Safari Add-Ons? Contemplating the Switch from Firefox

[nope7308]

Here are the issues that I'm having with firefox:
- Some embedded videos don't play at all
- I get error messages before and after some embedded videos
- Flip 4 Mac doesn't work properly (buttons disappear - so frustrating!)
- Really slow start up (compared to other browsers)

I have none of these issues when I visit the exact same websites using Safari.

Now, I have a few reasons why I'm hesitant to switch:
- Add-ons (Foxmarks, Ad-Block, Customize Google, WOT, etc.)
- Custom Search Bars (top right)
- Ease, simplicity, and control

With that said, are there any equivalent Add-Ons for Safari (I know there is an Ad-Block one)? What about custom search bars? And finally, is there a way to view pdf files in Safari without having to download the file first?

Thanks for the help!

EDIT:
One more thing... it has to be free 🙂

 

[apfhex]

- Ease, simplicity, and control

That's kind of vague. 😕 Safari is no harder or more complex to use than any browser, in fact being a very Apple product, it's quite minimal (as evident by the lack of a proper Addon system).

With that said, are there any equivalent Add-Ons for Safari (I know there is an Ad-Block one)? What about custom search bars?

Inquisitor. Safari Adblock (Leopard only) is the best adblocker - unlike SafariBlock, it has a whitelist, which is essential I think. And there's also the recent ClickToFlash if you just want to block Flash. Safari doesn't have prefrences for it like Firefox, but there's an addon that can block automatic window resizing and a plist entry you add to force all new windows to open in tabs instead.

is there a way to view pdf files in Safari without having to download the file first?

Safari loads PDFs in the browser by default.

 

[nope7308]

Concerning simplicity of use, perhaps I'm just accustomed to firefox, but I find that Safari is somewhat difficult to navigate. For instance, I have trouble finding all of the "Private Data" that Firefox conveniently stores in one place. Either way, this isn't a big issue, so you can just ignore it (I'll eventually figure things out on my own).

Thanks for the Ad-Block recommendation. My real concern, though, is the ability to:
1) sync bookmarks/passwords with a server, and
2) Install custom search bars (top right)

For instance, in Firefox, I have about 10 search bars that range from IMDB to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. I use them on a daily basis, so functioning without them would hurt my productivity. If I can find a (free) solution to the two issues above, then I'm sold.

 

[apfhex]

sync bookmarks/passwords with a server

I don't know about synching bookmarks, but I think that apps than can sync Firefox bookmarks probably also work with Safari?

For instance, in Firefox, I have about 10 search bars that range from IMDB to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. I use them on a daily basis, so functioning without them would hurt my productivity. If I can find a (free) solution to the two issues above, then I'm sold.

Inquisitor which I linked to is free and you can add custom search engines and set hotkeys for each one (for example I have control-return set to go straight to Google Images).

Edit: Also Pimp My Safari is a good site to look at, though I don't know if it's being kept up to date.

 

[reclusivemonkey]

I'd recommend GlimmerBlocker for all your ad blocking needs; you can also set up your own URL keywords to do all sorts of things.

 

[nope7308]

I don't know about synching bookmarks, but I think that apps than can sync Firefox bookmarks probably also work with Safari?

Inquisitor which I linked to is free and you can add custom search engines and set hotkeys for each one (for example I have control-return set to go straight to Google Images).

I'm a little confused about how inquisitor works. Essentially, this is what I would like...
- Have a drop down list of search engines (Google, IMDb, etc.)
- Be taken to the actual website to view the results
- Create custom search engines (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

If Inquistor can't do this, then it's useless for my purposes.

Finally, does anyone know how to sync bookmarks/passwords? This is really, really, really important for me. Thanks

 

[apfhex]

I'm a little confused about how inquisitor works. Essentially, this is what I would like...

From my understanding of what you want, yes. Why don't you just give it a try? This is how I have mine...

 

[nope7308]

From my understanding of what you want, yes. Why don't you just give it a try? This is how I have mine...

Thanks. I did give it a try but it didn't behave to my liking. I've decided to stay with FF3, but thanks for all your help.

 

[r0k]

I've found that after the most recent round of OS X updates, firefox doesn't play nice with Vbulletin. Over at Brighthand, if I try to edit post or insert a url or img, the javascript no longer works and I'm faced with inserting my own quote tags, etc. This sort of hooey, along with things that work in safari that don't work in firefox make me interested in Safari. But I'm using taboos now instead of bookmarks. I'd really like to find a way to pull all my taboos over to Safari to make my eventual transition to Safari (more) seamless.

 

[raf66]

I'm kinda coming in late to the party but I too use FF and Safari on my iMac. Safari wins it hands down for me as it's MUCH faster and more secure (no crashes). I'm assuming that a lot of that has to do with the number of add-ons/extensions that I have loaded in FF and the fact that these items are likely memory intensive. The bottom line is that I now only use Safari on my Mac.

I will say, however, that having been using Google Chrome on my Windows XP machine for the last month or so, I just may make that my default browser once it's released for the Mac. It falls far short of FF on extras, rivaling Safari in its "nakedness", but man is it FAST. And each tab opens up a separate running browser, so that if one tab crashes the other remains functional.

 

[SteveMobs]

There's a plug-in for Safari called Saft, made by Haoli. It really helps to broaden the features and capabilities of Safari. I use it and it makes Safari a lot more usable.

http://haoli.dnsalias.com/Saft/

 

[nope7308]

Just thought I would chime in and let you guys know what happened...

After grappling with Safari, I just gave up. It turns out that my Flash problem had nothing to do with FF3, but rather a botched install of the CS4 Suite. Thankfully, Flash is now working properly. I no longer require Flip4Mac because the website I used it for switched to Flash.

I must say that I do like the simplistic look of Safari, so I changed the default FF3 theme to GrApple. Now, I get to keep all the functionality of FF3 😀

The only downside is the initial startup time. I'm still trying to find a solution to this, but I'm not keeping my hopes up. Concerning actual speed, I find that FF3 renders pages MUCH faster than Safari. I haven't tried Chrome, but I'm 100% satisfied with FF3!