Camino 2.0 Finally Ships, Well Worth the Wait
3:32 am, November 20th, 2009, Pete Mortensen
You know, even after all these years, Mozilla Firefox still isn’t great. The interface looks un-Mac-like, the performance is worse than on Windows, and it just feels like an after-thought. Fortunately for those who still have a lot of love for the Gecko rendering engine, the folks behind the Camino Project continue to do brilliant work on their independent Camino browser, the 2.0 release of which shipped yesterday.
I’ve been an avid Camino user since it was known as Chimera, and the new version has lots to offer, particularly in terms of stability, security, and one totally unique feature. Needless to say, it remains (in subjective experience) the fastest browser on the planet, and it’s finally caught up to Safari with annoyance blocking, malware/phishing protection, tab re-ordering and Keychain support. But the headline addition here is Tab Overview, a very cool idea that works like Exposé for your browser tabs. Basically, you just type CTRL-CMD-T, and you get a dynamically resizing window with snapshots of everything you have open. It’s quick and nearly flawless.
I want to use it steadily for a few days before I render a final verdict, but I might just be in love.
Posted by Pete Mortensen in News, Software | Comment on this article
I have nothing against Camino but if, as stated in this article the “headline addition” for a 2.0 version of a browser is Tab Overview, that says a lot.
pax, on November 20th, 2009 at 4:48 am
Are there any ad blockers that work with Camino 2 – That’s my main reason for using Firefox.
mrplow, on November 20th, 2009 at 5:04 am
Firefox 3.5+ together with the GrApple theme (http://www.takebacktheweb.org), Fission (merges page load and address bar), and a couple of other plugins, is a much better alternative than Camino. After a handful of 3rd party plugins, FF nearly mimics the Safari interface. Moreover, Camino doesn’t really scream Mac all that much either… the buttons are ugly and the tab bar has those awkwardly placed tabs at the bottom (unlike Safari who’s style is much better suited to having the tabs stick out from the top).
Sure FF takes a good 5 to 6 bounces to start. But it renders pages quickly and has a lot of extensibility features (blocking ads to invaluable developer tools). It really is a much robust browser than Camino. The plugins alone keep people using FF… that has to count for something. Camino is really a one trick pony with nothing really all that revolutionary. It doesn’t have anything over Safari and I don’t know why someone would switch. FF has a number of features over Safari.
WS, on November 20th, 2009 at 5:20 am
How much more biased to a single product can a article be? I will read all Mr. Mortensen’s articles with a better understanding of him now.
Throwing FF under the bus because he’s “in love.”
Ronnie, on November 20th, 2009 at 5:51 am
I agree with the comment above. the interface is a bit hideous in my opinion. I like safari, because of top sites, and because it fits in with everything else and doesnt look out of place. the buttons in the taskbar of this camino look like it belongs on one of those laptops for children
Benny, on November 20th, 2009 at 6:49 am
In my opinion Camino is the best browser around. However after I had installed 2.0 my 1Password icon refuses to show up. Now I’m in a dilemma: going back to Safari (where 1Password works flawlessly) or upgrading to a newer version of 1Password which will set me back $40?
Allie Parker, on November 20th, 2009 at 8:33 am
I completely agree with WS. Camino is now pointless.
Firefox is more extensible and customizable than Camino, and IMO it looks more mac-like too. But if you like the Camino look just install the CamiFox theme.
Then you have Safari, which looks great and is super fast. If you install Glims or Saft, you get a full featured browser.
Don Pope, on November 20th, 2009 at 9:04 am
It won’t even launch on my PowerBook G4.
I had to use Time Machine to revert back to 1.6.10
MacRat, on November 20th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Camino 2 uses WAY more cycles than 1.6.10 making it slower and more heat producing on my 1.83Ghz MBP. I’ve reverted to 1.6.10 until this improves.
camino2skeptic, on November 20th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Aside from the rendering engine, I don’t get why people compare Camino to Firefox. Camino is a Mac Application built from the ground-up, while Firefox uses virtually no services provided by OSX. I use Camino because I like having that level of OS integration. Some, however, prefer to add whatever features they want individually through Firefox add-ons. I don’t care which one you prefer, but the comparison is pointless. Comparing Camino to Safari, Omniweb, iCab, or any other OSX-built browser makes a lot more sense to me.
Rick, on November 20th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
I’m not sure if it’s just my computer, but I was using flock before I switched to Camino, and camino is ridiculously fast compared to flock.
Alex, on November 20th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
@Allie Parker,
We hope to release an update to 1Password 2 that will support the new version of Camino soon. Also, the upgrade price for 1Password 3 is much lower than you mentioned in your post.
Best regards, Roustem
Co-author of 1Password
Roustem Karimov, on November 20th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Just noticed an Ad Blocking and Flash blocking feature in the Prefs of Camino. Nice.
Steve, on November 20th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Oh and passwords save to the keychain rather than the insecure (IMO) password manager that firefox uses. Fine on Windows, not on OS X.
Steve, on November 20th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
until other browsers get a add-ons like FF
i will use FF forever
with my add-ons, it’s MY browser
Steven, on November 21st, 2009 at 10:44 am
i use all (FF, safari, and camino).
the reality is FF rules the addon war!
But several webpages still require IE on windoz, so we’re screwed
ged, on November 22nd, 2009 at 9:16 am
Does Camino 2.0 launch as fast as Camino 1.x? I use Camino as a secondary browser for checking out video stuff that Safari & PithHelmet don’t agree with even after using the PH refresh where PH is supposedly disabled. I love how quick Camino 1.x launches.
Cowicide, on November 22nd, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Safari is a buggy browser. Handling Java is an experience to behold. We all love Mac’s but blindly overlooking faults is akin to fanaticism. Open Source software, in any form, is to be appreciated and encouraged.
Silver, on November 22nd, 2009 at 7:10 pm
I just love Camino
Miguel_A, on November 23rd, 2009 at 8:14 am
I’ve used Camino and to me it is just a slight variation on Safari. Personally, I have very few issues with Firefox and until I can get most of my plug-ins through Chrome I won’t be switching from it any time soon.
Mathew Ballard, on November 29th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Camino: fast, compatible, reliable, good Mac citizen … love it.
Eoin, on December 13th, 2009 at 4:35 am
camino has much better search engine customization than firefox (’search this site’ being the most useful addon) and FAR SUPERIOR cookie control than safari and it is (or WAS) much faster than firefox on a ppc 10.4.11 mac anyway. firefox is woeful, sluggish and glacierly, but camino 2’s speed unfortunately is now more like firefox, also won’t respond to page up/down, freakishly slow with 1Password and very buggy/non-responsive when trying to change to another tab — and it’s so annoying that I can’t turn off the frakkingdamned address book which at least in safari I can uncheck. who ever thought that was a good idea? it is so NOT.
grrrrr….other than that, it’s my favorite browser. I’m in the process of downgrading to a 1.6.x version, if I can only figure out which one is fastest with 1Password.
ric, on December 14th, 2009 at 11:23 pm