I've been using OmniWeb since version 2.4 and still actively using
3.0 (in Rhapsody 5.1) and 3.1 (in Rhapsody 5.6 and OPENSTEP 4.2).
What I like about version 3.x...
- Integrated HTML editor which displays code with syntax coloring and previews of changes using original page graphics even after modifying the code (but not after you save to a new location).
- Antialias fonts (Rhapsody version) makes the web easier to read and pages look better.
- Bookmark window shows if new content is available at pages (or if the links are dead).
- I set up my shortcuts so that any non-standard entry into the address field yields a Google search. This has the added plus of giving me a Google search (via services) from any of my other applications (highlight a word or term, go to open address in OmniWeb, up pops the search results).
What I liked about versions 4.0-4.2 was pretty much the same as what I liked about 3.x plus...
- Better handling of shortcuts. I have my systems set up with "g" for Google search, "gn" for Google News search, "gi" for Google Image search, "y" for Yahoo search, "yi" for Yahoo Images search, "a" for Apple TechInfo Archive search, "d" for dictionary search and "e" for encyclopedia search.
- Better handling and organization of bookmarks.
What I liked about 4.5 is the same as 4.2 plus...
- Custom implementation of khtml (WebCore) which made the app faster, and independent of Apple's upgrades (or lack of upgrades) to WebKit in Mac OS X (obviously this was lost with OmniWeb 5.5).
- Zoom out text field windows. Between the standard text functionality for Cocoa app and the additional services I have to enhance writing in any Cocoa app, having text fields become their own windows is like being able to step effortlessly into TextEdit to write posts... without leaving OmniWeb.
What I like about 5.x
- Visual tabs. Mainly the fact that they are drag-n-drop (why other browsers don't at least use drag-n-drop to open links in new tabs is beyond me). I also like the feedback of pages getting updated and being able to see which of the tabs I've openned that I haven't looked at yet.
- Workspaces.
- Site preferences. This is one feature I'll never want to live without. By default all sites I go to will not load images from other sites until I change the preferences for that site. I can also enable/disable Java functionality for any site (specially ones that can't seem to code Java correctly).
It is funny that
speed is so high on everyone's lists... for me, that isn't the point of browsing the web. I don't spend my time bouncing around the net like a ball in a pinball game (that may be too old a reference for some of you guys
). All browsers are basically
fast enough for me (though the ones that use Mac OS X's image rendering seem faster at some tasks on my systems). I'm an interactive user of the web, not a passive watcher of it. I require access to many of the tools and features to interact with content. Other browsers basically make me feel like I've been crippled... I'm not sure how other people deal with it (other than the obvious, they just don't know better).
Do I mind paying for OmniWeb?
Not at all. Between what OmniWeb provides in the way of features and the fact that I have access to a ton of additional features via services, it is more than worth the small amount I've paid them over the last 10 years.