Which web browser do you use?

[deepbluedigital]

When Deepblue-digital is doing SEO in Leeds it is Firefox all the way for us in terms of the browser display, plugins and add ons. All works very well for the SEO work we do allowing instant live feedback.

 

[TheTGDJ]

I'm currently using Firefox for my Mac as I think it's possibly the fastest one out there at the moment. I may decide to use Google chrome when it has come out of the beta stages.

 

[T_O_P12]

Safari vs Mozilla vs...

What browser do you use and why? Just got my new iMac so I have been using Safari and was just wonder if that is best for mac not not?

 

[harryb2448]

Strictly a matter of personal choice, however like Firefox 3.6 as it seems more stable than Safari.

 

[Jamie-Jamie]

I've been a Firefox adherent for years and lately switched to Safari 4. Personally I love it!

 

[vansmith]

Try them both and make that call for yourself. Only you can decide which browser you like best.

 

[chas_m]

I keep trying the others but keep coming back to Safari. It's clean, fast, and elegant (particularly with ClickToFlash installed). I also really like its iTunes-esque bookmark management. Firefox tends to get glommed up with too many add-ons, and I don't like the "native" look, but its a darn fine browser too.

For security reasons I'm not going near Google's Chrome until they fix some of their ongoing "tracking" issues, but I'm testing SBIron's privacy-protecting version of Chromium and its pretty good too. And I'm sure we'll here from fans of other browsers.

None of them suck, they are all pretty nice each in their own way. We have an embarrassment of riches our poor Windows cousins are barely even aware of.

 

[stewabr]

This is one point I disagree with Chas on (to be clear he is a great resource). Safari does indeed suck IMO. Everything it does is second class at best. I prefer Chrome for most things, Firefox for others on OS X. I also use Windows all day long and think IE8 and IE7 are significantly better than Safari as well. IE is required for many real business applications and therefore I commonly use it. My clients tend to be Fortune 100 and most only allow IE.

 

[Jamie-Jamie]

I almost forgot... I've always run OmniWeb as a second browser! Even back when it was a for-pay app, I thought it was more than worth it!

 

[vansmith]

This is one point I disagree with Chas on (to be clear he is a great resource). Safari does indeed suck IMO. Everything it does is second class at best. I prefer Chrome for most things, Firefox for others on OS X. I also use Windows all day long and think IE8 and IE7 are significantly better than Safari as well. IE is required for many real business applications and therefore I commonly use it. My clients tend to be Fortune 100 and most only allow IE.

And I will disagree with you. Safari uses WebKit as it's rendering engine which consistently does better than Trident (the engine for IE). It is much faster and more standards-compliant. You also couldn't think it's rendering is second class - you might want to look at what Chrome uses as its rendering engine remembering that Safari uses WebKit.

Just because web developers are stuck in IE development mode doesn't make it a better browser. Don't conflate pervasiveness with quality. Also, because "Fortune 100" uses something doesn't make it good. In fact, those companies haven't been making too many good decisions lately have they?

 

[stewabr]

What good is a browser if things don't work on it? Chrome tests out faster in all cases on my MBP. Safari is clumsy and poorly designed from a UI standpoint as well IMO. I honestly tried to use it but I just can't find a compelling reason why it wouldn't finish behind anything besides IE6. I'm going to ignore the Windows version of Safari which can only be described as a mistake.

 

[vansmith]

What pages don't work in Safari likely won't work in Chrome - they use the same rendering engine. I fail to see how you can appreciate one from a technical standpoint over the other so much more when they are so similar. Sure, you may have critiques about the UI or the features but arguing that Safari is bad on technical merits is a bit absurd. And how is the UI poorly designed? It has to be one of the most minimalist and uncluttered browsers on the market. And trust me, from a technical standpoint, there is little that will finish ahead of it. Do you have any tests to backup your claim that Safari is a terrible browser technically?

 

[DarkestRitual]

Safari is a great browser, for me though. I prefer Chrome now. It's much faster loading pages, despite only being a 32 bit release (they totally need to make the 64 bit version already). I also dig that I can skin it, though the available skins kind of suck. I've found one that I can get by with until I make my own.

 

[stewabr]

What pages don't work in Safari likely won't work in Chrome - they use the same rendering engine. I fail to see how you can appreciate one from a technical standpoint over the other so much more when they are so similar. Sure, you may have critiques about the UI or the features but arguing that Safari is bad on technical merits is a bit absurd. And how is the UI poorly designed? It has to be one of the most minimalist and uncluttered browsers on the market. And trust me, from a technical standpoint, there is little that will finish ahead of it. Do you have any tests to backup your claim that Safari is a terrible browser technically?

Only ever single speed test I have ever run comparing the two (please note that I didn't actually save them but will start if you really want the stats). Chrome consistently performed better. Compatability wise you are, of course, correct because they use the same base. The UI may be uncluttered but it is also very poor IMO. I'm not sure what to say to you. There's just no way that given the better speed, far better UI and equal compability that I could find an reasonable way to think that Safari was worthwhile.

Safari seems to have a very emotional following that I'll never understand. I'm not attached to any of them. Just like I wasn't attached to Windows. I compare, test for myself and pick the best to do the job. I truly don't care who the development team works for or which company is behind a product.

 

[stans34]

I'm also a fan of using Safari over anything else

 

[Jamie-Jamie]

If you like WebKit, why not try OmniWeb or Shiira?

 

[bellerobot]

Safari is extremely good on Mac. I try all of the others and finally get back to Safari. I have no comment about Safari on windows.

 

[toMACsh]

Safari works great for me. I've no reason to test other browsers. Firefox is installed and used too, mostly because of a suggestion made for an online college course. But, I bet Safari would do the job, just haven't tried it.

 

[quin]

I've been using Firefox over Safari. Tried Safari, it's pretty good, but missing something that my Firefox with GrApple theme installed, I can't do without. Firefox gives me 3 finger swipe Home and End key replacement, Safari doesn't. Come on Apple get with it. How hard is it to add that option.

To check the last comment of a thread, I just swipe down Bam! end of page, skipped through all the old post

BTW, GrApple theme mimic the look of OS X and Safari to a T

 

[ellenm]

I was a die-hard Firefox user on my Windows machines but for the last month or so been using Safari because it is quicker and lighter than Firefox. I went back to Firefox for a total of five minutes the other day and went back to Safari.

I am missing some plugins that I liked but don't miss the bloat in comparison to Safari. That's just my opinion though.