I am sorry I left you for almost a week, Firefox
Yes, I gave up on Safari. Two days ahead of time I am switching back to Firefox to get some real work done, faster.
Even though Safari is the faster browser, I work faster with firefox. The bookmark handling, the awesome bar and other features are just so much better. Firefox even has better drag and drop functionality, which really is a bit surprising given how Apple promotes that feature in it’s applications.
Here are the things I want Firefox to adopt from Safari:
- Speed
- Smart page for new tab (I like Opera’s speed dial even better)
Short list, I know, but Firefox really is ahead on most of the features I use. What I really would love though, is a browser that uses the WebKit rendering engine, but is compatible with Firefox extensions. That would be awesome.
Now I will probably stay with Firefox until Chrome is released for Mac, unless I decide to try Camino first. I am open to new browsers, but I feel like I will stay with Firefox for a long time, maybe until someone can match or beat the awesome bar.
safari logo
No, I am not going traveling again. I am going to try Safari as my default browser at home for a week. I’ve used Firefox since version 1.5, and I feel like I want to try something new. The main reasons I went for Safari is speed and Mac integration. Safari 4 on Snow Leopard is insanely fast.
I will post how it goes in about a weeks time. Will I miss flashblock, or all my other extensions? I know the one thing that will bring me back to firefox occasionally is firebug, but I am not an active web developer for the time being, so it won’t be that often.
What I miss already:
While I wrote this article I found some things I already miss:
- The awesome bar (searching directly from it and smart-searching my history and bookmarks)
- Google Gears (really Google? No support for Safari on Snow Leopard? Shame on you!)
Wish me luck.
If you are somewhat updated on the latest tech you might know that OS X Snow Leopard added support for a technology called OpenCL, a general purpose language comparable to OpenGL (graphics only). The same group that standardizes OpenGL, the Khronos Group, are also working on a separate project, WebGL.
What is WebGL?
WebGL is a language meant to bring full hardware accelerated 3D graphics to the browser. What this means is that when this is implemented, you can play full desktop-like 3D games directly in your browsers. And other 3D apps will be possible too.
Safari and chrome’s base technology, WebKit, is now in the process of getting support for this technology. What this means is that we might see support for this feature already within the next year, if not earlier. And since WebGL uses OpenGL ES 2.0, the iPhone might even get support for this feature.
WebGL Tech preview
What is the catch?
None! Or wait, there is one. This won’t get used to it’s full potential before ALL major browsers support it. And as usual, I fear that Microsoft with it’s Internet Explorer will drag it’s feet or not implement it at all. This doesn’t mean it is hopeless though, as more and more people are switching browsers, and more and more developers choses to drop IE if they can get more work done when not supporting it.
You can read more on the wolfire blog.
Apple has announced the release of then next version of OS X, 10.6, Snow Leopard. Snow Leopard will be released this Friday, 28. August. It will bring many refinements to their already praised operating system. OS X Leopard is considered by many to be the market leader in user interface, stability and speed. Snow Leopard builds on this, making it even better. I have pre-ordered mine already.
News for everybody
- Smaller: Snow Leopard is 7GB smaller, while keeping all the features and more. This is because of optimizing in the code.
- Even faster: Snow Leopard is significantly faster, most noticeable at start up, shut down, connecting to networks, and using built in programs like mail, safari and finder.
- Using your hardware more effectively: Apple has made technologies that will make it easier for third party software developers to make software faster, and more power efficient.
- New mediaplayer (QuickTime X): QuickTime X is based partially on the research done for the iPhone video player. It also contains video editing tools, which was previously a QuickTime pro feature, available for purchase. QuickTime Pro is no more.
- Better videochat: iChat is now capable of showing 4x the quality compared to before, with only 1/3 of the bandwith.
- Stability improvements: Even less crashes than before, for example in safari. Flash and other plugins will no longer make safari crash with them.
- Exchange support: If your workplace uses MS Exchange, you can now read your email and see your contacts directly on your mac, without Microsoft Office.
- Several small interface improvements: Apple has made improvements to the user interface based on feedback. For example the possibility of browsing folders in stacks.
- More accessible: Snow Leopard expands on the previous accessibility features with more voice over features, and more.
- Quicker backup with Time Machine.
- Write on the keypad: You can now write chinese characters on the keypad with your fingers.
News for nerds, stuff that matters
If you understood the headline of this section, you can read on. If not, just skip this.
- 64-bit all over: Snow Leopard is now almost fully converted to 64-bit. The kernel and the subsystem, and most of the software and utilities.
- Grand Central Dispatch: An advanced technology to make multi threading easier and more efficient.
- OpenCL: This C-based standard makes it easier to use the power of the GPU for normal computing tasks.
- Many rewrites of code to make use of GCD, and to make the system more responsive.
