I’m sure that most people who have been reading my blog or listening to my various podcasts for awhile are aware of my ever-changing attitude towards web browsers. Ever since Safari was first released by Apple back in 2003, I have never used a particular web browser continuously for more than a year at a time. I ditched Internet Explorer back when Safari came out in 2003, and since then have utilized Safari, Mozilla (later replaced to be Seamonkey), Firefox, Camino, and OmniWeb (and I’ve promised myself that I’ll give Flock a try one of these days) over various times, even switching back and forth between them a few times. Two years ago (summer 2006), I went with Firefox 2 beta for a few months, liking it more and more as it went mature, but then shortly after it went mature (and Camino later went 1.0), I switched over to Camino for a good while. Then, last October, when Leopard came out, I gave Safari another go, and found myself loving how it had been improved in Leopard.

Well, about a month and a half ago, Firefox 3 went final. Regardless of your choice of web browser, you have probably heard about Firefox 3’s release and how it successfully set (perhaps even inaugurated) a Guinness World Record for most copies of a software application downloaded in a 24-hour time period, with over 8 million downloads. And, just to show that I was part of the fun, I downloaded Firefox 3 that day too, and I even have a certificate to prove it. However, once I opened up Firefox, I found, lo and behold, that the browser feels so much nicer, smoother, faster, and more Mac-like than Firefox 2 did, and since then, I’ve been using Firefox now for the past six weeks, evaluating it and getting a feel for it, and so now it’s time for me to review it.
Continue reading »

Tags: Firefox, Mozilla, review, update, web browser, world record

In a future blog post, I’ll be reviewing Firefox 3 (which I’ve been playing around with for awhile) and the various Firefox extensions that I’ve been using with it. I’d like to ask of the other Firefox users out there if they have any Firefox extensions that they really like and would recommend that I try out. Head on down to the Comments section and share your suggestions (and help me get even more out of Firefox)!

Tags: addons, extensions, Firefox, web browser

Safari may be Apple’s default web browser, and it may have been announced simultaneously with the new features in Leopard, but strangely enough, it actually isn’t a Leopard-specific feature. Safari 3 has been available in a Public Beta for Tiger users since early June, however it wasn’t in a perfect state and did cause some compatibility problems with other applications because of the new version of WebKit that it installed. However, shortly after Leopard was out, a final version of Safari 3 was also delivered for Tiger users.

And of course, Safari is one of the few Mac applications that is available on other platforms, most specifically (and most controversially) the Windows platform. Larry and I had a 30 minute-long debate about this on PreviewCast #035. Safari 3 is still in a public beta for the Windows platform, unlike both the Tiger and Leopard versions which are now fully stable releases. The lagging of the Windows side could possibly be attributed to the fact that despite Safari’s “focus on security from day one,” the Windows Safari was ripped to shreds by hackers on day two. Oh, and Safari also exists, probably most famously, on the iPhone and iPod touch.

But I’ve upgraded to Leopard, and for me, the guy who threw out Safari Public Beta on day three because of how much it messed up my other apps at the time, Safari 3 is a new feature in Leopard, and so I’m going to review it from a Safari 2 on Tiger to Safari 3 in Leopard point of view. Things that I talk about in this Leopard Feature Presentation may not necessarily reflect your Safari 3 experience on Tiger or on Windows, and most definitely will not reflect your Safari experience on the iPhone/iPod touch. Nevertheless, despite my previous heartfelt love for Camino, I’ve spent the last few weeks giving Safari a whirl, and I’m ready to give it its review.
Continue reading »

Tags: beta, blocking, bookmarks, features, forms, innovation, Leopard Feature Presentation, Mac OS X Leopard, review, Safari, tabs, web browser, WebKit