I'm not just talking about simple config stuff like setting a couple of preferences. I'm talking about stuff like importing bookmarks (ok, that one can be quick), figuring out how to support quick-searching for services other than Google, trying to get something that will give the functionality of some plugins I've come to use, etc.. Lots of patching to get everything. Firefox needed changes and extensions, so do the others.

I don't go back to Firefox 1.0 because I haven't run that in ages. I had been running a nightly for the longest time and it offered a bunch of features of 1.5 (like enw prefs) that I could not give up by going to 1.0. Plus none of the current extensions I'm using will work with 1.0 - I'd have to go find versions appropriate for whatever version I went back to. I'd gain some speed and stability but I'd lose in other areas.

Other browsers may be worse in terms of site support and/or feature availability (and features can be a matter of personal preference). For the Mac there's also Navigator, Mozilla, Camino, iCab and a bunch of other small ones. Together with your list that's more than I can name for Windows. Not sure how many of these are still supported, but, including IE, they all still work (to some degree).

I mentioned that I started looking at Safari and Camino again. I found it was taking me too much time to get through all the patching and looking through all the plugins and hacks. too much thinking that I needed to dedicate to work. Writing a message like this doesn't take very long and isn't anywhere near as tedious.

Anyway, Safari with some patching has a better looking GUI than Firefox, as does Camino. Firefox has the neat search bar that appears on the bottom of the screen, but you can install real-time type-and-search plugins for the other two. Safari has history in its search, Firefox and Camino don't. Google's toolbar is a BIG plus for Firefox and it does have history. It'd be nice if they made one for Safari which has a much higher install base on Mac OS than Firefox the last time I heard.

Anyway, I like things about all three above browsers - I haven't tried Opera and OmniWeb in years and don't know there's any reason I should try them now.

Anyway, the initial rant was mainly because Firefox has been acting like a pig and because the Camino developers (some of them) seem to be complete jerk-offs. Here's an interesting find in Camino. They rave about making it more Mac-like yet their button press images within the browser view are incorrect. Corrupted if you will.