andy9701's Journal: Of Web Browsers, Keyboard Shortcuts, and Extensibility

Nothing is perfect.

I've been finding myself hard to accept this as of late, at least as it relates to computer programs and technology.

It seems like everywhere that I turn in the Mac web community, all I read is about how awesome Safari is compared to Firefox. It's a more Mac-like program. It's JavaScript engine runs circles around Firefox (well, if it doesn't today, maybe that's in the next version). It's just all around better.

Whenever I try to use Safari, I just can't do it. I'm sure part of it is that I've been using Firefox for so long now that I'm used to it, and Safari does do some things differently (for better or for worse). But even still - there is just something about it that causes a mental block that I just can't get over.

I think it must be the extensibility of Firefox that does it. Granted, I don't run a ton of extensions, but the idea of actually being able to greatly modify my browser is quite powerful. While Safari kind of has that option (using Input Manager hacks, which (as I understand it) calling them hacks is being generous), in Firefox extensibility is a baked in feature, fully documented and supported. How can I turn down that power?

Then I type Control + Shift + E to select all of the text in the current Firefox text box from the insertion point to the end of the line, and nothing happens. Aaargh...so close, yet so far. Maybe it's a compliment to Firefox that it has fooled me into thinking that it is a "real" Mac program, when clearly it isn't. Don't get me wrong - Firefox 3 is greatly improved over Firefox 2 in this department. Still, clearly there is work to be done.

Why can't there be a web browser for the Mac that is a real, full-fledged Mac program yet fully extensible at the same time? Is that too much to ask?

Apparently so.