Why use Firefox or Camino instead of Safari?

[Eric559]

There's more than one because people have choices. Just because it's a good browser for one person maybe another person chooses to use another browser for it's social networking features (ie Flock) or for it's various third-party plugins. "Hey, Safari looks good and works great but I'm going to use Firefox because that's what I'm used to."

 

[baggss]

Sadly, that question is sort of asking "Why are there so many OS's around?".

Choice is usually a good thing, although to much choice can be counter productive at times.

 

[Zoolook]

I guess you didn't understand me.

It's not bugging me that people are using other browsers than Safari.

The thing that bugs me is that I don't really understand why are there so many browsers around?

I mean, it's not like Windows which we all know Internet Explorer is very bad (both for computer and your health ), in Mac there's Safari which is a very good browser, if not one of the best i've ever seen.

I disagree, actually it is a lot like IE in some ways. IE is not a bad browser anyway, all you need to do is enable pop-up blocking, disable Active X and refrain from downloading any tool bars, and it'll do the job as well as any open source browser. Oh and I used Firefox on Windows since the Firebird 0.3 days so I did avoid it, but I think saying it is a bad browser is like saying WinXP is a 'bad' OS; just an opinion and an ill-educated one at that.

I really want to love Safari, but I genuinely don't think it is the best browser, feature for feature, on the Mac. Firefox may look a teeny weeny bit ugly (although it takes about 9 seconds to download a theme to cover 90% of the cracks), so there is always Camino, which launches just as quick as Safari, still looks great, uses keychain and blocks ads automatically with no configuration - plus is accepted by any ite that accepts Firefox. Even Opera offers marginally more compatibility and add-ons than Safari. One should probably note that it is not really in Apple's best interest to distribute a browser that can be easily modded to ignore ads and spam.

 

[Dawson]

When I first moved to the Mac in April, I immediately downloaded Firefox because it was what I had been using on Windows. After realizing just what absolute rubbish it is, I moved to Camino, which I always thought had the most beautiful interface. Since installing Leopard, though, I have become a Safari guy. I feel like I finally have a browsing environment in which all of my needs are met.

Safari + Saft + SafariStand + PithHelmet = the best browsing experience out there.

 

[Erudite.Warrior]

I used Firefox and now use Camino because you can create exception lists for pop-ups (can't understand why this feature from 2003 can't be put into Safari) and because the ad-block is hassle free - with Safari Block you have to create all the lists from scratch.

Camino is pretty much Firefox rendering and feautres (minus extensions) written in Cocoa and uses Keychain rather than Firefox's sandbox security.

Totally agree. Also, in my experience, Camino is significantly faster at loading pages than FF or Safari.

 

[hndcvcboi]

When I first moved to the Mac in April, I immediately downloaded Firefox because it was what I had been using on Windows. After realizing just what absolute rubbish it is, I moved to Camino, which I always thought had the most beautiful interface. Since installing Leopard, though, I have become a Safari guy. I feel like I finally have a browsing environment in which all of my needs are met.

Safari + Saft + SafariStand + PithHelmet = the best browsing experience out there.

Are you saying that you use Saft and SafariStand together? Don't they conflict with each other?

 

[Collapshi]

now that the focus is in general browsers, is there a way of copying the bookmarks from safari and use them on other browsers like firefox camino or opera?

 

[JohnJohn]

FF for me

Stumble tool bar, FoxMarks sync bookmarks with PC FF, easier tab browsing, Wordpress extensions...

 

[rcltrh]

Heres a reason, Safari 3 cant print Delta airlines boarding passes without shrinking them to about half their correct size which the airports will not accept. Safari 2 worked fine and so do FF and Camino, but Safari 3 shrinks the print size and I have tried everything I can to make it normal size print but nothing works on multiple printers and multiple machines all running Safari 3.

 

[imacQ]

Extensions/plugins are great. I have some installed in Firefox that allow me to grab and save any video file that is playing in my browser, even ones that are not normally grabbable (youtube type sites, yahoo media, music videos, news sites, etc). Safari doesn't allow you to do that.

Which one do you use...? Do you have a recommendation? Safari does, but you have to install SafariStand, which is now in Beta for Safari 3. so I'll wait till the Alpha is ready.

Also it's easy to block ads with Safari, just use CSS, everything you need is here:

http://www.floppymoose.com/

 

[baggss]

Heres a reason, Safari 3 cant print Delta airlines boarding passes without shrinking them to about half their correct size which the airports will not accept. Safari 2 worked fine and so do FF and Camino, but Safari 3 shrinks the print size and I have tried everything I can to make it normal size print but nothing works on multiple printers and multiple machines all running Safari 3.

That's what you get for flying Delta...

 

[D3v1L80Y]

Why use Firefox or Camino instead of Safari?
It just keeps bugging me.

Why start yet another thread on this topic? It bugs me that people don't search before they post.

The thing that bugs me is that I don't really understand why are there so many browsers around?

That is the beauty of choice and options. The only thing that makes one browser better than another is personal preference. You don't like one?... don't use it and leave it at that.

 

[RONE]

Which one do you use...? Do you have a recommendation? Safari does, but you have to install SafariStand, which is now in Beta for Safari 3. so I'll wait till the Alpha is ready.

Also it's easy to block ads with Safari, just use CSS, everything you need is here:

http://www.floppymoose.com/

I'm giving this a try now. Thanks for posting it. I've been looking for an alternative for Safari 3.0.4 on OSX 10.4.11, seeing as PithHelmet doesn't work anymore.

 

[the8thark]

I prefer Safat cause it is more customisable. That's basically it. And the fact I don't want to and not exactly sure how to port all my FF bookmarks into Safari.

 

[Dawson]

Are you saying that you use Saft and SafariStand together? Don't they conflict with each other?

Nope. They work like a charm.

 

[userbinry4n]

I use safari all the time, everyday. I have yet to come across i site that will not let me use safari, but i am sure that they are out there. I am not saying that this is the case but could it be that some people have not upgraded to the new safari? If not, do. because mine is great! if it is just because you prefer firefox because just because you prefer it, good on you. ( i can understand getting use to a web browser, i am the same with safari)

 

[MacHeadCase]

Nope. They work like a charm.

Same here.

This is for the 10.4.11 Safari.

 

[chicubs3794]

its like on a pc
safari = default browser on mac
IE = default browser on pc
theyre both faster than fire fox
but come with less limited options

 

[rich6490]

its like on a pc
safari = default browser on mac
IE = default browser on pc
theyre both faster than fire fox
but come with less limited options

You couldn't be more wrong....IE, is a joke. Safari and Firefox, are awesome. Safari cannot be compared to IE in any way.

 

[Arekisu]

I went from IE to Mozilla to Firefox on my PC, so i naturally downloaded Firefox when i got my macbook. Never really looked at Safari or Camino.