The release of Firefox 1.0 is a big , big deal . I ’ll allow that for we Mac user , it ’s not quite as vast a heap as it is for the oppressed Windows masses who once again have a legitimate choice to the ad - overrun corpse of Internet Explorer . But even for those of us in the tribe of Safari , competition is a in effect thing . And Firefox is a licit competitor to Safari .
Just as Safari has been built by Apple upon a understructure of open - source web web internet browser technology , so too has Firefox — but Firefox is an exclusively assailable - source project , part of the Mozilla Foundation ( an organization formed from the remnants of the web internet browser - building part of Netscape ) . fortuitously for Mac users , the detergent builder of Firefox did n’t bury to endure the Mac . That means that Firefox can offer Mac users a number of features that Safari just does n’t extend .
Safari is what it is , a product cautiously constructed by Apple to provide a bang-up browsing experience . And it ’s a really near web web browser . But Firefox has the tractability that Safari lacks : for case , although Firefox has a search field in its toolbar just like Safari , the Firefox search field can look for Google , Yahoo , Amazon.com , or any of heaps other hunt engines ( developer can write small Firefox plug - ins to lend support for any hunting engine under the sun ) .
Then there are the toolbars . If you ’re a Mac - only user , you may have never find out about the Google toolbar . It ’s an lend - on for the Windows version of Internet Explorer that offer pop - up blocking , quick entree to Google searching , and several other features . The Google toolbar does n’t exist for Firefox yet , although if it does it will mostly likely exercise on the Mac as well as on Windows . But in the interim , there are legion other third - political party toolbars that work with Firefox , and if you take a shine to even one of them , it might be enough to make you tack from Safari .
For a taste of the Google toolbar experience , taste theA9 Toolbar . It lets you search the entanglement directly via A9 , an Amazon.com - owned site that habituate Google ’s own search locomotive engine . A9 even goes further than Google , by letting you organize web - found bookmarker , get across your hunt and browsing history , and more .
If you build up WWW Page for a bread and butter , then believe Chris Pederick ’s Web Developer Extension . I first heard about this tool fromRob Griffiths ’ Mac OS X Hints site . Pederick ’s software tot a toolbar full of features that are priceless while you ’re build up connection pages . you may edit dash sheets , validate documents , resize to common window widths , and more , all fromwithinFirefox . It ’s really nerveless .
In term of universal browsing , I ’ve found Firefox to be just about as degraded as Safari . It does seem a bit sluggish when open unexampled window , and its user interface does n’t feelquiteMac native ( especially when it make out time to draw in HTML class elements , which total across with a definite Windows vibration ) . And for every bit when I get dun by something Firefox does in an un - Mac - same way , there ’s a moment of giddy uncovering when I find oneself a cool feature that Apple has n’t follow up yet , like Firefox ’s Find windowpane ( when you press command - F in Safari , a floating Find box opens ; in Firefox , a horizontal toolbar appears at the bottom of the windowpane with numerous hunting alternative ) .
In short , if you ’ve ever wondered if there might be something out there that ’s beneficial than Safari , there ’s never been a better time to try out Firefox . And did I mention that it ’s free , free , free ? you’re able to always go back to Safari if you do n’t like it .
lastly , I ’d be remiss if I talk over Safari alternatives without mentioning the Omni Group ’s $ 30OmniWeb 5 . It does just about everything Safari does , and has about a jillion fillip features that make it an excellent browser app for true Web magnate users . There ’s a costless demo , so you could see what the katzenjammer ’s about before plonk down your 30 clams .
The Mac , a Safari - only chopine ? Not anymore , my friends .
