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Real People Reviews™
by Daniel M. East
Browsing the Browsers: Web Choices for your Mac Expand
November 10, 2004
With the release of Firefox v.1.0 from Mozilla Foundation, the options and
choices for Mac-friendly web browsers improve, but what do some of these
browsers offer that we don't already get from Safari? Depending on your
needs, not much. There are some benefits from the added features in Firefox,
Netscape (remember them?), Opera and OmniWeb, but Safari still outperforms
them all. What Firefox does, more importantly, is provide a cross-platform
alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which continues to be riddled
with security flaws and a very dated interface. Even having said that, there
are still a large number of web sites (many of which are database driven)
that require IE for functionality and even *those* don't perform well
[enough] with Macs. With several choices out there (several based on Apple's
WebKit developer tool), there are some options and choices if, and only
if, you are frustrated by your current browser. It's good to try a few
and look at your favorite sites that require a few of the things that
might end up as "road blocks" to see what works best for your
particular needs.
Firefox 1.0
Like most web browsers, Firefox is freeware. With well over a year in
development, Firefox offers a simple interface, decent performance
and increased security options. With a huge amount of attention given to
Mozilla's beta program, end users truly contributed to the final release of
v1.0. Even WSJ's Walt Mossberg is recommending that IE needs to be put
aside. <link pending> Like most other browsers today, Firefox offers tabbed
windows, pop up blocking and auto-fill as standard. What Firefox did, rather
quietly, is include live browsing and RSS feeds beating Apple's release of
Safari under OS 10.4 (a.k.a. Tiger) to the public. After use with several
betas and the newest v.1.0, this is definitely a major contender with some
terrific features and added compatibility over Safari, but without the
faster rendering performance I get from Apple's Safari. For more on Firefox
1.0, check out Frank Petrie's review here: <http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/
<http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/>
Opera 7.5x
Opera is a browser with a loyal following and a history of creative features
that have come into their own in the current version under OS X. In addition
to the features of Firefox, Opera includes the options of built-in IRC chat,
an e-mail client and the ability to change the interface "skin" to your
liking. Even with some excellent control features, Opera still has a few
hurdles to overcome with unresolved bugs and a slightly slower performance
over some of the other browsers tested. Opera is available as both a
freeware version with advertising and a paid version that is ad-free.
<http://www.opera.com/products/desktop/>
Netscape 7.2
"Pet names" aside, and I won't mention them here, Netscape has come a long
way. With the addition of some cool features like "Click to Search" where
simply clicking on a word searches the web for more info; built in AIM and
ICQ; and, an update to the ol' Netscape Publisher feature, there is a lot to
offer for those who really want a full-featured browser bundle. For my
taste, too full featured; however, there is a lot to consider with the
latest carnation of this old standard. It is a bloated browser with a lot of
"because we can" type
features, but it is not without rhyme or reason.
<http://www.netscape.com/>
Shiira 0.9.3
This completely Cocoa-based web browser is based on Apple's WebKit engine
(same as Safari) and offers some great features for a product in its
infancy. With familiar features like tabbed windows and customizable
toolbar, Shiira has some graphical items like Cache space progress bar and
sidebar viewing of downloads, history and bookmarks. Since it is nearly
identical to Safari in page views and appearance, this is a fun - although
still a bit buggy - option if you like living on the edge of the web.
<http://hmdt-web.net/shiira/index-e.html>
TrailBlazer 0.52
In case you've never heard of it, TrailBlazer was developed by MacWarriors
and released at the University of Illinois' Engineering Open House in 2004.
Created entirely in Cocoa in Objective-C, this browser also uses Apple's
WebKit for page viewing, but applies features like "Graphical History" and
visual content searching. If using the ol' click and hold the backbutton
method of retracing your steps seems like too much, TrailBlazer allows you
to achieve the same results visually and easily providing a global history
of your time online.
<http://www.acm.uiuc.edu/macwarriors/projects/trailblazer/>
iCab 2.9.8
This shareware web browser is a work-in-progress offering some smart
features and, again, with a very loyal following in the Mac community. You
have the ability to block most advertising and allows
easy selection/deletion of the settings. With a Kiosk mode for full
screen viewing, HTML syntax checking on each site, site download manager,
and a preferences pane that allows total control over every viewing
and performance aspect of this browser there is a lot to see here. As a nice
addition, MisFox is included in the download archive so that Internet
settings may be more appropriately adjusted in the OS, itself.
Not for the faint-of-heart, MisFox is a freeware title that allows the user
to modify and view the file mappings and protocol helper applications (like
QuickTime, RealMedia, PDF viewers, etc.). While this browser is not quite
reliable enough for some users, it is a very well thought out and useable
product.
<http://www.icab.de/>
Camino 0.8.1
Camino (formerly Chimera) is the step-sibling to Firefox and certainly has a
life of its own. Using the Gecko rendering engine, there are some nice
performance features to this simple, fast and cleanly designed browser. One
nice touch is the "top ten" bookmark collection and site-by-site pop-up
block/unblock, depending on the need. Again, this is a beta release, so it
is a bit slow and still buggy; however, this is a nicely done browser that
may find its way onto more and more Macs once the final version arrives.
<http://www.mozilla.org/products/camino/>
OmniWeb 5.0
After a number of modestly successful releases, OmniGroup's browser still
has some terrific features that are even better in this latest version. For
just $29.95, you too can have OmniWeb. Actually, this is a browser with
style, power and some tools on board that you might just actually use. Are
they worth spending the thirty bucks for? For me, no. After all of the usual
features, OW adds password management, spell-check, and an HTML editor. You
want more? I'll give you more -- OmniWeb also features "workspaces" to
manage your history like Safari on steroids. Another favorite, site-specific
preferences that allow you to control cookies, pop-ups and more. Great app,
even if the price
stings a little.
The bottom line is that there are choices (should the need arise). It goes
way beyond Microsoft and, as one that is not so anti-MS but just doesn't
have the need for many of their products, it is good to have these options.
As a web designer, a general end-user or just if you enjoy a little online
Russian Roulette, it is good to have more than one browser so that you can
address issues like online banking, news sites, database form filling and
Java Applets that may or may not work in your current browser of choice.
These are a few of the products available, and, of course, there are more. I
would encourage anyone
interested in trying some of these browsers to read the reviews, check the
download sites and search the forums so that there are no unforeseen
problems. At the very least, it is interesting to look at each developer's
site to see just what makes them special.
Personally, I'm quite happy with Safari. It does everything that I need it
to do. I look forward to Apple's new Safari RSS version and to the new
versions of all of these titles. With developer tools continuing to get
better and more Quartz enabled applications on the horizon, the
web "surfing" experience is approaching high tide.
Daniel East continues to be involved with Apple products with nearly
25 years of experience. In addition to his freelance writing for a
variety of publications and media outlets, East is currently president of
a national music promotion/marketing firm, founder/president of
The Mid-Atlantic Apple/Macintosh User Groups Team (MaMUGs) and co-host
of “PC Talk Radio/Mac Edition” with Levin Communications. And he’s
a contributing editor for Macsimum News.
All trademarks are property of their respective owners. This review may be
reproduced with proper attribution. Please notify author of placement and
provide a copy/URL for reference.
©2004 Daniel M. East for The Mid-Atlantic Macintosh User Groups Team
(MaMUGs)
info@mamugs.com -
www.mamugs.org
_____________________________
A message from:
Daniel M. East, President
The Mid-Atlantic Apple/Macintosh User Groups Team (MaMUGs)
http://www.mamugs.org
deast@mamugs.com
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