Best web browser for my mac?

[partyBoy]

i use firefox,its much faster than safari but safari is my second choice,i NEVER use explorer,i do not touch or use anything thats microsoft. Plus with firefox you can change your browser style and online movie streams are much better than safari as well and remember another thing safari is not accepted buy some websites,example when applying for a job it says it only supports firefox and explorer

 

[kdum8]

My vote goes for Opera.

By far the best browser out there and way ahead of the competition in so many ways. It is totally customizable and offers many features that just don't exist in most others browsers. Many things are unique to it. It surprises me how few other people seem to have discovered it.

Safari is OK and got a nice update with version 4.0, and firefox works well naturally so I keep these on hand as well. But 95% of my browsing is done from within Opera.

Way ahead...

 

[nullx86]

personally, I'm all for firefox, and some add-ons. Get user-agent switcher, adblock plus and no-script and you are good to go.

 

[alphaod]

I love Opera. Been using since before it was free. Over the years I think it's gotten better and that new Safari 'Top Sites' thing? That's so Opera Speed Dial.

 

[Kristenn]

Mac OS = Safari is way better than FF on Mac OS

Windows = Firefox because Safari is slower and more of a RAM hog. In fact, Safari is terrible on Windows. FF on Windows FTW.

But on Mac OS? I have never found a browser on Mac OS as fast and as reliable as Safari.

Just my opinion though.

 

[BornAgainMac]

Sounds like Safari and Firefox are the mainstream for Mac users. A third strong browser like Opera or Chrome needs to shake things up.

 

[VPrime]

I use firefox because there are a few things that make it perfect. Mainly Tab mix plus, and Mozilla weave. If you have multiple computers than Weave is a must get add on. It adds cloud computing to your browser. Your bookmarks, passwords, history and settings (all customizable) sync with the cloud and are updated to what ever computer you are on.
I also like the multi touch gestures that fire fox now supports (except zoom, I hate zoom). I can jump to the end or top of a page by just by swiping 3 fingers.

With safari I could never get gif images to work. They either don't play at all or start after a few minutes.

 

[trip1ex]

Safari mainly.

But I've taken a liking to Chrome lately. It's fast and it doesn't seem to beachball, hiccup or page the hard drive like Safari seems to do out of the blue for whatever reason. Also like the tabs at the top and the fact it likes to open pages in adjacent tabs instead of in new windows or in new tabs at the end of row like Safari does.

Safari is more full featured though.

I thought Chrome used less resources, but, at least for watching a video on CNN, Safari used alot less cpu. Still Chrome feels snappier.

 

[Velin]

Safari has gotten much faster than Firefox. Apple optimized the latest Safari to be a speed demon, and it shows.

 

[Objectivist-C]

Safari has the best feel of any browser on OS X, but I've switched to Firefox for NoScript and Permit Cookies.

 

[harperjones99]

I use Firefox simply out of familiarity since I have used it for years on PC. I messed with Safari a bit but didn't feel like making a switch. I think this is one of those things that is totally personal preference as long as you go with one of the high quality browsers. People saying one is "way" better than the other seem to be playing the fan game and not being objective.

I am not sure I believe the speed claims about one being so much faster either because anytime I have had issues with hanging on FF I tried loading Safari as well and it was hanging too so I never got the feeling it was any quicker.

 

[brendu]

chromium... the beta release of the google chrome web browser for mac... it is hands down the fastest web browser I have. Beats safari and firefox. and its so simple and pleasant to use. If you are not into using beta releases, wait for chrome to come out in the coming months, and stick with safari for now. Nothing wrong with firefox, but i dont think its better.

 

[PK!]

I would love to believe this, and I'll switch back to Safari when it stops crashing every 5 minutes.

Exactly. I couldn't put it any better myself.
Firefox is my favorite.

 

[bobr1952]

Firefox and Safari. Life is good.

Yeah--life is good here too.

 

[erratikmind]

The jury is still out here. I switch between FF and Safari.

 

[coops]

Well, there's no Microsoft Internet Explorer for OS X.... so you can't go far wrong, whichever you choose

I still prefer Opera - been so good, i've always happily upgraded whenever next version came out....and sadly version 10.0 was a little bit kack - now 10.1 is better again - still no Mac gesture support sadly, but i'm hanging on for that. (Used it on Windows for can't remember how long...)

I like the built in mail (pop3, imap etc) engine/client. It's had tabs and a download manager since who knows when, the speed dial was first on Opera methinks (?), and it's had a built in Bit torrent engine for some time too.


Coops

 

[nick1516]

Firefox

 

[Aadhil]

I use the latest version of Safari on my early '09 24" iMac. It's waaaay faster than FF. .

 

[tipman2000]

Camino FTW!!!
what is it?
basically it's firefox, but it's made exclusively for mac, and it can block ANNOYING embedded ads that slow down older computers. its also about %300 faster than firefox or safari, etc. I SWITCHED AND I DONT KNOW HOW I WOULD BE ABLE TO GO WITHOUT IT!!!

 

[thegoldenmackid]

I use Safari and recently switched from Camino to using Stainless for my back-up...

 

[clevin]

for unbeatable flexibility and functionality, go with firefox.

people do claim safari being faster, especially apple people, but its purely based on some js test, and the real world difference is undetectable by human.

a ton of firefox addon/functions would speed up the internet surfing in various aspects (adblock, noscript, awesomebar, autodial, firegestures, ubiquity, FAYT, etc), the effects are far more obvious than the undetectable js speed improvement in safari.

eventually, everybody's internet speed will 80% depends on your computer configuration, your isp configuration and your dns configuration. For pure speed, test all browsers for yourself. There is no one can guarantee one browser being faster than the other, those who do know nothing about internet.

 

[mac2x]

f[...]
people do claim safari being faster, especially apple people, but its purely based on some js test, and the real world difference is undetectable by human.

[...]

Wrong. Any kind of Java animation is oodles faster in Safari. That said, I use and enjoy both.

 

[clevin]

Wrong. Any kind of Java animation is oodles faster in Safari. That said, I use and enjoy both.

lol

first you need to understand what is java, what is js. thats basics

second, any kind of js animation? oodles faster? you are welcome to find an example, grab a stopwatch, and try to check to see how well human eyes do.

To call me wrong is not difficult, but what you presented are far from enough.

 

[mac2x]

lol

first you need to understand what is java, what is js. thats basics

second, any kind of js animation? oodles faster? you are welcome to find an example, grab a stopwatch, and try to check to see how well human eyes do.

To call me wrong is not difficult, but what you presented are far from enough.

Try the radar loops for any of the weather radar installations around the US.

http://radar.weather.gov/

Naturally, loading speed depends on your internet connection, but I think you'll find Java itself loads faster all other factors being equal under Safari than they do under Firefox. They most certainly do for me.

 

[clevin]

Try the radar loops for any of the weather radar installations around the US.

http://radar.weather.gov/

Naturally, loading speed depends on your internet connection, but I think you'll find Java itself loads faster all other factors being equal under Safari than they do under Firefox. They most certainly do for me.

first, it most certain do not load any faster in safari on my MB than firefox. the majority of the page is image, loading speed is not controlled by js in any way, shape or form.
second, its not js animation.