Mac People: Safari or Firefox 3?
I've stuck with Safari till now for performance as well as aesthetics. I like the new firefox look on mac, and the performance is better as well. Anyone switching over? Why or why not?
56 comments
used to do safari. now im on firefox because of speed, and better extensions. lets see if safari 4 can turn the tables
I'm still sticking with Safari. Firefox's faster, but there's nothing that beats the speed of Safari on Mac, and in addition it is Cocoa (while Firefox is Carbon.) For some reason, this makes Safari feel like a more solid browser, and Firefox feeling like a typical Carbon app (whatever that is - just a weird user experience using it.)
If the dealbreaker is extensions, then I have to say that the only extensions I use in Firefox are Web Developer Toolbar and Firebug, which are excellent extensions. I only start Firefox to a) test sites on Firefox and b) use the aforementioned extensions.
Safari has a good built-in alternative to Firebug, which is available by going to Safari > Preferences > Advanced and checking Show Develop menu in menu bar. Then go to Develop > Web Inspector (or the other tools there.) Good for quick Javascript troubleshooting, as it also has a Javascript error/eval console.
In Firefox, I've found that other extensions usually make the browser more bloated and slower to use. They're nice, and sure, you could have ForecastFox tell you the weather, but it's not worth the bloat, in my opinion. And themes... :|
If you're like me, you'll miss a lot of extensions, but realize in the end that you don't really need most of them. del.icio.us was a favorite extension of mine. On Safari, I put the del.icio.us bookmarklet as the first bookmark on my menu bar. Then I hide the menu bar (apple+shift+b.) When I want to bookmark something to del.icio.us, I hit Apple+1, tag, save.
Firefox is a great browser, and Firefox 3 makes it even better, but Safari is a fast, no-frills, and great web browser. Although Safari has less 3rd party addons (and most of them superb, like Inquisitor) it's a web browser that does what you should expect it to do, and fast - browse the web.
If the dealbreaker is extensions, then I have to say that the only extensions I use in Firefox are Web Developer Toolbar and Firebug, which are excellent extensions. I only start Firefox to a) test sites on Firefox and b) use the aforementioned extensions.
Safari has a good built-in alternative to Firebug, which is available by going to Safari > Preferences > Advanced and checking Show Develop menu in menu bar. Then go to Develop > Web Inspector (or the other tools there.) Good for quick Javascript troubleshooting, as it also has a Javascript error/eval console.
In Firefox, I've found that other extensions usually make the browser more bloated and slower to use. They're nice, and sure, you could have ForecastFox tell you the weather, but it's not worth the bloat, in my opinion. And themes... :|
If you're like me, you'll miss a lot of extensions, but realize in the end that you don't really need most of them. del.icio.us was a favorite extension of mine. On Safari, I put the del.icio.us bookmarklet as the first bookmark on my menu bar. Then I hide the menu bar (apple+shift+b.) When I want to bookmark something to del.icio.us, I hit Apple+1, tag, save.
Firefox is a great browser, and Firefox 3 makes it even better, but Safari is a fast, no-frills, and great web browser. Although Safari has less 3rd party addons (and most of them superb, like Inquisitor) it's a web browser that does what you should expect it to do, and fast - browse the web.
> it also has a Javascript error/eval console.
It even has tab-completion, which makes it feel even more solid than what I've experienced with FF and various extensions.
I only open FF for FF-specific testing.
It even has tab-completion, which makes it feel even more solid than what I've experienced with FF and various extensions.
I only open FF for FF-specific testing.
http://delicioussafari.com/
It's shareware, but it only nags when accessing bookmarks, not when saving them (which is all I ever used the FF extension for anyway...)
It's shareware, but it only nags when accessing bookmarks, not when saving them (which is all I ever used the FF extension for anyway...)
When I switched from Windows, I went straight to Firefox because I felt comfortable there. But (3 years ago), Firefox started getting buggy and slow. I loved the add-ons, but I switched to Camino because it was more Mac-like and stable. But since Beta 3 for Firefox came out, I've switched back and been really impressed with it.
One feature that Firefox and Camino both have is the "Search for text when I start typing" which I use a lot for mouseless navigation.
I don't have any major gripes against Safari, I just prefer Firefox.
The GrApple Delicious theme for firefox is a must have for any Mac user.
One feature that Firefox and Camino both have is the "Search for text when I start typing" which I use a lot for mouseless navigation.
I don't have any major gripes against Safari, I just prefer Firefox.
The GrApple Delicious theme for firefox is a must have for any Mac user.
Safari has the search for text while typing now too. It's cool.
Really? How would I enable this? I don't see anything in prefs for Safari 3.1.1.
Command + F then start typing what you're looking for on the page. Command + G will proceed to the next instance of your search phrase on the page.
Okay, I think there is a misunderstanding. I want a feature equivalent to 'find as you type' in Firefox. Just start typing while the focus point is on the content area of the tab, and the first search result gets highlighted. No need for command+F.
This is really the main reason firefox is my default browser.
This is really the main reason firefox is my default browser.
This kept me on Firefox as well until I discovered SafariStand, which includes this feature.
http://hetima.com/safari/stand-e.html
http://hetima.com/safari/stand-e.html
Unless I'm mistaken, Safari can't do this:
There's the "logout" link on this page, I just start typing l-o-g..., and once it gets highlighted, I can hit return and it'll click the link for me. Or if I need to go to the next word, I can still hit command+G. I don't have to invoke Find either, I can just start typing.
There's the "logout" link on this page, I just start typing l-o-g..., and once it gets highlighted, I can hit return and it'll click the link for me. Or if I need to go to the next word, I can still hit command+G. I don't have to invoke Find either, I can just start typing.
Ahah I see what you mean. It never occurred to me to do that, but it's a cool trick. Firefox does have the edge on Safari in terms of features.
I guess the equivalent in Safari would be to cmd+f, type your word or phrase, press escape, then press enter. A couple extra steps but it does the trick.
I guess the equivalent in Safari would be to cmd+f, type your word or phrase, press escape, then press enter. A couple extra steps but it does the trick.
But can you navigate with it?
Camino
Camino has to be one of the worst browsers I have ever used. I don't know what they are up to. In my mind, Camino should simply be Firefox with Webkit replacing the gecko engine... but it's not even on par with Firefox.
One thing I hate about Mac in general is their hate for navigating solely with the keyboard. A lot of third-party apps do a good job letting you navigate using your kb only (such as cmd+1, cmd+2... to hit tabs in FF) but the last time I used Camino they were seriously lacking in that department. Clicking links with the mousewheel is also very important to me (to open in a new tab).
One thing I hate about Mac in general is their hate for navigating solely with the keyboard. A lot of third-party apps do a good job letting you navigate using your kb only (such as cmd+1, cmd+2... to hit tabs in FF) but the last time I used Camino they were seriously lacking in that department. Clicking links with the mousewheel is also very important to me (to open in a new tab).
Why is it one of the worst? Why should it “be Firefox with Webkit”?
Who are these mysterious “they”?
In Camino, I use the keyboard to navigate, and my third mouse button opens links in new tabs, with no problems.
Who are these mysterious “they”?
In Camino, I use the keyboard to navigate, and my third mouse button opens links in new tabs, with no problems.
I am just totally enamored by Webkit. It's insanely fast. I usually run nightlies and haven't hit a nasty bug yet.
yep. me too. i got FF3 too but i'm sticking with WebKit as my number 1 browser!
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FF 3. Just hope they get the bug fixed QUICK. Safari is a huge resource suck and horks on a lot of sites I use.
Safari is a resource suck? I always thought it was more efficient than FF.
It's fine on its own, but any time a site is using Flash or, heaven forbid, an applet, it would jump right to the head of the line, even with 70 or 80 tabs open in FF2.
Why would you have 70-80 tabs open in anything? When I have a lot of tabs open, I feel dirty and cluttered.
That's the life of a technology writer. I'm usually working several different stories at the same time. It's a mess, but it works better for me than trying to retrieve bookmarks. I keep meaning to check out one of the new research tools to manage it, but never seem to make the time.
I settled on Safari a while ago. I'll probably stick with Safari as my default, but make more use of firefox and it's plugins.
Compartmentalizing helps prevent the possibility of total catastrophe, so for me it's Firefox for work, Safari for personal business, Opera for browsing, Camino for everything else.
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I've like Safari's text-rendering better then FF in the past, but FF3 is looking great, and I'm intrigued by the ability to tag bookmarks.
Firefox + Foxmarks
^ no chance for Safari
I've switched back-and-forth a bit, but have settled in with Firefox. Not having the extensions I like is a killer.
For security reasons you need more than one browser anyway. One for webmail, banking and all kinds of private password-protected stuff, and the second one - for the rest. Which is which doesn't really matter, although personally I chose Safari for important stuff and Firefox for the rest.
One of the reasons I do this, in case you are not aware, is the IFRAME flaw, that allows a malicious web site to load, say, your bank's page into a hidden IFRAME, check to see if you are logged in and then - you guessed it.
(I just thought actually, could be the other way around, because vulnerabilities in Firefox are better known and more often exploited by not-so-trustworthy sites. So maybe it'd be smarter to use Safari for "the rest" and Firefox - for your banking, PayPal, eBay, webemail, etc.)
One of the reasons I do this, in case you are not aware, is the IFRAME flaw, that allows a malicious web site to load, say, your bank's page into a hidden IFRAME, check to see if you are logged in and then - you guessed it.
(I just thought actually, could be the other way around, because vulnerabilities in Firefox are better known and more often exploited by not-so-trustworthy sites. So maybe it'd be smarter to use Safari for "the rest" and Firefox - for your banking, PayPal, eBay, webemail, etc.)
Why not just use different profiles and run multiple instances of Firefox?
If I can run them simultaneously, then why not. Is it possible with FF?
I'm still sticking with Safari. Safari UX is just..nicer. To me, that is.
On the other hand, Firefox is definitely powerful and I love some of the addons, so I'll use it for development purposes - a lot of Firebug etc., have become moot with Safari's new and hot developer tools, but I still need to do some Firefox-specific things. But I don't want to spend so much time customizing how it looks/behaves.
On the other hand, Firefox is definitely powerful and I love some of the addons, so I'll use it for development purposes - a lot of Firebug etc., have become moot with Safari's new and hot developer tools, but I still need to do some Firefox-specific things. But I don't want to spend so much time customizing how it looks/behaves.
The main reason I stick with FF is for Firebug and the Del.icio.us plugins.
I find that having the 'Add to del.icio.us' bookmarklet in my bookmarks bar and then just hitting Cmd+1 whenever I want to bookmark something works pretty well.
I tend to hide the bookmarks bar because the way I use it, it just takes up unnecessary screen space, but the procedure above doesn't require it.
I tend to hide the bookmarks bar because the way I use it, it just takes up unnecessary screen space, but the procedure above doesn't require it.
FF3, here's why: 1) Add-ons. I can customize more than Safari and plugging into the cloud today is more important than ever. 2) Safari is snappy but the new release of FF puts it on par if not over the top. Safari is way better for pr0n surfing, however :P
Still running Safari, no reason or need to switch.
Safari to surf, Firefox to develop because of Firebug.
So far though, I am very unimpressed with the interface choices they made with Firefox.
So far though, I am very unimpressed with the interface choices they made with Firefox.
Webkit nightlies have an enhanced Web Inspector that's nearly as good as Firebug.
For me, it is far behind Firebug. I really miss keyboard shortcuts (at least for inspecting XHRs, please) and layout HTML/CSS inspection (not just highlighting elements while browsing tree).
It's certainly not there yet, but the Web Inspector in recent nightlies is a lot closer to Firebug than the one in Safari 3.1. That, and the advances the WebKit team are making elsewhere, gives me a lot of confidence that it's only a matter of time before Safari has a built-in web development tool and JavaScript debugger that matches or improves on Firebug in every area.
vimperator means that as much as i love webkit, i'll never leave firefox's insane quasi-native interface.
Neither, really...OmniWeb is better. Technically it is now using the Safari engine, but the browser itself is superior to Safari.
It has very nice per-site preferences, really smart privacy options, plug-in management, etc.
It has very nice per-site preferences, really smart privacy options, plug-in management, etc.
FF3. Apple developers succeeded in make Safari FEEL more solid but it crashes too often. I also wish Safari was as configurable as FF.
I use both. Safari's still got a better look and feel, I think, so that's my default.
Firefox is a -beast- on the mac. It drags and constantly seems to be using 5% of CPU, doesn't do fonts right, and hangs and lags a lot. So, i use Safari about 80% of the time.
However, it's got a lot of great plugins, so I use it for any questionable stuff and for proxied traffic, etc.
However, it's got a lot of great plugins, so I use it for any questionable stuff and for proxied traffic, etc.
Firefox 3- it's more stable, Del.icio.us integration is better on it, the awesome bar is awesome, and Greasemonkey works with it.
A lot of Greasemonkey plugins are pretty useless, but GoogleAutoPager is fantastic. It makes it so that Google searches are on an infinite page, as you scroll down the plugin gets the next page of results and slots them in so you never have to click next page
http://lifehacker.com/software/google/download-of-the-day-go...
Also, FF3 has Firebug. Game, set, and match.
A lot of Greasemonkey plugins are pretty useless, but GoogleAutoPager is fantastic. It makes it so that Google searches are on an infinite page, as you scroll down the plugin gets the next page of results and slots them in so you never have to click next page
http://lifehacker.com/software/google/download-of-the-day-go...
Also, FF3 has Firebug. Game, set, and match.
Safari seems buggy to me. For example, go to Google Docs, open a document and tell me what key combination jumps to the beginning/end of the line. (The answer seems to be none.) Same for Firefox. Opera is the only browser where this simple "feature" works. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Firefox. Definitely Firefox. The UI on Safari isn't really that good.
If you like your keyboard shortcuts that (mostly) work across all FF installations across all platforms, go with FF. If you're a Mac-only person, stick with Safari if you already know it well.
Also, FF has extensions which although there are good alternatives on Safari, I sincerely doubt there are as many good quality ones for Safari as for FF.
Also, FF has extensions which although there are good alternatives on Safari, I sincerely doubt there are as many good quality ones for Safari as for FF.
I use Safari for general browsing because it is fast and familiar. I use Firefox for web development because the add-ons and tools such as firebug and web developer toolbar can not be beat.