Shiira scares me...

[wrldwzrd89]

Shiira integrates very tightly with Safari - which causes problems for me. For example, if I tell Shiira not to accept any cookies, Safari also stops accepting cookies. I would much rather use a WebKit-based browser, such as OmniWeb, that doesn't integrate so that settings in one browser stay in that browser (I use each browser for a different purpose - I use Safari for most sites, but some require something else). Shiira's integration seems almost Microsoft-like, which to me is scary - I don't want to see this behavior in Mac OS X.

 

[MisterMe]

Shiira integrates very tightly with Safari - which causes problems for me. For example, if I tell Shiira not to accept any cookies, Safari also stops accepting cookies. I would much rather use a WebKit-based browser, such as OmniWeb, that doesn't integrate so that settings in one browser stay in that browser (I use each browser for a different purpose - I use Safari for most sites, but some require something else). Shiira's integration seems almost Microsoft-like, which to me is scary - I don't want to see this behavior in Mac OS X.

This is nothing at all like Microsoft. Shiira uses the same support files as Safari. Shiira and Safari relate to each other very much like Mozilla and Netscape, which also use the same support files.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

This is nothing at all like Microsoft. Shiira uses the same support files as Safari. Shiira and Safari relate to each other very much like Mozilla and Netscape, which also use the same support files.

Thanks for the reassurance, but in truth, Shiira and Safari are more closely related than just sharing WebKit. Apparently they also share cookies, preferences, and bookmarks. They might even share disk cache!

 

[abhishekit]

wrldwzrd89: I became aware of shiira after reading your post, . Do you find it better than Safari in any respect? I am not concerned with any new features, but certainly with the cpu usage? Is Shiira better in this aspect, and not as big a hog as Safari?

thanks

edit: downloaded it (its quite ugly). But more importantly, whats wrong with its maximize button? either it shows full screen , or cuts the page too small.

 

[LeeTom]

My thoughts on Shiira:
I think it's great. I'm really glad to see someone using WebKit to make a new browser.

The buttons may be ugly, but if you browse the homepage, you can find ones that are nearly identical to Safari's.

I find that Shiira seems to load pages faster, and seems "snappier". No hard numbers, just feels that way.

You can turn off Shiira's integration with Safari. Look in the preferences.
Shiira can have an Aqua or Metal skin.

New tabs can open your homepage by default.

Clicking the magnifying glass next to the search bar, instead of showing a search history, changes the search from google, to dictionary, to others... very handy, especially if they add an ebay search.

The Bookmarks/History sidebar is handy.

- Lee Tom

 

[MisterMe]

Thanks for the reassurance, but in truth, Shiira and Safari are more closely related than just sharing WebKit. Apparently they also share cookies, preferences, and bookmarks. They might even share disk cache!

WebKit is the foundation. OmniWeb is now built with WebKit, but it does not share support files with Safari. Shiira shares support files with Safari including cookies, preferences, and bookmarks. That is the choice that Shiira's developers made. Apple had nothing to do with it, as evidenced by the fact that Omni took a different route. As I said in my previous post, the relationship between Netscape and Mozilla is the model between Shiira and Safari. Those two Gecko-based browsers share support files. However, other Gecko-based browsers such as Camino and Firefox do not share Mozilla's support files. For what it is worth, if you replace Firefox's bookmarks file with Mozilla's bookmarks file, it works without a hitch. Unless you are afraid of the boogey man, there is nothing to fear.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

WebKit is the foundation. OmniWeb is now built with WebKit, but it does not share support files with Safari. Shiira shares support files with Safari including cookies, preferences, and bookmarks. That is the choice that Shiira's developers made. Apple had nothing to do with it, as evidenced by the fact that Omni took a different route. As I said in my previous post, the relationship between Netscape and Mozilla is the model between Shiira and Safari. Those two Gecko-based browsers share support files. However, other Gecko-based browsers such as Camino and Firefox do not share Mozilla's support files. For what it is worth, if you replace Firefox's bookmarks file with Mozilla's bookmarks file, it works without a hitch. Unless you are afraid of the boogey man, there is nothing to fear.

I wonder why the Shiira developers decided to share support files with Safari? I find it curious that a browser maker would choose to do this. It's completely understandable between Netscape and Mozilla, since they share a common developer base. Safari and Shiira don't share common developers, so that decision makes less sense to me. Shiira isn't all that bad of a browser in my experience. It loads pages quickly, has some configuration options Safari lacks (such as options to empty the cache and delete all the cookies on exit, for the privacy-paranoid), and uses the standard customize toolbar widget, whereas Safari has all the toolbar components listed as choices in the View menu.

 

[MisterMe]

I wonder why the Shiira developers decided to share support files with Safari? I find it curious that a browser maker would choose to do this. It's completely understandable between Netscape and Mozilla, since they share a common developer base. Safari and Shiira don't share common developers, so that decision makes less sense to me. Shiira isn't all that bad of a browser in my experience. It loads pages quickly, has some configuration options Safari lacks (such as options to empty the cache and delete all the cookies on exit, for the privacy-paranoid), and uses the standard customize toolbar widget, whereas Safari has all the toolbar components listed as choices in the View menu.

I don't worry about it one way or the other. The embedded version of IE in the AOL client for MacOS Classic shares some support files with the standalone IE browser. This has been the case for years and there are no signs that we are suffering from inordinate mind control. I suppose that if you put a gun to my head and forced me to make a choice, I would come down on the side of those who think this is a good thing. I tend to be browser agnostic. However, I created a lot of bookmarks in Netscape, my primary browser for years. My investment in Netscape bookmarks tied me to that browser and its fraternal twin, Mozilla. However, the easy transport of Netscape/Mozilla bookmarks to other browsers freed me to choose whichever browser the spirit moves me to use.

 

[Sayer]

Clarifications

OmniWeb is actually built on top of WebCore, which is the low-level portions of WebKit. OmniWeb implements a lot of custom functionality on top of WebCore, just as WebKit (and Safari) implements a lot of functionality on top of WebCore.

Also I believe there are options in WebKit to keep it from "sharing" cookies and preferences with other apps (Safari) just so that changing one doesn't affect the other.

I haven't personally used WebKit, but that's what I heard.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

OmniWeb is actually built on top of WebCore, which is the low-level portions of WebKit. OmniWeb implements a lot of custom functionality on top of WebCore, just as WebKit (and Safari) implements a lot of functionality on top of WebCore.

Also I believe there are options in WebKit to keep it from "sharing" cookies and preferences with other apps (Safari) just so that changing one doesn't affect the other.

I haven't personally used WebKit, but that's what I heard.

I never knew OmniWeb was built on WebCore (a lower-level Web service than WebKit) instead of WebKit (the engine that Shiira's based on). That explains why OmniWeb behaves the way it does and why it has a feature set that's markedly different from that of Safari. I've since switched to OmniWeb from Shiira (as my secondary browser), but I do miss the tabbed browsing that Shiira provides. I still use Safari as my primary web browser (when I'm at my Mac, of course).