Russ White@smalldog
This is taken from Russ White from smalldog.com.
Quote:
Safari Alternatives Shootout
by Russ White (Russ@smalldog.com)
I've been having a weird video glitch with Safari on my 667MHz TiBook. *
At random intervals, I'll see random groups of one-pixel black *
horizontal lines randomly flash on the screen, and the screen will *
flicker momentarily. I've tried Open Firmware resets and re-seating the *
video cable to the screen. Heck, I even tore the TiBook down to the *
frame and tried a known-good inverter board (the inverter controls the *
backlighting) and cable. There was no change. The strangest thing is *
that it only seems to happen in Safari.
In an effort to narrow down the cause of the problem, I reset Safari, *
but still no change. I deleted Safari's .Plist (preferences) file and *
downloaded a fresh copy of Safari. Still no change. The only thing I *
haven't tried is an "Archive and Install" install of Panther and I'd *
rather not have to do that. I see system software reinstalls as a last *
resort.
I guess it's time to look for alternatives to Safari, at least for the *
interim. Don't get me wrong. I love Safari. It's a fast, stable browser *
with a minimal footprint. I love the integrated Google search and *
SnapBack features. The ability to block pop-ups is also quite nice. The *
only time I ever have to deal with pop-ups is when I am forced to use *
Internet Explorer.
That said, I always like to try out new browsers, just to see how they *
compare to Safari. This week, I'll compare Safari to Netscape's *
Mozilla, Camino, and Firefox browsers and the Omni Group's OmniWeb, and *
iCab.
Bear in mind that Firefox and Camino are still in the beta-test phase. *
They're not finished and may behave strangely. Use beta software at *
your own risk. That said, I haven't had any problems with them. At *
least, not yet.
Firefox is the newest browser from the Mozilla group. It's fast and *
stable. Safari's still a little faster, but one of the features I'm *
enjoying in Firefox is the ability to block ads, not just pop-ups, but *
actual ads embedded in web pages.
I'm an old school web-surfer. I hate ads. Yes, I understand they help *
keep the cost of the web down and I appreciate that fact. However, I *
have never purchased anything from a web ad. I've never even clicked a *
web ad to see what it's advertising. I'm not interested. Advertisers *
aren't losing anything by me having their ad blocked, since I'm not the *
type of consumer that will click on an ad.
Firefox can also be "Skinned"--you can download customized interfaces *
for it. Right now they're for the most part variations on the same *
theme, but the options are there. You're not limited to a "brushed *
metal" interface.
Firefox also tends to handle "fussy" sites with embedded Flash better *
than Safari. For example, 8 Legged Entertainment's website *
(
http://www.8legged.com/) never loads correctly in Safari, so, if I *
wanted to see what problems Octopus Chef Tako had gotten himself into, *
I had to use IE, and I'm not a fan of IE. Firefox accesses the site *
just fine.
You can also add other search engines into Firefox. You're not limited *
to built-in Google. You can add whatever search engine you prefer.
Mozilla is similar to Firefox and can also block pop-ups and ads. It *
handles "fussy" sites fine (8 Legged's site, for example). The main *
difference between Firefox and Mozilla is that Mozilla adds a built-in *
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) client, an e-mail application, and a web-page *
composing tool. However, it doesn't have a built-in search engine. *
Mozilla is essentially Netscape Communicator from the OS 9 days recoded *
for OS X.
Camino is almost as fast as Safari, however, it lacks the built-in *
search engine and the ability to block ads (it does block pop-ups, *
though). It also lacks the additional features of Mozilla. It's a pure *
and simple browser, nothing fancy.
Mozilla, Firefox, and Camino can be downloaded from:
* *
http://www.mozilla.org
OmniWeb is based on the same rendering engine as Safari. It ships with *
ad blocking and pop-up blocking turned on by default, and it also *
automatically blocks ads that conform to the standard size and shape *
for ads. Just like Firefox and Mozilla, however, it lacks the *
integrated Google search. It's also the only browser of the group *
that's being marketed as a shareware/licensed browser. You can use OW *
unlicensed, but you won't be able to set your own start page. It will *
default to the OmniWeb site and try to entice you to purchase a license *
for the browser.
Omniweb can be downloaded from The Omni Group at:
* *
http://www.omnigroup.com
I was going to review iCab as well, but I wasn't satisfied with its *
performance and rendering of my suite of test websites. It was the *
slowest of the group and it had a hard time rendering simple forum *
pages.
iCab can be downloaded from:
* *
http://www.icab.de/
Speedwise, they're all pretty close. I'd have to say that ranking them *
from fastest to slowest would go like this:
Safari and OmniWeb
Camino
FireFox
Mozilla
iCab
