None of the following browsers is perfect, each has its pros and its cons. Then I have to choose the one where pros are the ones I prefers, and the cons are not too annoying.
Safari 3.0:
- pros:
- Comes with MacOS X.
- Nice tab management : they may be reordered, moved to another page, and a thumbnail is displayed while reordering tabs.
- Fast launches and interface.
- Looks like a MacOS X software.
- Uses MacOS X keychain.
- Eye candy RSS feeds presentation.
- Picture rendering is able to use ICC profile from the picture.
- Use system spellchecker.
- Session saving while closing browser (with a con, see below).
- cons:
- No addons (some plugins exist).
- I don't like history: entries are number limited, unlike other browsers where it's age limited.
- Spellchecker is not complete: not all languages are available, US english only, etc.
- Javascript support seems to be better with other browsers.
- Session restore is not automatic, you have to ask for session restore manually.
Firefox 3.0
- pros:
- Nice tab management : they may be reordered, moved to another page.
- Many extensions.
- It use an internal keychain, but it can save many login / password couples for a single website.
- Multiplatform: I can use the same browser the same way with any system I use: MacOS X, Windows, Linux, etc.
- Eye candy RSS feeds presentation (like Safari). And it can add these feeds to online services.
- Integrated spellchecker is able to use many languages and allows to switch between them without restarting anything.
- Session saving while closing browser.
- Picture rendering uses ICC profile from the picture.
- cons:
- Slow to start.
- Rendering engine (Gecko) partially uses native widgets (buttons, checkboxes, lists) : if the widget has a style applied, native widget is not used.
Camino 1.5
- pros:
- Rendering engine uses native widgets.
- Faster start than Firefox.
- Looks like a MacOS X software.
- RSS feed management, but two basic : you can't preview the feed within the browser but have to subscribe to it with an external reader.
- Uses system spellchecker.
- Correct tab management : you can move tabs to another window.
- Session saving while closing browser.
- cons:
- No extensions (interface uses Cocoa and not XUL).
- Few preferences.
- I don't like keychain management: it's not possible to use more than one account with a single website, which may be annoying.
- You can't change spellchecker language.
- Can't reorder tabs within the same window.
Now, Firefox is the one I prefer. And if the issues it suffers could be fixed, it may be the perfect browser for me.
Commentaires
Concerning the spellcheck in Safari, it uses the Mac OS X spellcheck that is available to all Cocoa applications (so it is not specific to Safari, Camino uses the same since it is also a Cocoa app), and that is multilingual. Place your cursor in a textbox, right-click and choose Spelling... to bring up the spellcheck panel, then select the language you want from the Dictionary pulldown menu. Please note that you don't need to restart anything.
MadsnailFirefox on the other hand, since it is not a Cocoa application, uses its own small spellchecking engine that you actually have to add seperately.
Ooops, I had read your post a bit too quickly, this is exactly what you were saying.
MadsnailPlease disregard my previous comment.
With Camino I don't have the Cocoa “Spelling…” menu. This browser implements the system spellchecker, but uses its own way. That's why I have to change system international settings if I want to change its spellchecker language.
Arnaud BoudouOoops, I have answered too quickly :)
Arnaud BoudouSafari 3.0 also lets you re-order tabs. (Click and drag.)
Safari 3.0 does save session when closing browser. (When you next open Safari, go to the History menu and pick "Reopen Windows from Last Session")
I'm not too familiar with the others, but trying Firefox with some interesting extensions... and find it annoying that when saving an HTML page, it gets a cryptic name, whereas Safari gives it the name you would expect.
ScottYou're right. I still don't understand why I forgot to update tab management and session saving with Safari 3.0.
Thanks for the update :)
Arnaud BoudouThere are lots of add-ons/plug-ins. Check out pimpmysafari.com.
CornyIt's rather that Safari isn't designed to use plug-ins, so they may interfere each other or cause crashes. Just a little correction.