Mac OS X Web browser rundown 2007

Several years ago, when Mac OS X was still a very young operating system, it was hard to find a really good and stable web browser for the Mac. Pretty much the only viable option for the first release of Mac OS X in 2001 was Internet Explorer 5.

I wanted something better than IE, so as soon as it would run natively on Mac OS X I switched to Mozilla. I don't remember exactly when and which version of Mozilla I used, but I think it was before Mozilla 1.0 was released, so in late 2001 or early 2002. It was a bit shaky, but it was still better and faster than IE. And IE and Mozilla were the only real options you had back then, unless you wanted to run a web browser in Classic mode (Mac OS 9 emulation).

Today, in late 2007, things are different. Very different. Mac OS X users have a large number of excellent, standards compliant browsers to choose from. And Internet Explorer is no longer an option, since it has been discontinued and is no longer available for download from Microsoft. Internet Explorer 5 for the Mac was once a great browser, but the rest have caught up and surpassed it years ago. I don't think there are many who miss it.