OmniWeb 5.5.3
Review - OmniWeb 5.5.3
by , 9:00 AM EST, January 29th, 2007
Apple's Safari Web browser is perfectly fine, but it isn't the only option available. In fact, one of the best browsers I've ever used doesn't come from Apple - it hails from the Omni Group, and it's called OmniWeb. OmniWeb is a full-featured browser, complete with RSS support, a robust history and bookmark system, and tabbed browsing. The tabbed browsing you'll see in OmniWeb, however, isn't like what you'll see in other browsers. Instead of a row of tabs across the top of your browser window, OmniWeb displays thumbnail images of each page you are viewing in a slide-out drawer.
Thumbnails instead of page names totally makes sense to me. Instead of relying on names that get truncated as you open more sites, you get a small visual representation of each page. You can also drag OmniWeb's tabs around to rearrange them. Since I typically have 15 or more pages open at any one time, OmniWeb's tabs are much easier to navigate compared to other browsers. OmniWeb lets you build Workspaces, or preset groups of Web pages. Each workspace can have its own settings, including window size, type size, and more. You can create multiple Workspaces, and open them whenever you like. Workspaces are really nice because you can create customized setups for the different tasks you do online. Let's say you visit a group of sites that display text in a type size that's way too small to read. No problem. Just create a Workspace that forces a larger type size for those pages. Workgroups are also useful if OmniWeb should crash (Thankfully, I can't recall the last time that happened to me). Relaunch OmniWeb, and it will restore your Workspace. You can also create site-specific settings. This is handy if you visit Web pages that may not be part of a Workgroup, but still need to be configured in a special way. OmniWeb also includes built-in ad and pop-up blockers. Both amazingly handy features when you are using a slow Internet connection and need to control your bandwidth. Dealing with cookies is an easy job, too. OmniWeb includes a robust cookie manager that lets you sort, search delete, save, and block cookies. Web pages render quickly in OmniWeb, and I think they look good, too. I found that some Web pages that render oddly in Safari look much better in OmniWeb. For example, on a few sites Safari leaves large empty spaces where content should appear - the content loads, but it ends up at the bottom of the page below the empty space. I don't have that problem with OmniWeb.
The one thing Safari has that I wish was available in OmniWeb is snap back. I love being able to click the little orange back arrow in Safari and jump back to the first page in a site or the last page I checked in a Google search. While most other Web browsers are free, or in the case of Safari, included with Mac OS X, OmniWeb costs US$14.95. Sure, you can get other browsers without shelling out any cash, but I have yet to find one that offers the full-on out of the box experience that OmniWeb does. The Bottom Line I know some people will freak out over spending 15 bucks on a Web browser, so let me ask you this: Is your time and productivity more valuable than the $15 price tag? If so, then download the 30 day trail and give OmniWeb a shot.
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Observer Comments
I absolutely love this browser. Maybe I'm biased since I first used it back in '94 on a NeXT. OmniWeb has a lot of little touches that make it great. To me, one of the nicest features is that it is a pretty browser and it's easy to read. I tend to get tired/strained eyes at the end of the work day, but with OmniWeb it's much less of an issue.
It seems to be a frames related problem, but www.themacgroove.co.uk and www.sofasoundstudio.com are 2 examples of sites that Omniweb can't open. I have come across so many others, I wish they'd fix it. OW has had this problem for agaes.
QuoteGuest wrote:
It seems to be a frames related problem, but www.themacgroove.co.uk and www.sofasoundstudio.com are 2 examples of sites that Omniweb can't open. I have come across so many others, I wish they'd fix it. OW has had this problem for agaes.
Other readers, do not be conned into clicking those links. This is just spam. OmniWeb renders them fine, this person posts this BS for every single update of OmniWeb at macupdate.com and versiontracker.com - it is just SPAM.
Mon Jan 29, 2007 6:55 pm Subject: Re: Snap back is in there
QuoteAnonymous wrote:
"The one thing Safari has that I wish was available in OmniWeb is snap back."
It is. History > Mark Page. (You can put its icon on the toolbar too.
There it is... just like you said. I've been using various versions of OmniWeb for a few years now, and never noticed Mark Page feature. I'll start playing with it and update my review once I'm comfortable talking about the feature.
OmniWeb has so many layers of customization that I keep finding new surprises all the time.
Jeff
I was a diehard Safari user but I decided to give OW a try last November and I haven't looked back since. It's like they took the best third party plugins from Safari and integrated into OW and it's integrated well which I really like. The adblock catches almost everything. I wasn't too hot on the sidebar tabs at first but it works really well if you want to open multiple links. You can drag and drop them into the sidebar. Pretty cool. It's a fast feature packed browser that's well worth the money.
I absolutely love OmniWeb, except for one thing:
It has horrible memory problems, or at least it did last time I used it. Actually, I should try it again; I think I last tried it on my 2004 PowerBook which only had 512 MB of RAM; I'm now the proud owner of a maxed-out MacBook Pro with 3 GB. But still, though it would probably run more smoothly, it doesn't solve the core problem; looking at Activity Monitor, its memory would absolutely balloon as I used it; after I've had it open for a day or so, it's using hundreds of megabytes (swap and physical), even if I close all the windows. Naturally, it's unusably slow by then. I hope they work on this for future versions.
Tue Jan 30, 2007 3:41 am Subject: Even better than the review describes! IMO
I crossed over to Omni in my family this past fall when my wife and children started complaining about how Safari was just non-responsive on many of their web pages (forums were their biggest problem), so I downloaded Firefox, Camino, and a couple others, but it seemed like all would work for a while, and then begin to slow down (yes, I _do_ have an ancient Pismo, but our kids are using a very recent Mini). Only Omniweb kept moving crisply, and loaded all their "demanding" forums with aplomb. So, I took advantage of the family licence, and we've been happy since. However, after upgrading, I've learned so much more about Omniweb that just blows away all the competition! It's site-specific settings are wonderfully customizable, including its ad-blocking features.
However, one area where the above review really falls short, IMO, in describing Omniweb is in its "tab" interface. Those little thumbnails can also be displayed as a text list display--which is great if you have a ton of tabs open--you can fit them all on one screen. But the real power comes when you want to break one of those multituninous tabs out. Just double-click it, and it is now in its own window, where you can populate it with its own batch of tabs! Want it back? Simply grab its thumbnail, or even its icon in the title bar, and drag it back to the original window's tab drawer! Have a link in your email? Drag it to the drawer, and put it where you want, and a new tab opens right where you want it! All this works with Expose, as well. I find that I use this feature constantly, creating views that work for me, rather than being forced to deal with things as they come. I now get frustrated when I move to other browsers. Can't imagine life without Omniweb now. It's only "weakness" is that when you close a tab, it doesn't take you to the previously-viewed tab, but the one below the removed one. Very minor issue.
Oh, and it seems to crash on my 8mb Video-ram too frequently. I know when it's going to "crash" because it only happens when certain apps (photo apps, mainly) open. Oh, and even though the Crash Catcher comes up, I can continue using Omniweb for hours _after_ it supposedly crashed! How's _that_ for stability!
Tue Jan 30, 2007 2:20 pm Subject: Let me tell a funny thing
QuoteGuest wrote:
I was a diehard Safari user but I decided to give OW a try last November and I haven't looked back since. It's like they took the best third party plugins from Safari and integrated into OW and it's integrated well which I really like. The adblock catches almost everything. I wasn't too hot on the sidebar tabs at first but it works really well if you want to open multiple links. You can drag and drop them into the sidebar. Pretty cool. It's a fast feature packed browser that's well worth the money.
Funny is, those third parties (and large vendors) generally got the features from Omniweb and they don't credit it.
For example, I heard entire "popup block" thing is an Omniweb invention but unfortunately I wasn't on Mac that time. Perhaps someone knowing the story may post it.
I was happily adding "auto sensed" RSS feeds before Tiger Safari came out via "Newspaper+" icon at right bottom, yes on OS X 10.3.x.
A tip: Check the right top of the form you type in this comment, click it and see what happens
BTW this is one of apps that I bought after 2 hours of trial. The reason was simple, I asked for a VERY TRIVIAL thing to be fixed as DEMO user, from Istanbul. In 10 minutes a developer replied to me saying it will be fixed (again: trivial!) in next release.
Thu Feb 01, 2007 11:15 am Subject: I paid more than twice
Well don't get me wrong i like omniweb, gave it a try, but somehow i hate the drawertab, personal preference really (ihope they give an option to use regular), then i'll use it, and also i do a lot of bookmarking and i want to be able to bookmark some site and able to view it in different place. with firefox i could use it though delicious.
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