Safari vs Firefox On Windows
By safariguru
Which web browser is best Safari or Firefox? This is becoming more of a relevant question since Apple launched their famous internet tbrowser, Safari for Windows.
In the beginning of the internet web browsers were very limited as they used pure HTML, a markup language that is used web designers to transfer information across the internet so that it can be read by web browsers.
Web browsers have come a long way since their humble beginnings and it wasn't long before Microsoft came along with their attempt called Internet Explorer. I say attempt because ever since its conception, their browser faced non standard methods of rendering web pages.
Then along came Firefox, the things that attacted users to this new browser by Mozilla were:-
- the speed at which it rendered web pages - lightning fast
- the way it rendered web pages - standards compliant
- security - Firefox actively helps to block adverts, malware and phishing attacks
- customizability - Firefox plugins have transformed the internet browsing experience by allowing you to control the information you have whilst browsing. For instance you can see immediately the PageRank of any website, or modify the websites structure using a developer toolbar in real time.
One of the problems faced by Firefox is that over long periods of internet browsing it becomes very memory intensive which means restarting the browser, potentially losing your work or sometimes having to reboot your computer. Another problem is the startup time for the browser, basically the more plugins you have the slower it is to load first of all.
So how does the new version of Safari rack up against the almight Firefox?
Safari's strengths are:
- quick to load
- quick to load web pages
- comes with standard Safari plugins for windows
- standards compliant - recently passed the ACID 3 test
Unfortunately at time of writing Safari does not come with the ability to create user defined plugins in the way Firefox allows.
So which one is best?
This answer depends on what you want to use your internt browser for (besides browsing the internet obviously). If you need the bespoke plugins of Firefox to allow you to carry out your daily task in the web then Safari wont be able to help you at present. However if all you do is browse the internet all day then you will most likely welcome an extremely standards compliant browser which the Safari browser for windows has proved itself to be.
Comments
Switched permanently from internet explorer to firefox about a year ago and I've never looked back, firefox is safer, faster and more stable internet explorer 7 is a big improvement but still cannot trust it, only use to update windows.
I recently installed firefox 2.0 and its slightly slower and has crashed once or twice but its still a lot better then internet explorer 7.
When they make more addons available I MIGHT ponder the thought of switching from Firefox to Safari. But hands down firefox 3 is the best browser for windows based machines since sliced bread. If you carry out many ONLINE functions other than browsing Firefox 3 with the Plethora of addons will suit just any human being.
The Speed Safari boasts is over-hyped, seemed to me it was just catching the buffer and releasing all the information at once instead of streaming all of the loading at the same time. I don't see how it's faster, it's loading the same friggin speed just holding back the graphics once everything is loaded and hitting you with it like BLAM! But I still waited :(
I HAVE USED FIREFOX 3.0 AND IT'S HORRIBLE WHEN IT COMES TO SPEED. K-MELEON AND OTHER SMALLER BROWSER LIKE NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR ARE MUCH FASTER. EVEN SAFARI IS SLIGHTLY FASTER THAN FIREFOX. HOWEVER, I DO AGREE THAT INTERNET EXPLORER IS THE SLOWEST OF THEM ALL BUT IT'S MORE SECURE THAN THEM ALL TOO. SO IF YOU'RE THINKING FIREFOX, FORGET IT, IT ALSO USES TOO TOO MUCH MEMORY AND IT FREEZES UP A LOT. ONE OF THE FASTEST BROWSERS OUT THERE IS K-MELEON. SEE FOR YOURSELF
I love firefox, cannot do without it
Actually, I have used all the browsers in existence and have found that all the browsers have their advantages and disadvantages. Firefox is actually slower than opera and safari, but faster than IE. But its array of extensions makes it one of the best. But unlike firefox opera has almost all the features, that firefox gets from extensions, built in so opera does not need extensions and it's also faster than firefox. Then comes Safari, it is actually the fastest I've found but it's less feature packed compared to firefox or opera. So it depends on what you need. If you want just blind speed, safari is for you. If you want features and speed combined, choose opera. If you want famous, medium speed and millions of features(which you can get from extensions), choose firefox. If you are really crazy, choose IE.
My RSS feed comes up in Safari, but in Firefox if I click the RSS button in the URL line, I get a feedburner error page. ?
I use browsers to also watch video which can be very demanding on memory and cpu usage. Have used both firefox and safari and have found that safari is kinder on the memory and cpu and keeps the pc running smoothly.
Ive had firefox for about 4 years now it's the best iv tried and the fastest
LOVEN FIREFOX
guest 4 years ago
This article seems partial to Safari and is also incomplete. On my home Windows PC safari loads very slow compared to firefox. People may call safari to be fast loading. but I dont see that at all.
if you have lots of tabs opened, you cant scroll tab bar in safari. thats really horrible.
Firefox has far far far bigger set of plug-in. It has real strong support of open source community. Firefox is not meant to give benefits of any company (like apple).
even if safari is so called standard compliant, it represents tiny user base. so if some feature is supported by safari and not by firefox/ IE, no one is going to use it. so safari being standard compliant does not make anything better for user.
I am not firefox fan. Nor I say safari is bad. But safari is far away from replacing Firefox. Safari sure NOT the best browser as apple claims to be.