which includes and email client/newsreader, IRC chat client, and Web authoring modules along with the browser, may appeal to some, especially those who had been using these browsers for a long time.
They support tabbed browsing, a popup blocker, an Image Manager that lets you block images to block offensive images or to speed up the rendering of web sites, find as you type gives you another way to navigate a page. Just start typing to jump from link to link or to find a word or phrase within a page, advanced security settings; Password, Download, and Cookie managers; Themes; multi-language and multi-platform support; and, the latest in Web Standards.
I haven't used either Mozilla or Netscape a lot recently, but whenever I take a sample look, I'm impressed by the speed and rock solid feel. Of the two, Mozilla 1.7 is the cleaner, purer candidate, without some of the extraneous bells and whistles AOL insists on cumbering Netscape with, and Netscape has ceased updating Netscape 7.0 for Mac now that Netscape 8 (Windows only) is out.
Both are freeware
Good stuff
Fast
Solid and stable
Include mail, chat, and HTML authoring modules for those who prefer a suite application
Free
Not so good
Bloated size
Not the latest technology
System requirements:
• Mac OS X 10.0 or higher
For more information, visit:
http://www.mozilla.org/products/mozilla1.x/
or
http://browser.netscape.com/ns8/download/archive.jsp
6. OmniWeb 5.1.1
OmniWeb was the first OS X native browser, but the current version 5.x is a totally different application based on the same WebCore technology used by Apple for Safari. It has a coterie of fiercely loyal fans and some features not available in any other browser, such as bookmarks rendered as thumbnail icons in a Cocoa drawer, and the Workspaces feature that allows you to configure a cluster of Web sites for the program to open automatically.
On the Web is a pretty good blood browser. I used it daily for several months during the version 5.1 beta stages, so I've given it a fair workout, but I never really warmed to it. The tabs as icons feature is interesting, and some people profess to love it, but I prefer conventional tabs, and it's not quite as fast as some of the other browsers by my reckoning.
I find Opera's restore session function more useful than Workspaces, and I like OmniWeb's bookmarks implementation the least of on any of these browsers. ON the other hand, the Download manager is one of the best in the business, and supports resumable downloads.
On the Web is also the only major Mac OS X browser that has no free or ad-supported version. It is $29.95 commercial software, and unless you really love one or more of its idiosyncratic features, it's hard for me to justify the price compared with what you can get for free. However, there's a 30-day free demo, so you can check it out thoroughly before paying the cash.
Good stuff
Cocoa native
Has some interesting and unique features if you like them
Not so good
Not free
Not as fast as Opera
Clumsy bookmarks
System requirements:
Mac OS X 10.2.8, 10.3.9, or later
OmniWeb 5.1 is available as a 30 day trial from
http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omniweb/download/
Note the trial period includes 30 separate days, not just 30 launches.
7. Camino 0.9.x
Camino is the OS X Cocoa open source variant on Mozilla's Gecko browser engine. It's a nice little browser, and has its fans who prefer its Mac like qualities as opposed to Firefox's cross platform generic blandness.
Unfortunately, Camino is a bit of an uneven performer. It can be delightfully fast on some web sites, and then draggy on others. And stability still leaves something to be desired. Another deficiency that has kept me from more than experimenting with it is that for some reason it does not support dragging and dropping text from other applications into Web page form fields, which is supported by all the other browsers profiled here, and is a essential feature for my usage.
Camino starts up quicker then Firefox or Opera, but it's not quite as quick as Shiira and Safari in that department. It can block ad banners and you can allow specified sites to bypass the popup blocker. Unfortunately, Camino still doesn't support resuming paused downloads. Camino still has powerful bookmark import capabilities, with integrated Rendezvous, Address Book top 10 list and Search, a Google Search bar, session history on back/forward buttons, improved cookie management, a more compact download manager, white-list for popup blocking, and incremental find-as-you-type.
One cool and convenient wrinkle in Camino 0.9 is that the Preferences now have a pull down menu for selecting the default browser on your machine,so that you no longer have to open Safari Preferences to set or change the default browser configuration.
I hope the Camino project will continue, and that the bugs will get ironed out. It has the makings of a wonderful browser, but it's not quite there yet.
Good stuff
Fast (most of the time)
Relatively small
OS X Cocoa native
Good slate of features
Excellent book mark import
Not so good
Still some bugs to work out and some stability issues
No drag and drop text support
System requirements:
• Mac OS X 10.2 or higher
Camino is freeware
For more information, visit:
http://www.caminobrowser.org/download/releases/09a1/
8. iCab 2.9.8/3.0
I had trouble figuring out where to slot I had in this list. On a one hand, it's the browser I have used continuously virtually every day for the past seven years or so, and I still find it, if not indispensable, at least my first choice for a variety of workaday tasks. It is rock solid, dependable, has a nice set of features including the best tabbed browsing configuration and page save functions of any browser (including the ability to have web archives to a single file with no need to redownload the images), and a good download manager, and one of the best � if not THE best � and most configurable Preferences interfaces in the business. Another cool and unique feature is the he 'All Links' contextual menu, which brings up a list of all the links on the page, and you can you can set the contextual menu appearance time lapse. iCab can search the Web using any of the major search engines, and is able to import bookmarks from Safari, Opera, Mozilla, Netscape, Phoenix, FireFox, OmniWeb, Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. There is a German precision about it the way it works that appeals to me, and it's very small. It's also the only rather still being actively developed for Mac OS Classic.
On the other hand, iCab is slow by today's standards (developer Alexander Clauss affirms that 3.0 is not yet optimized for speed). The version 3 public beta has finally addressed iCab's long-standing CSS and Javascript rendering issues, but at the price of spped and the introduction of some new bugs, which send me back to reliable old version 2.9.8. However, a speed optimized and debugged iCab 3.0 would rate a lot higher in this comparison than number 8.
I wouldn't want to be without iCab, but it's not really up to the task of being your only browser for general surfing as yet. Still love it, though.
iCab is still a free beta, but the final version will be $29.95 commercial software, although a free "light" version will continue to be available.
Good stuff
German precision - does some things better than any other browser
Extensive customizability and some unique features
Very small and operates with low system demands
Free, and a version will continue to be available
Can save web page archives as single files
Not so good
Slower than most of the others
Still some CSS/JavaScript
Full (final) version will not be free
System requirements:
System 7.1 through OS X (Version 2.9.x)
iCab 3.0 will run under MacOS 8.5 and later (MacOS 9 and later is recommended) or under MacOSX 10.1 and later (MacOSX 10.2 and later is recommended).
For more information, visit:
http://www.icab.de/
9. Internet Explorer 5.2
It wasn't difficult to figure out which browser to rate last. I only keep this relic around because once in a while you encounter a Web page that won't work with anything else.
Development ceased on the Mac version of IE more than two years ago, and its technology, which was far from state of the art then (e.g.: no tabbed browsing), is just plain outdated now. It does have a few desirable features, such as the ability to save Web page archives, and some users are partial to the Scrapbook feature which is not available on any other browser, but it's slow, can be unstable, any would be my last choice if I were to be limited to one browser.
Good stuff
Nice save features, Scrapbook
May be necessary for some pages
Not so good
Antiquated technology
Feature challenged
No longer being developed for the Mac
Charles W. Moore
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