Web Browser Alternatives

[utilizer]

I get so sick of the "Unexpectedly quit" errors that Safari constantly churns out. It drives me up the wall to no end!
So I ask, while Safari is far faster and I'll miss the built-in search function, what is the second best alternative than using Safari?
Note: this is only an interim solution as soon as Apple releases the next version of Safari which I hope will be much more stable.

[Doctor Q]

Have you reported these problems to Apple? They have a team of programmers at your service, fixing bugs as fast as they can.

To answer your question, there are fans of each of the other browsers. Try them on the sites you frequent and see what you think. Some people care only about rendering speed. Others look for specific features, such as tabs. I happen to like OmniWeb (when I'm not using Safari) because of its superior cookie management.

[Rower_CPU]

Camino is a good browser, too.

Get it here (http://www.mozilla.org/projects/camino/).

In case you haven't already, try repairing your permissions to see if that helps Safari. I haven't seen more than one "unexpected quit" on any of the many systems I've used Safari 1.0 GM on.

[Schiffi]

Yeah, I've had Safari crash until I removed the Conduit settings. It was all good though. As for a browser? Anything under mozilla always works well.

[XnavxeMiyyep]

Definitely use Camino. It's faster than Safari.

[sparkleytone]

i find your problems with stability to be interesting. i have absolutely no problems with safari generally speaking. i cant even remember the last time it quit on me. on the other hand, its pretty easy to crash camino for me. i guess your mileage may vary.

[alset]

Originally posted by utilizer
I get so sick of the "Unexpectedly quit" errors that Safari constantly churns out. It drives me up the wall to no end!
So I ask, while Safari is far faster and I'll miss the built-in search function, what is the second best alternative than using Safari?
Note: this is only an interim solution as soon as Apple releases the next version of Safari which I hope will be much more stable.

Camino. Every feature in Safari is there because Camino had it first (with the exception of the Google bar, which is a bad idea, anyway). Camino is smoother and faster. It'll liberate you from Apple's underdeveloped Safari.

Dan

edit - I hate to say it, but Camino is still missing autofill.

[FredAkbar]

Originally posted by alset
Camino. Every feature in Safari is there because Camino had it first (with the exception of the Google bar, which is a bad idea, anyway). Camino is smoother and faster. It'll liberate you from Apple's underdeveloped Safari.

Dan

edit - I hate to say it, but Camino is still missing autofill.

On the other hand, Safari looks better (in my opinion), launches more quickly, and is smaller. And I don't think the Google bar is a bad idea at all--I use it quite often.

I use Safari, but I like Camino a lot too, and there is some stuff it can handle that Safari can't so it just comes down to which browser you personally prefer.

--Fred

[hvfsl]

For compactiblity there is only one browser, Internet Explorer. But for speed the best app is Calmino or Firebird. I have stoped using Safari because it is now the slowest browser and it is imcompatible with a lot of the websites I go to.

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by hvfsl
For compactiblity there is only one browser, Internet Explorer. But for speed the best app is Calmino or Firebird. I have stoped using Safari because it is now the slowest browser and it is imcompatible with a lot of the websites I go to.

I keep saying this but people just don't seem to get it.

As long as a browser has decent standards compliance, there are no compliant browsers, only compliant websites.

Just because many web developers choose to make their sites IE-centric doesn't mean other browsers aren't as compliant - it means the site's code sucks.

[hvfsl]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
I keep saying this but people just don't seem to get it.

As long as a browser has decent standards compliance, there are no compliant browsers, only compliant websites.

Just because many web developers choose to make their sites IE-centric doesn't mean other browsers aren't as compliant - it means the site's code sucks.

I wasn't talking about complience, but compatibility. IE for Mac OS X is the most compatible browser on any platform. IE 6 on the PC often has problems showing images in webpages.

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by hvfsl
I wasn't talking about complience, but compatibility. IE for Mac OS X is the most compatible browser on any platform. IE 6 on the PC often has problems showing images in webpages.

Compatible with what, exactly?

Show me a page that IE is "compatible" with at the exclusion of other browsers and I'll show you a page that uses a browser sniffer.

IE5 Mac was a great browser when it was first introduced. It has since fallen off the lead in terms of speed, features and standards compliance.

[utilizer]

Originally posted by sparkleytone
i find your problems with stability to be interesting. i have absolutely no problems with safari generally speaking. i cant even remember the last time it quit on me. on the other hand, its pretty easy to crash camino for me. i guess your mileage may vary.

I think that it's just the way Apple does its coding now. They optimize everything for the G4 (and now G5) but leave their G3 customers wanting. I'm on my Pismo and constantly get underdeveloped software support from Apple (iPhoto, Quartz rendering, etc.). Not that this is any of their fault, but just don't advertise a program that you say is supported on my system then it turns out is not. I'm glad to see they did this with iChat AV. Let's do it with Safari if it really doesn't work too!

[bousozoku]

99.9 percent of the time, I use Camino. Soon, I'm sure I'll be using Firebird since Camino is done at version 0.7.0.

I only use Internet Exploder when I need compatibility with IE-only sites, which don't use VBScript.

Safari is nice enough but I don't like the bookmarks hidden. Camino is especially convenient that way. The drawer makes it so much nicer than any of the others I've used recently. OmniWeb is another that uses the drawer but it had poor compatibility.

[FredAkbar]

Originally posted by bousozoku
Camino is done at version 0.7.0.

Did you mean that literally? If so, how do you know this? Camino is a great browser and I don't see why it would be discontinued like that when it's still just a beta.

--Fred

[AmbitiousLemon]

Originally posted by bousozoku
99.9 percent of the time, I use Camino. Soon, I'm sure I'll be using Firebird since Camino is done at version 0.7.0.

I know I have been out of the loop, but what do you mean Camino is 'done' at .7? I just took a look at pinkys blog and it seems many great things are planned for Camino.


I don't like Safari, but it certainly isn't crash happy on any machine I have used (but I haven't tried v1.0 yet). BTW the things you mention you like about Safari (speed, search bar) are both in other browsers. Safari is slower than Camino, Firebird(moz on a diet), and Omniweb4.5. Camino has a google search bar (maybe the others do as well now, I havent been around much lately).

If you don't need tabs Omniweb is the best browser. If you need tabs (i sure do) then Camino is probably your best bet.

[mangoduck]

I'll miss the built-in search function

firebird also has built-in search. the interface is a bit buggy, but gecko is of course the same. snappier than plain moz or netscape 6/7. i think it has autofill as well (pestered me about remembering my password on a site).

the native form widgets in camino bug me from a development perspective, so for that i've started using firebird.

also, i've heard nothing to the effect that camino is done, in the blog or elsewhere.

other alternates include icab, opera, and omniweb, though i'm not sure if they're all around anymore. last i knew they all had major rendering issues and standards support was flaky at best.

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by mangoduck
other alternates include icab, opera, and omniweb, though i'm not sure if they're all around anymore. last i knew they all had major rendering issues and standards support was flaky at best.

As others have already said, the next version of OmniWeb will have excellent standards support and rendering thanks to the OmniGroup's adoption of Apple's WebKit - the same engine Safari uses.

You can download and tryout betas right now.

[hvfsl]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
Compatible with what, exactly?

Show me a page that IE is "compatible" with at the exclusion of other browsers and I'll show you a page that uses a browser sniffer.

IE5 Mac was a great browser when it was first introduced. It has since fallen off the lead in terms of speed, features and standards compliance.

The website www.pcworld.co.uk is just one. I think other browsers have a problem because the site uses M$'s version of Java. Mozilla based browsers and Safari both have problems accessing the products on this site. I think this is the only reason other browsers have problems with sites, it is because the incompatible onesw use M$ Java instead of the real thing from SUN.

[pseudobrit]

Originally posted by hvfsl
The website www.pcworld.co.uk is just one. I think other browsers have a problem because the site uses M$'s version of Java. Mozilla based browsers and Safari both have problems accessing the products on this site. I think this is the only reason other browsers have problems with sites, it is because the incompatible onesw use M$ Java instead of the real thing from SUN.

And how is this a problem with non-IE browsers rather than a problem with PCWorld using bad code and excluding all non-modern Windows users from perusing their site?

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by pseudobrit
And how is this a problem with non-IE browsers rather than a problem with PCWorld using bad code and excluding all non-modern Windows users from perusing their site?

Exactly.

[benixau]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU

IE5 Mac was a great browser when it was first introduced. It has since fallen off the lead in terms of speed, features and standards compliance.

Actually, IE 5.2.1 still runs faster than Safari - if you are in OS9.
I had to go to OS9 for a bit (yuck!) and i used it. It made me almost cry (not really).
Anyways - apple has a lot of work to do.

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by benixau
Actually, IE 5.2.1 still runs faster than Safari - if you are in OS9.
I had to go to OS9 for a bit (yuck!) and i used it. It made me almost cry (not really).
Anyways - apple has a lot of work to do.

But we're not discussing OS 9 browsers. ;)

Safari is an excellent browser for a 1.0 release, but I look forward to more improvements, too.

[Doctor Q]

To find out which browsers support which major features to what extent, see the Mac OS X Compatible Browsers Chart (http://www.maccritic.com/extras/browsers.php) at MacCritic.

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by Doctor Q
To find out which browsers support which major features to what extent, see the Mac OS X Compatible Browsers Chart (http://www.maccritic.com/extras/browsers.php) at MacCritic.

Hmm, interesting table. It would be good to see their criteria for each heading.

Every CSS browser compatibility chart I've seen places IE as partial to good support, but it's definitely not as good as Safari, Mozilla, etc.

Also, the DHTML test(s) that Safari doesn't pass to their satisfaction would be good to see.