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doobybiggs

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 5, 2012
561
24
Just curious what you all think the best browser is.

I am looking for one that is fast and has decent options in it. I have been a fan of firefox for a long time. Now that I am leaving PC's I am curious if safari or something else will work better with macs?
 

doobybiggs

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 5, 2012
561
24
is safari even worth trying? or just stick with what I know works?
 

elppa

macrumors 68040
Nov 26, 2003
3,233
151
In my opinion Safari has always best browser on OS X. It is definitely worth trying!
 

CaptMurdock

Suspended
Jan 2, 2009
577
1,988
The Evildrome Boozerama
IMHO, choice of browser these days on the Mac OS has as much to do with personal preferences more than any real performance difference. The speed at which a page loads may have more to do with bandwidth, graphics cards, RAM, etc. than the actual browser app. YMMV.
 

Pharmscott

macrumors 6502a
Dec 13, 2011
624
2
Sacramento, CA
I like the feel of Safari from within the Mac OS. Swipe gestures are cool too. But, here's the best part: they're all free so try them out and see what you think is best!
 

MacGeek7

macrumors 6502a
Aug 25, 2007
766
14
Chrome feels much lighter than Safari and FireFox but I like the Reader mode in Safari..good luck!
 

shinji

macrumors 65816
Mar 18, 2007
1,329
1,515
I haven't seen any noticeable difference in performance between Firefox and Safari on OS X. Safari has a slightly more mac-like feel, but I'm so used to Firefox and its extensions that I stick with it.

I'd say copy over your Windows install's profile and stick with Firefox.
 

doobybiggs

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 5, 2012
561
24
hmmm sounds like no clear winner, guess I will load up firefox and then give safari a try and then choose.
 

Sixth Street

macrumors regular
Oct 7, 2007
108
11
If there are any must have extensions you use with Firefox, stick with it. Otherwise use Safari.

I use Firefox because I can't browse without a few essential (to me) extensions.
 

RocketRed

macrumors 6502a
Jan 25, 2012
507
0
I've used Firefox in the past.

Been using Chrome for a year.

I prefer Chrome because it saves all the websites I bookmarked under my google account and preferences/saved passwords.

If I ever got a new mac, install Chrome and all my bookmarks/passwords/preferences are automatically transferred.
 

arjen92

macrumors 65816
Sep 9, 2008
1,066
0
Below sea level
I use safari because I don't like to have additional software I don't really need (so I just want one browser).

But it really blows with youtube. And that's not just on my macbook pro, it's on my brother's macbook and our iMac too.

Youtube won't play full screen, crashes, or won't play a higher resolution.
 

doobybiggs

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 5, 2012
561
24
I use safari because I don't like to have additional software I don't really need (so I just want one browser).

But it really blows with youtube. And that's not just on my macbook pro, it's on my brother's macbook and our iMac too.

Youtube won't play full screen, crashes, or won't play a higher resolution.

hmmm I did not know that was a problem with safari. Is it always buffering too? I noticed he was having problems on youtube with his MBP with it buffering a lot.
 

MisterMe

macrumors G4
Jul 17, 2002
10,709
69
USA
I use safari because I don't like to have additional software I don't really need (so I just want one browser).

But it really blows with youtube. And that's not just on my macbook pro, it's on my brother's macbook and our iMac too.

Youtube won't play full screen, crashes, or won't play a higher resolution.
Sounds to me like you've been removing unnecessary software that isn't unnecessary.
 

grizfan

macrumors member
Feb 10, 2012
86
4
Boise, ID
Unless hard drive space is at a premium, give them all a try. I recently switched from Windows to Mac. I still use Win7 at work, Mac at home. I'm also a web developer, so I need all browsers. But, for day-to-day surfing, I rely on Chrome, because it syncs up so nicely between computers (bookmarks, saved passwords, etc....) I almost always have 2 browsers open, though, and Safari is my number 2 on my MacBook Pro. While I still like Firefox (can't live without Firebug!), I find it heavier and clunkier than Chrome. Firefox on Windows uses a TON of memory, and on both platforms feels a lot slower than Chrome. If speed is a top concern, you owe it to yourself to at least try Chrome.
 

doobybiggs

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 5, 2012
561
24
hmmm I may have to give chrome a try again. It has been a long time since I have messed with chrome.
 
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