Camino

As mentioned previously, I’ve been a long-term devotee of Firefox.

However, I think I’ve found a browser I prefer to Firefox.

Camino.

Camino uses the same Gecko layout engine that Firefox itself uses, so compatibility with sites seems to be equal. Broadly speaking, the interface is similar to that of Firefox; popup blocker, the typical icons, address bar, Google search, and a tabbed interface.
However, the similarity ends there. Where Firefox is obviously a multiplatform port, Camino is a application dedicated to the Mac. The UI uses platform-native widgets; integration with the Mac’s standard features such as Spotlight, the Address Book, the Keychain, etc., is seamless and intuitive.

And it’s fast. Renders quickly; has a very snappy feel to it. Memory and CPU usage as compared to Firefox are both reduced.

It’s not Firefox and can’t run Firefox extensions, so there’s not the infinite customizability that Firefox offers. However, in that the built-in features such as ad blocking, keychain support, and bookmark management are just so good, it’s tough to miss the ability to add extensions.

There are some plugins available for Camino; I use the following two, both available from the PimpMyCamino site:

• User Agent, which allows custom setting of the user agent sent to remote sites. Handy for those “IE-only” sites.
• UnifyCamino, which improves the look of Camino even further. I use this extension to unify the bookmark bar with the toolbar, suppress the toolbar divider, and apply a ‘streamlined’ look to the tabs and status bar.

Camino is free and open-source.