Browsers utopia

By the time I started working with my MacBook I realized that I can have so many great browsers that I almost forgot about the existence of Internet Explorer. Now, really, does Internet Explorer exist?

Why am I talking about utopia? Because all the browsers of which I am going to tell you are fast, reliable and beautiful. Above all, I am happy because I know that my websites are going to look the way I designed them, apart from minor details. The whole experience becomes so pleasant that you don’t want stop surfing.

Of course I am not going to refer to all Mac browsers but to the ones I use day by day.

OmniWeb

Omniweb is my favorite one. From the very moment I downloaded it I loved it. I loved it so much that I bought it. Yes, OmniWeb does not come for free, it costs $14,95 but it worths every cent.

The main advantage of OmniWeb its tab drawer which can open on the left. It’s fast, stable and highly customizable. Not the perfect browser during design and/or development, mainly because there are browsers more capable than OmniWeb when it comes to professional use.

Safari

Apple claims it is the best browser in the world. I am not that sure, but I know well that Safari is the fastest one and a very stable browser. Safari is a must have browser and the Windows version is also great.

The latest version of the browser includes a new menu called “Develop” which makes it good during development as well. This menu can be even better and I think it will in the near future.

Camino

I feel Camino is an ignored browser by many users and I think it deserves more of our attention. It is very beautiful, fast and it feels as a native Mac application although it isn’t. It is an open source product and this is another reason we should spot the lights on it.

I am pretty sure Camino would have been my main browser if I hadn’t discovered OmniWeb.

Firefox

Firefox managed to be our favorite Windows browser and changed the way we think of the Web forever. It became so popular because it is a really great browser and it helped us move away from Internet Explorer. The Mac version of Firefox never felt as native as it could be, but the new version of it, Firefox 3, seems far better than the previous ones.

Firefox is simply the best during Web design and development thanks to the magnificent AddOns made for this purpose, it is also a child of open source coding and it becomes even better day by day.

Shiira

Shiira reminds me those girls who look very sweet and they only need some time to become real charming. Shiira is very beautiful and it has some features e.g. tabs on the left like OmniWeb, that make it worth mentioning. It deserves at least one download to your system.

The only thing I don’t like is some unexpected crashes and the fact I don’t feel people who created really care about its progress.

Opera

Opera is an unlucky browser because there is Firefox which makes all of us tend to forget it. Opera is very fast, faster than Firefox, very customizable and often updated. The extensions developed for it make it even better.

Every Web designer who really wants to test a website should have Opera among her applications. Even for typical users Opera is a browser you just can’t ignore.

Plainview

Plainview was developed for a single reason: to enhance presentations. It is a full screen browser which can help a lot people who make presentations.

I see is as an interesting experiment since it is not the most usable browser in the world and I am curious how better it can become.

This is the end of my list. I said nothing about Flock, a browser focused on social networking and iCab, a very plain but powerful browser. Both browsers are interesting and recommendable but I think there isn’t enough space for them as long as it regards me.

If you are a Mac user, don’t miss the browsers mentioned above. You ‘ll see why I talked about browsers utopia.