Safari vs. Everything Else?

[daneoni]

So just over 50% CPU usage is way too high?

Just tested Flash out in Safari vs Chrome... CPU usage in Chrome is only slightly higher than in Safari. Obviously, different computers and situations behave differently.

Check out the CPU cycles being taken up by Flash plugin for Chrome alone. Within seconds my computer starts sounding like a jet engine.

Safari (or Firefox) never get that high. Yes, it might be just over 50% (usually higher than that...like i said mediocre quality 720p) but why is Chrome special. The other browsers rarely get that high.

Then again as you say its all individual, for my use though, Safari>Chrome>Firefox.

 

[M0bius1]

I personally use Firefox for the speed and convenience of add-ons (no-script) and the effectiveness of adblock plus for Firefox. I tried chrome for a couple weeks, basically trying to set it up how I have Firefox and it doesn't seem like it has the tools available yet. I was hoping no-script would be brought to chrome and the chrome version of adblock, unfortunately, isn't the same or near as effective as the one on Firefox. I will come back to chrome time to time to see how its coming along.

 

[v5point0]

I am not turning back to Firefox

I been playing around with Chrome since June, right after the extensions gallery were made officially available and I have to say it took some adapting coming from Firefox though the curve wasn't that steep.

I have completely migrated to Chrome now and I only miss Firefox for the Diigo Toolbar Extension though the Chrome counterpart isn't that bad.

Chrome feels like an ideal merge between Safari and Firefox. Nailing that sweet-spot between lightweight and extensible.

 

[Gen]

I use Safari, but have Firefox too - since my school's Angel system doesn't work well with Safari. Firefox is more supported when developers build websites/web-based tools.

 

[elppa]

I use Safari, but have Firefox too - since my school's Angel system doesn't work well with Safari. Firefox is more supported when developers build websites/web-based tools.

That will change (or is already changing). If you want your site to work on mobile devices you have to go at WebKit. Firefox is not really a player on mobile.

 

[MasterHowl]

In my experience, Safari runs really badly on PCs, but amazingly well on Macs!

 

[kasakka]

Chrome is great in Windows, but the Mac version is missing some features and doesn't run anywhere near as smoothly.

Safari on the other hand is awful in Windows but rather nice on the Mac. The Glims addon is a must though, it adds so many features otherwise missing from Safari. I use Safari as my main browser in OSX and it runs nicely and smoothly on my mid-2009 13" MBP.

 

[v5point0]

Chrome is great in Windows, but the Mac version is missing some features and doesn't run anywhere near as smoothly.

I think they have achieved parity between the Mac and PC versions. Since the stable release end of last year, they have made significant catch ups. Now the only thing missing is the "create application shortcut" feature which would only be really useful after Google launches the Web Store end of this year. I am sure by then Google should complete that feature on the Mac version.

 

[karlwig]

Hey guys,

I'm looking at taking the plunge in to a Mac. I've been a Windows user for the last 15 years, so it's gonna be a big change, but I've just been so impressed with the prvious Apple products I've owned that it's worth it. That, and, of course, my new job is very Mac-centric, so I want to fit in

Anyways, one question I have is, how does Safari stack up against Firefox, Chrome, etc? I'm a bit of a minimalist, so I don't care about addons and crap in Firefox, as I won't use them. I'm primarily concerned with things like speed, system integration, aethetics, etc.

What do you guys think about Safari vs. other browsers in that regard?

Are you getting a Macbook or desktop? What I really like about Firefox is the three-finger down/up swipe for jumping to buttom or top of a web page. I use it all the time, it's very effective. Unfortunately, I haven't seen this gesture supported in Safari, strangely enough.

 

[Dolorian]

Chrome feels like an ideal merge between Safari and Firefox. Nailing that sweet-spot between lightweight and extensible.

I agree, it takes the best from both and adds some neat new things along the way. It is the top browser in my opinion, and both in terms of features, stability, speed and also in it's support for HTML5/CSS3 features it is unparalleled.

 

[Booch21]

I've been running an iMac for about 5 weeks after using PC's for decades. Prior to the switch, I had been running Safari for Windows and was very pleased with it over IE8. It was an easy transition and I haven't looked back. It does appear to run better on the iMac, but I also acknowledge that its twice the machine plus, so that helps it run smoother and faster. I have yet to find a web site that Safari can't handle. Give it a try and try the other browsers. You'll know what you like soon enough!

 

[roliath]

firefox + xmarks

 

[macrem]

On OS X you can forget everything else: Safari has the ultimate blend of speed, rich features nicely integrated with OS X and compatibility.

 

[MartyF81]

I am a recent convert to Mac also. Safari almost made me return it. I tried Chrome and Firefox and landed on Chrome.

Maybe I am spoled from Chrome use before, but it just seems to load things faster. When I first opened Safari it took so long to load the page that I thought there was a defect in my new MBP.

 

[sOwL]

I know I'm the minority but... I'm a proud Opera user!! It has the most features and its highly customizable to fit anyone's taste and needs. It's also pretty fast too, especially with the javascripts

 

[v5point0]

I know I'm the minority but... I'm a proud Opera user!! It has the most features and its highly customizable to fit anyone's taste and needs. It's also pretty fast too, especially with the javascripts

If you are already an Opera user, then I guess you would probably be using it on your mobile device. OVA the browser data sync between desktop and mobile, speed, and search operators are a luxury on the mobile platform.

 

[lordjonny]

Coming from Windows Vista/7, Google Chrome is way better. Safari takes 30 second to open up and load, while Google Chrome takes like 5 seconds. Safari's speed is a hit and miss, sometimes it's really fast, but sometimes it's really slow. I prefer the font smoothing on Safari though

I don't know what your on about but on my macs both several years old, black macbook and imac from around 2006-2007 safari loads in one bounce maybe two if i have something else running or have restarted. I do keep my computers clean as in tidy as i know the effect a cluttered desktop and ridiculous amount of undeleted or archived shareware that you havent used in a while can have. saying that even my g4 quicksilver barely takes 5 seconds to load firefox even! so this must be a windows thing!

 

[SiliBear]

Each of my computers are new so I don't experience any of the "...it could be faster" kind of stuff. I've found Safari to be just plain excellent. After reading through this thread, I'm curious about why some folks like Chrome so much (I've not used it, so I'm not slamming Chrome by asking the question). A few of the posters' enthusiasm had me considering for a few moments downloading and giving it a try....then I thought about it. Safari handles everything I do perfectly...what exactly would I get that is "better" or "faster" when it's already instant and excellent?

The other thing I guess I like about Safari is that I am able to sync things like bookmarks easily with my other devices. I have MobleMe and it is just heavenly simplicity to keep my Macs (desktop and laptop), iPhone, and iPad with the same bookmarks/favorites. Change one, and they are all instantly updated - no additional effort involved.

I've not been happy with Firefox on the PC side of things (use it at work) but it's a heck of a lot better than IE. Our IT doesn't allow any other browsers through the firewall.

So my simplistic take is: Firefox is annoying and I wouldn't use it on my Mac, Safari is wonderful...and from the sound of it, Chrome is probably pretty nice too. I've not had any reason to explore any browser outside of Safari on the Mac side though - I think it's quite nice indeed.

 

[dusk007]

@sOwL me too. Opera just does a lot of things and many much better than the competition.
I tried Safari because I felt like it offers better battery life. I only wanted it to work mobile with the touchpad well enough. But just to get basic features running I needed plugins and extension which are utter crap. Safari extensions are by far the worst quality and Safari features aren't really existent aside from some rather useless ones.
Only Chrome and opera support keyword searches which is a feature that everybody should use and everybody who doesn't is an idiot. There is no way around it unless he or she never uses more than google to search for anything.

Safari sucks usability wise and is no better than IE. Chrome, Opera or Firefox are the only major browsers that a worth consideration once you even get to start thinking about your browser choice. Safari is like IE for those who just take the first best thing and wouldn't even consider if there might be something better.

 

[v5point0]

After reading through this thread, I'm curious about why some folks like Chrome so much (I've not used it, so I'm not slamming Chrome by asking the question). A few of the posters' enthusiasm had me considering for a few moments downloading and giving it a try....then I thought about it.

If you heavily use Google products, Google Chrome would appeal to you because of the optimization and integration. Other than that, it is simply the browser that is going to be leading the future of the web.

Safari sucks usability wise and is no better than IE. Chrome, Opera or Firefox are the only major browsers that a worth consideration once you even get to start thinking about your browser choice. Safari is like IE for those who just take the first best thing and wouldn't even consider if there might be something better.

I believe Safari is much better then IE, at least at complying with the standards in the acid3test. You have to understand, if there was no Safari, there probably won't be Chrome today. If it wasn't for the development that went into making Webkit and Safari better, Google wouldn't have been able to shape from that foundation the Chrome that exist today.

Safari is not intended for power users, it is a simple web browser to display web pages which comes standard on a Mac that complies with the industry standards. I use it for bookmarking syncing with my iPhone, nothing else really.

 

[LouieSamman]

I like to stick with Safari because I know soon Apple will come out with a extraordinary update to their browser that will be unique.

Apple likes to be unique, they are just busy with many of their products lately but soon we will see them come out with an update to safari, somewhere in 2012.

 

[stanfordb]

I absolutely HATE the memory-management of Safari. Waiting for years that Apple fixes it....

I do get the concept of "inactive RAM" but with Safari....

E.g. after a heavy browsing session Activity Monitor lists Safaris memory usage: 1,4 GB right now. Yes, there were plenty of tabs opened before, but i closed them all - this was like an hour ago....

And now if i e.g. start up Logic, Safari won't let go of it's "clearly inactive ram", and OSX begins to swap to the HDD...great

Yes, you can prevent this by quitting Safari after a browsing session, but......

And regarding Chrome's speedboost: true, seems like a rocket at first.... but remember: fresh install. Empty the cache, and reset Safari... voila, you have a rocket too.

 

[R94N]

For me Safari works well with all the sites I frequent, so I stick with it.

 

[dusk007]

I believe Safari is much better then IE, at least at complying with the standards in the acid3test. You have to understand, if there was no Safari, there probably won't be Chrome today. If it wasn't for the development that went into making Webkit and Safari better, Google wouldn't have been able to shape from that foundation the Chrome that exist today.

Safari is not intended for power users, it is a simple web browser to display web pages which comes standard on a Mac that complies with the industry standards. I use it for bookmarking syncing with my iPhone, nothing else really.

That is true in this regard it is better than IE. There would still be a Chrome without Safari though. They would have built on a different render engine or maybe simply started with KHTML. Google has huge resources of very skilled developers they could have built any engine them selfs they used webkit because it was there and pretty quick and decent.
The reason Chrome exists is that Google knew in order for its WebApps to run properly the client side needs a faster better browser. Thus they upped the game to get some competition started and make the client Browser of any company (IE9 being the last one) fast enough to handle the new Web.

 

[apolloa]

If I could put the latest IE onto Mac I would in a heart beat. Safari is by far the WORST browser on any platform period. It suffers from MASSIVE memory leaks, it has what I suspect is incompatibility with flash, it can crash an entire system without even using flash, yet Apple blame flash! Chrome is useless too as on the new MacBook Pro's it switches on the discrete graphics all the time and is a known bug yet to be fixed. Firefox I have found can also suffer slow downs.
I begining to think if you want to browse the web DON'T use a Mac. It has all started to be an issue with the latest OSX and machines. Give me Leopard and Safari 4 any day, Apple seemed to have a clue what it was ding then!

As for CPU usage, currently mine is on an average of 94% usage with 8 tabs open and all I'm doing is typing this reply! It's utter crap.