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In the previous review we have considered the most popular modern browsers – Windows Internet Explorer,Mozilla Firefox and Opera. In this article we will present description of some less popular browsers which are often called alternative. If the target audience of your site uses these very alternative browsers it is highly recommended to test the cross-browser compatibility of your site in these browsers along with the most popular ones.
Safari
Safari browser was initially developed by Apple for work under the management of Mac OS X operating system. For the first time Safari was included as a component of Mac OS X 10.3 Panther and was the only supplied browser in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger.
Modern versions of Safari (beginning with 3.1) are available for work under the management of Windows operating system (Windows XP and Windows Vista versions). Functionality of this browser for Windows is the same as that for Mac OS X. Elements of its interface are performed in the style of Mac OS X which is unusual for Windows users.
Facilities of Safari browser permit:
- to use tabs and to block pop-ups
- to use built-in search facilities of Google and Yahoo
- to find text fragments on the page, to check spelling during entering information into the text fields, to identify non-standard fonts and load them automatically
- to use built-in RSS-aggregator
- not to save clickstream, passwords and entered data, to use Snapback function which permits to come back to the top level of any site even if you have gone several levels downwards
- to integrate multimedia QuickTime technologies
- to view DOM of pages with the help of Web Inspector
- to view the lists of the most visited sites with the help of Top Site function
Google Chrome
Google Chrome is one of the youngest modern browsers. Its beta version was released in September 2008 and its first stable version was released in December 2008. Google Chrome is developed on the basis of Webkit web browser engine and is an open source browser.
Functional facilities of Google Chrome are similar to standard modern functional of other browsers. For instance, Google Chrome also uses tab system. But the distinctive feature of Google Chrome is that every open tab is a separate process. That is why errors which appear during display of one tab do not disrupt the work of the whole browser. It is enough just to kill the process of the non-working tab.
Address bar of the browser is called Omnibox; it supports autofill which takes into account popularity of websites, density of the required word on the sites, clickstream and presence of site in the user's bookmarks.
Camino
Camino is a browser which is based on Gecko layout engine and is developed by Mozilla Foundation. Camino browser is free, Mozilla-based and available for Mac OS X only.
In Camino XUL-interface which is common for Mozilla is replaced by Cocoa-interface. It does not contain e-mail services or instruments for website development. But Camino can be completely integrated into the environment of Mas OS X operating system; it permits Camino to use system services of this OS, address book, services of user's secret information storage.
Camino has all standard modern functions such as:
- work with built-in instruments of search in the Internet and bookmarks
- blocking of pop-ups and unwanted ads
- site display in tabs
- work with clickstream data: passwords, browsing history logs, cookies
- file download with the help of download manager
Advantages of Camino browser are high processing speed and accuracy of website visualization.
Netscape Navigator
Netscape Navigator was a quite popular browser several years ago. It was the main competitor of Internet Explorer. It was released by Netscape Communications from 1994 till 2007. Its latest versions were based on Mozilla Application Suite and Mozilla Firefox. On December 28, 2007 manufacturing company announced ceasing of development and support of the browser. On March 1, 2008 AOL stopped maintenance of this browser.
But earlier released versions are available for use even now. The browser works in Windows, Mac OS X and Linux operating systems. Netscape Navigator supports the facility of creating user interface thanks to the so-called “skins” (visual shells).
Among useful components of Netscape Navigator we can name e-mail client Netscape Mail, HTML-editor Netscape Composer, application for Internet telephony Net2Phon.
Considered browsers are, of course, less popular than, for instance, Internet Explorer. Some of them are too young like Google Chrome, some are on the contrary outdated like Netscape Navigator and some can function in one certain operating system like Camino. But nevertheless a certain number (approximately 2,7% for Google Chrome and Safari) of Internet users all over the world actively use these very alternative browsers. That is why it is very important to take into account functioning and display of the site in these browsers if it is developed for the region where these browsers enjoy popularity.
TAGS
website development,
browser,
google chrome,
safari,
camino,
netscape navigator,
browser review,
alternative browser |
website development 
