Mac Users: Safari? Or another browser?

[SpartanDC]

I use Firefox because a Web site I have to access for work, while it technically works on Safari, has far more features available if I access it through Firefox. For the most part, though, I find the two browsers almost equal.

I have found that some web sites that require IE can be fooled if you use Opera, which can present itself to other servers as IE or several other web browsers.

[Sleel]

I use Safari most of the time, Firefox very occasionally for problem sites. It’s really a small thing, but I particularly like having the close box on the actual tab as in Safari rather than at the edge of the page like Firefox for the three advantages it gives: 1) You don’t need the tab to be in the foreground to close it, 2) You don’t have to move your pointer very far, 3) You don’t have to double check to make sure you’re not closing the wrong tab.

One thing that was added on to Safari from Firefox, though, was the confirmation dialog when closing a window full of tabs. Stock Safari will let you close it with no argument or warning, Firefox will ask if that’s what you really intended to do. I like that behavior, so I added it on to Safari with Taboo. (I have “Open ‘Safe’ Files on Download” disabled, the way it should be for good 'net security, so I didn’t even realize that it blocked the download dialog until I looked up the developer website just now.)

For those who don’t like ads and popups, I have two concatenated words for you: PithHelmet. I don’t see the Google ads that everyone seems to detest because I use it. I’ve had to browse without it when I’m not using my computer and holy hell is there a lot of annoying moving flashing pop-upping crap out there that I don’t normally have to deal with because of PithHelmet. Best. $10. Ever. Spent.

[rjung]

Safari primarily, with Firefox to test new web sites.

Never ran into a problem with browser support, either.

[rbroome]

@Majikthise

Safari’s html rendering engine, khtml, also happens to be open source. It is the same engine used by the KDE Konqueror web browser, which I use on my Linux machine. Many of Apple’s improvements to khtml have been incorporated back into Konqueror, which is nice to hear.

Agreed. Safari is based on an open source engine and Apple has provided a lot of improvements/fixes.

I use Firefox, but am happy/satisfied with either.

[picunurse]

@Johnny L.A.

I’ve only used Safari on Macs. (And I’m a new Mac user, having used them for only a year.) I like it, but eBay login takes a while when I used dial-up. (I’m on cable now.)

John, Could you e-mail me? I lost your address and i have an e-Bay question.

Sorry for the hijack, I use Safari. I’ve had virtually no problems and I’ve never seen a pop-up since the day I loaded it.

[Yookeroo]

@Sleel

I use Safari most of the time, Firefox very occasionally for problem sites. It’s really a small thing, but I particularly like having the close box on the actual tab as in Safari rather than at the edge of the page like Firefox for the three advantages it gives: 1) You don’t need the tab to be in the foreground to close it, 2) You don’t have to move your pointer very far, 3) You don’t have to double check to make sure you’re not closing the wrong tab.

Tab Mix Plus will fix that.

I like Safari better “out of the box”. It took a bunch if extensions to bring Firefox up to what I ws used to in Safari. But with extensions, Firefox now has more features for me (I particularly like “undoclosetab”).

[thirdname]

@AHunter3

I’m a Shiira user. The same underlying webkit technology as Safari but a nicer GUI and the damn links pop out a contextual menu when you click-and-hold, unlike Safari which requires a genuine right-click or control-click. (That makes a lot of difference if one is on a PowerBook).

I just downloaded Shiira. It seems like a nice browser, with some nice features Safari doesn’t have, but it doesn’t do that. Do I need to turn on the feature somewhere? Also the maximize button seems to make the windows disappear and not come back.

[tashabot]

I use a Mac at work exclusively (and I’m trying to get one at home). I’m not overly fond of Safari or the IE browser that came installed with my OS. It only took me a good fifteen minutes of downloading addons for Mozilla Firefox to make it the best browser in the building (even the IT guy scratches his head on how it goes this fast on the network). Now everyone here uses Firefox. Safari is a thing of the past.

~Tasha

[thirdname]

@riker1384

I just downloaded Shiira. It seems like a nice browser, with some nice features Safari doesn’t have, but it doesn’t do that. Do I need to turn on the feature somewhere? Also the maximize button seems to make the windows disappear and not come back.

Never mind, I found it myself on second examination.

[Gary_Robson]

I use both Safari and Firefox, but I tend to use Firefox more. It’s partially because of the extensions and partially because, like NurseCarmen, I find that Safari doesn’t block the popups as well.

[levdrakon]

I use Safari mostly. A few months ago I read an article about how Firefox was the browser to beat not only on Windows, but also Mac. I started a thread about it which didn’t convince me either way so I went ahead and tried the latest Firefox.

Yuck. It feels like a Windows program that somehow works on the Mac and is designed to make Mac users feel like Windows users.

I hate the the way text appears.

It’s pop-up blocker lets everything through.

It works like crap on this message board.

It’s irritating that every time I run it it spends time downloading updates that it tells me nothing about, but I’m supposed to be glad it’s doing all this without asking and forcing me to quit & restart so it can install all the things it downloaded without asking and is about to install without telling my why I want to install everything that it just downloaded without asking and now intends to install without telling my why but apparently I’m going to love whatever it is.

I did like how it imported my bookmarks from IE, and it’s handy to have around for those 2% of websites that are intent on forcing you to live in a Windows world. But really, do we live in a Windows world, or a World Wide Web world?

Safari works great on the web. Keep Firefox around for the every once in awhile sites.

[Large_Marge]

I tried Safari, Firefox and Camino on my Mac and didn’t like them.

Now I use Opera, and I find it more compatible than the others.

I’ve got Panther, on a PowerBook.

[slaphead]

@Large Marge

Now I use Opera, and I find it more compatible than the others.

It even handles our crappy MS-only intranet. I use Opera on my Mac, work PC and home PC. At some point I’ll get round to putting the series60 version on my cellphone.

[thirdname]

I’m going to make one last comment about Shiira. It’s similar to Safari but with some nice extra features, but it has one problem. When you drag a link onto a different tab, it open the link in a new tab instead of the one you dragged it to. I don’t know why they would make things that way, but it really interferes with the way I do things.

[robby]

I used IE until about four months ago, when I finally clued in to the fact that it was no longer supported by Microsoft.

I’ve since switched over to Safari. It’s pretty good, overall. I’ve kept IE around for problem websites that only work with IE.

However, some questions about Safari:

1. Is there a way to change the number of websites stored in History?

2. My bookmarks from IE were apparently automatically transferred over to Safari the first time I started the program up. Unfortunately that was about 2 years ago. Is there a way to reimport my IE bookmarks?

[rjung]

@robby

2. My bookmarks from IE were apparently automatically transferred over to Safari the first time I started the program up. Unfortunately that was about 2 years ago. Is there a way to reimport my IE bookmarks?

There’s a back-door hack here.

In a related vein, Safari users should check out Pimp My Safari for assorted plugins and extensions.

[lynne-42]

I use Mozilla/5.0 for quick stuff (most of the time) then to Firefox for more advanced stuff. Occassionally Safari if a site doesn’t work. Never IE. Been there, done that and like my security too much.

Lynne

[Sleel]

@robby

1. Is there a way to change the number of websites stored in History?

2. My bookmarks from IE were apparently automatically transferred over to Safari the first time I started the program up. Unfortunately that was about 2 years ago. Is there a way to reimport my IE bookmarks?

1. Unfortunately, not directly through Safari. Download a program called TinkerTool or use this hint from MacOS Hints to change the history cache size. TinkerTool is nice to have for other reasons and is nicer than working through the command line for changing settings.

2. Unless I’m missing something, you should be able to just reimport through the File -> Import Bookmarks menu item. On the other hand, I’m not running a standard install of Safari anymore, so that item might not appear in your menu.

[lynne-42]

@lynne-42

I use Mozilla/5.0 for quick stuff (most of the time) then to Firefox for more advanced stuff. Occassionally Safari if a site doesn’t work. Never IE. Been there, done that and like my security too much.

Made an idiot of myself, as usual. I went to Mozilla/5.0 (version Mozilla 1.7.12) (Firefox Plus!) when I wanted quick web page editing, and didn’t go back. Same engine underneath as Firefox. Didn’t go back to Firefox, just because Mozilla works fine even though I tend to use Dreamweaver for major web page generation and editing.

Lynne