The Future of OmniWeb?
 

When OmniWeb went freeware, it was implied that there wouldn't be much development happening on it in the near future. (In fact, lack of development and lagging farr behind Safari in its WebKit version are the reasons I eventually switched off OmniWeb as my default browser.) Now it looks like development is back in full swing. What I'm wondering is, will this continue?Now that the OW 5.9.2 SneakyPeaks have Safari 4's WebKit, I'm back to using OW as my default browser, and I would be delighted to continue doing so as long as a reasonable level of development is maintained. I saw that OmniWeb 6 is hinted at briefly in the latest Omni blog post--this strikes me as a good sign. So, OmniWeb developers, what can we expect going forward?

Thanks for your time.

Shhhhh! Leave them alone, they're developing the app! Don't distract them!

Don't jinx it!

Well, forgive me for asking. I had no idea OmniWeb users were so superstitious :)

Nothing has really changed on our end other than OmniWeb now being free. OmniWeb is an application that all of us here love to use and we plan to continue development as resources allow. I can't make any promises but currently we plan to continue fixing small bugs and annoyances until we have the larger interface updates ready for public consumption (these will likely be part of the first OmniWeb 6 release).

When will 6 appear? I can't say anything yet but I will update you all as I get new concrete details.

Thanks for your reply. I know you're not promising anything, but the future does look bright now that we know OmniWeb 6 will eventually be a reality. Despite a long period of stagnation, OW is still, in many ways, the best OS X browser out there, and it's good to know that it's not dying.

I to, was worried about the future of Omniweb since it became freeware. For most applications, going from paid to free, means a slow death of the app. It's great to hear that this is not the planned route for Omniweb.

I alternate between three browsers; Omniweb, Safari, and Camino. With the release of the latest sneakypeak version, Omniweb will once again become my default browser.

[QUOTE=troyb;56906]Nothing has really changed on our end other than OmniWeb now being free. OmniWeb is an application that all of us here love to use and we plan to continue development as resources allow. I can't make any promises but currently we plan to continue fixing small bugs and annoyances until we have the larger interface updates ready for public consumption (these will likely be part of the first OmniWeb 6 release).

When will 6 appear? I can't say anything yet but I will update you all as I get new concrete details.[/QUOTE]

Thank you for the update!

Long, long ago there was a private beta for OmniWeb 5. If you plan on having any such process for OmniWeb 6 (especially to test interface ideas), I'd love to participate.

[QUOTE=bmastenbrook;57159]If you plan on having any such process for OmniWeb 6 (especially to test interface ideas), I'd love to participate.[/QUOTE]

Same here.

[QUOTE=Handycam;57166]Same here.[/QUOTE]

Ditto!

Now that OmniGroup has announced that it's shifting resources from its Mac apps to the iPad, I wonder how this affects the future of OmniWeb. Should we give up on OmniWeb 6 now?

[QUOTE=Ayjay;72508]Now that OmniGroup has announced that it's shifting resources from its Mac apps to the iPad, I wonder how this affects the future of OmniWeb. Should we give up on OmniWeb 6 now?[/QUOTE]

I was thinking the same :(

Sadly, version 6.0 will probably take longer to be released than any of us anticipated, including The Omni Group!

Plenty of us use OmniWeb every day, so until you see an announcement that they've pried it from our collectively cold and dead fingers, you can assume it's still coming... someday.

When? Impossible to say. We've done one- and two-finger touch interfaces before but everything indicates that Apple is betting on ten-finger touch interfaces being the thing our kids use instead of mice.

That's going to take us a while to figure out. :-)

Disappointed in posts!
 

It appears we have some skeptics among us, who claim that Omniweb, since becoming freeware, will/ may not be supported, whatever; UNTIL I receive IN WRITING from Omnigroup, that this browser will no longer be supported, then I intend to use it as MY default browser, and use it at all times; second complaint on the "Pop up blocking"; I never read anything so dumb; the "blocks" are there to allow you to unblock this "offensive block" and on your lower right, you will see a small "X" block; that also is your "Pop up Blocker; if you want to see a pop up simply check on the "X". I know I cannot stop reading those who are not satisfied with Omniweb,but this user IS satisfied, and I put Omniweb though the wringer with security tests; all tests passed including the Acid 3 Test! It all boils down to "personal taste" Why not simply state that outright?

Absolutely el Correct-o!

[QUOTE=Ayjay;72508]Now that OmniGroup has announced that it's shifting resources from its Mac apps to the iPad, I wonder how this affects the future of OmniWeb. Should we give up on OmniWeb 6 now?[/QUOTE]

Pardon me, but I think that when OMNI Test Pilot answered the initial question, he had to know about iPad, so he knew already what is he writing about.

So what I wanted to say is, that the answer about the future development is still actual, no matter of iPad or whatever. That is what I hope for ;)

Where Are The Sneaky Peeks?
 

Tried to check out a sneaky peek today, but nothing available.

The sneaky peeks expire from that page after a time. There should be a fresh build up today, sorry about that.

[QUOTE=troyb;76193]The sneaky peeks expire from that page after a time. There should be a fresh build up today, sorry about that.[/QUOTE]

Many thanks.

Edit: Got it :-)

First off, I was GLAD when I heard this browser was free. I am a hippie when it comes to computers, believe in open source and free internet web browsing, and if anyone ever charges me I'll just use my Safari, Opera or Chrome. So cheers on being free!

Second, having an iPad browser shouldn't distract them from making the desktop one. They have the basic code and design for the browser, tinkering it to be amazing on iPad shouldn't take but a year or two.

Lastly, please, please in the next major version of Omniweb include email, and show all the other guys how it's done. :D

WebKit
 

I have used a demo of iCab and there is an Automater script to allows you to
use the Nightly Webkit. Fast Fast Fast!
Can OmniWeb run the Nightly WebKit? this would produce feedback for OW.

Just Asking,
Dan

OmniWeb uses a customized version of WebKit so unfortunately this is not possible.

The Future
 

As a longtime user of OmniWeb, I have been hoping to see news on the release of OW6, or any updates to keep up with the newer releases of Safari.

Is it possible to have any information on whether the work on OW has stopped, or on whether something will be announced/released in the near future?

Thank you.

CA

Other projects need our attention right now; that will likely continue to be the case [I]at least[/I] until we finish the rest of our iPad projects. (OmniFocus, OmniOutliner, OmniPlan.)

Before someone hops on and says "OmniWeb is dead!" - that's not what I'm saying. Just that we don't know when we'll work on it next.

[QUOTE=Brian;80113]Other projects need our attention right now; that will likely continue to be the case [I]at least[/I] until we finish the rest of our iPad projects. (OmniFocus, OmniOutliner, OmniPlan.)

Before someone hops on and says "OmniWeb is dead!" - that's not what I'm saying. Just that we don't know when we'll work on it next.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the update. Maybe we should just start saying OW is in a vegetative state—or at least a coma. ;)

On life support
 

I don't think OW is in vegetative state or coma, I think is on life support.
Sorry to say but I think Omniweb is going down like the Navigator :o(
it couldn't keep up with the other big boys.
I was a paid user, but stopped using OW long ago. Safari and FF, even Opera are way ahead of features and development.
RIP Omniweb we will miss you :o(

Please Don't go Away
 

I noticed today it is going on a year since Sneaky Peak 5.10.2. I know you guys are busy, as I use your software everyday (and you guys make some of the best OS X software out there bar none!).

Any chance of throwing an old dog an OmniWeb bone? Sneaky Peak .3? Sneaky Peak 6.0.1?

I have used OmniWeb since the days of my NeXT cube and you might just make me give up browsing the web if OW goes away.

The most recent build is from last month...

I too have been a long time user of OmniWeb and regret that it hasn't been getting much attention lately. I'm finding a few websites that don't work in OmniWeb or that work significantly better with other browsers. Unfortunately, that number continues to slowly grow.

Yet I dislike going to other browsers. OmniWeb has spoiled me with the tab drawer down the side of my screen. Spoiled me with being able to set site specific settings. Spoiled me with the way that bookmarks are organized. And spoiled me with a host of other features that I'm just not finding elsewhere.

With the open source extensions that Apple has provided in Safari, if OmniWeb is a product that will face less development time is there any chance that some of these great OmniWeb features could be developed as extensions for Safari? Just a thought to save development time yet please all us loyal OmniWeb fans out here.

[QUOTE=Biker4Mac;87357]I too have been a long time user of OmniWeb and regret that it hasn't been getting much attention lately. I'm finding a few websites that don't work in OmniWeb or that work significantly better with other browsers. Unfortunately, that number continues to slowly grow.
[/QUOTE]
Any examples you'd care to share? The only ones I can recall encountering didn't work well with Safari either, and my usual reaction to that is to ignore the site...

Off the top of my head:[LIST][*]the new Google image search[*]Facebook is somewhat wonky[*]certain forums are wonky[/LIST]
It isn't enough for me to not use OmniWeb as my main browser, but there are things that I've gone to using Safari for instead of OmniWeb.

Jon Hicks theme was the problem......
 

[B]
I apologize to OmniWeb, Just when I thought the latest stable release was
unstable I realized that it was the Jon Hicks Tiger theme that was no longer
compatible with 5.10x. I am no fan of the default theme but it works.
Please continue to update OmniWeb it does what no other browser can.
Thank You
Dan [/B]

On 2010-07-13, 'Brian' from OMNI GROUP said, "Other projects need our attention right now; that will likely continue to be the case at least until we finish the rest of our iPad projects. (OmniFocus, OmniOutliner, OmniPlan.)

Before someone hops on and says "OmniWeb is dead!" - that's not what I'm saying. Just that we don't know when we'll work on it next."

This appears be their current position on OW 6.0.

[QUOTE=GL40381808701;91895]…Before someone hops on and says "OmniWeb is dead!" - that's not what I'm saying. Just that we don't know when we'll work on it next."…[/QUOTE]

That's good enough for me. It's dead.

Long live Omniweb
 

Le Omniweb est mort vive le Omniweb

We're not actively working on new features for OmniWeb 6 at the moment, but we're certainly still continuing to develop and enhance OmniWeb 5. Check the long list of release notes for the [URL="http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omniweb/download/"]OmniWeb 5.10.2 release[/URL], which we shipped a few months ago—and don't forget to also check out the [URL="http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omniweb/download/sneakypeek/"]sneaky peeks[/URL] of our upcoming 5.11 release, which integrates the latest shipping WebKit from Safari 5.0.3 (along with a few other changes which might not have made it into the release notes yet, like adding "iPad 4.2.1" as an option in the "identify as" popup).

[QUOTE=Ken Case;91969]…we're certainly still continuing to develop and enhance OmniWeb 5…[/QUOTE]

I'm not grumbling, Ken, just saying.

I have a copy of the latest sneaky peek for the sake of old times, but, in all honesty, I use it less and less frequently now.

I was happy enough to pay for OmniWeb 4 in 2003 plus the upgrade fee to version 5 because it was different. Now it has to compete with Safari and Chrome and it is unsurprising that commercial software developers retain it merely as a hobby project to be worked on only when time permits.

I'm not grumbling, just saying.

I do regret that attention to OmniWeb has taken a back seat. OmniWeb still has many features that haven't appeared elsewhere and I still use it as my main browser for those features. Unfortunately, there is a growing list of sites where I have to move over to Safari or Firefox to get them to work properly.

Well, don't be shy, post the offending sites. There's more chance the problem will be fixed if you give examples of what doesn't work than if you merely say "it doesn't always work"!

I posted a few above. Google image search is now working with the latest sneaky peek. Facebook still has problems. Trying to pay with PayPal hangs trying to transition from the seller's site to PayPal (I have this with a number of different seller sites).

[QUOTE=Ken Case;91969]We're not actively working on new features for OmniWeb 6 at the moment, but we're certainly still continuing to develop and enhance OmniWeb 5.[/QUOTE]
The one defining feature for me is 64 Bit. No standard app needs this more than a browser IMHO. Web pages seem to need more and more memory these days, and each and every day, [B]OmniWeb[/B] crashes on me more than 10 times because it reaches the 4 GB memory limit during my work. (Go figure how much I love working with this browser that I cope with [I]that[/I]!)

I've been told 64 Bit won't happen before [B]OmniWeb 6[/B], so according to what you say, it won't happen in the foreseeable future. That's about the worst news I can imagine for [B]OmniWeb[/B].

I gladly paid for [B]OmniWeb[/B], and I would still gladly pay again, but this almost forces me away from this browser. Everything else is nice to have, but 64 Bit is a must, as basic as [I]Apps must not crash![/I].

For me, the [I]OmniGroup[/I] has always been the poster-child of Mac OS X development, and I said and wrote so on many occasions. But this is not good. Your users have not only invested money in your applications, but also lots of work which would be lost (not bookmarks, maybe, but certainly workspace configurations and other elaborate settings). It was your decision to make [B]OmniWeb[/B] available for free, and even then you told us not to be afraid that [B]OmniWeb[/B] would die. Don't abandon your users now, please!

Uli

Considerations
 

Over the past week Chrome started to freeze aqua, usually at the worse time (Probably local corruption). After several ssh sessions to kill chrome yesterday I decided it was a good time to investigate a browser replacement.

My main criteria for a replacement[LIST=1][*]Based on webkit[*]Offered a search/location address bar[*]Be able to sync history, cache, cookies and bookmarks[/LIST]
Safari is too restrictive for me even with extensions, Flock and RockMelt are to social for me, still on he bench with iCab and I even went through the trouble to compile chromium.

Finally I remembered OmniWeb from way back when I bought OmniFocus and decided to give it a whirl. It was definitely what I was looking for, even without full syncing (I conceived a pseudo full sync).

I'd really hate for this browser to fade away. I'm not sure what OmniGroup's take is on FSF or OSS but I hope they would consider it if they ever do reach a point where they lack the resources to adequately maintain OmniWeb. I'm sure a few (dedicated) people would contribute if they did go this route and if done correctly they could still control quality and direction.

Pseudo full sync
I do not have the time write a plugin I'm not even sure if the API has the functionality to create a full (history, cache, cookies and bookmarks) sync. I ended up symbolically linking ~/Library/Application Support/OmniWeb 5 to a dropbox folder. This works surprisingly well just have to keep the browser closed on the dormant machine. Probably could have also used JungleDisk Sync and exclude the lock file.

hey guys,

just started using your browser, great work!

Good?
 

[QUOTE=robotank;56919]Thanks for your reply. I know you're not promising anything, but the future does look bright now that we know OmniWeb 6 will eventually be a reality. Despite a long period of stagnation, OW is still, in many ways, the best OS X browser out there, and it's good to know that it's not dying.[/QUOTE]

It's great! Amazing how unstable Safari is, and how much it gobbles resources.

I'd like to see updated icons everywhere, so they don't look like something out of 10.1.. And I'd also like a bookmark sidebar, ie. one that is part of the window, and not that HORRIBLE drawer.. ;)

[QUOTE=Uli Zappe;92765]I've been told 64 Bit won't happen before [B]OmniWeb 6[/B], …[/QUOTE]

We plan to add 64-bit support to OmniWeb 5.x. (That might not have been our plan when OmniWeb 6 was coming sooner, but that's our plan now.)

[QUOTE=Ken Case;95605]We plan to add 64-bit support to OmniWeb 5.x. (That might not have been our plan when OmniWeb 6 was coming sooner, but that's our plan now.)[/QUOTE]

Thanks!

[URL=http://img683.imageshack.us/i/screenshot20110407at103.png/][IMG]http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/4268/screenshot20110407at103.png[/IMG][/URL]

OmniWeb crashed while I was preparing this post — ran out of memory! :-)

[QUOTE=Ken Case;95605]We plan to add 64-bit support to OmniWeb 5.x.[/QUOTE]
Now that's [I]really[/I] good news! Thanks for the info!

[QUOTE=troyb;76193]The sneaky peeks expire from that page after a time. There should be a fresh build up today, sorry about that.[/QUOTE]

Awesome! I just returned to Omniweb in the last two weeks, and here is an update already :)

Even if you are progressing Omniweb on the side, I really hope you keep at it, it's such a pleasure to be back using it.

-Scott

[QUOTE=Ken Case;95605]We plan to add 64-bit support to OmniWeb 5.x. (That might not have been our plan when OmniWeb 6 was coming sooner, but that's our plan now.)[/QUOTE]

That's wonderful news!
I know others have already stated the same thing, but I wanted to add a Me Too Ken: I would happily pay for a v6 (or 5.5 or 5.2). OmniWeb is a great browser and I keep on thinking it deserves active development.

Corentin

Webkit version of OW
 

It would be interesting to see OW updated nightly by the WebKit group, the way their version of Safari is.

[QUOTE=Uli Zappe;95784]Now that's [I]really[/I] good news! Thanks for the info![/QUOTE]

Yes, it surely is!! :)

OmniWeb's future
 

I used OmniWeb for the first time way back on Mac OS X Server (Rhapsody). I used it regularly up until Safari came out. I recently started using it again, and I'd forgotten how great it really is. Much better than Safari. I hope that Omni doesn't let it die on the vine.

A 64 bit Snow Leopard and Lion compatible version would be awesome. I'd even pay for it!

[QUOTE=Ken Case;95605]We plan to add 64-bit support to OmniWeb 5.x. (That might not have been our plan when OmniWeb 6 was coming sooner, but that's our plan now.)[/QUOTE]
It would be great if you released a 64 bit version in time for 10.7.

OmniWeb user experience
 

OmniWeb user experience is the top, like most of the Mac-style - with its competitors such as Firefox is - but this experience is to pay the costs. In most browsers are free now, this browser is required to pay for software licenses. Currently, OmniWeb 5.8 costs $ 14.95, while the older version of the browser upgrade, then you need $ 4.95.

Even if you do not want to pay to use the browser, I still recommend that you download and use the software (free 30-day use). Speaking to pay for the browser, it may be a bit difficult for ordinary people to accept, but if you after a trial period, you may find value for money.

Hyacinth, that is not correct anymore. OmniWeb is available for free since version 5.9!

I'm so glad to hear a 64 bit version is hopefully coming soon.

I'd been using Safari with all kinds of plugins like safaristand, pithhelmet, etc..... Just didn't like the look and feel and it wasn't particularly stable. Then switched to Chrome. Much to commend it, but didn't like the way it uses resources and it has a LOT of rendering problems for some reason. Won't properly work with either twitter or facebook, for some reason. So I'd also have to keep Camino up and running to take care of those pages Chrome couldn't handle properly.

Accidentally launched OmniWeb this morning and thought what the heck, let's see if it feels that much slower than Chrome. And honestly, it doesn't. It may benchmark slower, but it feels comparable. And it just is SUCH a better user experience.

just switched my default browser back to OW. Feels good to be home, hope I can stay awhile.

The drawer rocks!!! OW - don't listen - keep it around - at least as an option.

Just keep going, guys! I've been very happy with what I have seen so far. And, yes, I would pay for the software. Nowadays a web browser is such a fundamental tool, actually for many people the tool they work with most of the day, why then not pay for it if it does a better job than others?

One comment on rendering performance. I don't see the point in those speed rankings. The differences are often not noticable for the user. What counts much more nowadays is slick handling of many tabs and stability and usability in general. I like the tab handling of OW very much. The workspaces are a great idea. I usually have more than 40 tabs open, often - e.g. when we're bugfixing at work - it's even many more. The memory footprint of the software has remained moderate, and the program has crashed once in 5 days nonstop operation (I don't even shutdown my laptop, just put it to sleep mode instead). That's one crash too many, but still far better than others.

Yay! for Continued development
 

Hope this is true. Still using OW because it is lean and easily configured.

My only disappointment is performance of Workspaces.

2 problems:

Snapshot does not seem to work any longer. That is, I take a new snapshot of a current workspace, which is modified, and it does not reappear later.


Also, the sound of a snapshot being taken disappeared a long time ago. Running on 10.6.8.

Anyone have any suggestions?

thanks,

jake

Both of those features still seem to work for me in the latest sneaky peek build under 10.6.8...

64-bit!
 

[QUOTE=Ken Case;95605]We plan to add 64-bit support to OmniWeb 5.x. (That might not have been our plan when OmniWeb 6 was coming sooner, but that's our plan now.)[/QUOTE]

We're still putting the finishing touches on the 32-bit to 64-bit transition for our software package, so I know it may be quite the undertaking for your dev(s). Testing, in particular, for this type of transition can be quite a bear.

But, since it's been a year since your post, I just wanted to encourage to keep striving for a 64-bit OmniWeb! It'll enable some [I]great[/I] possibilities.

For the layman, can someone help me understand what value a 64-bit version provides over a 32-bit version?

And can Omniweb give an update on the status of this effort? At this point, it has the decided feel of vaporware.

[QUOTE=rmathes;109617]For the layman, can someone help me understand what value a 64-bit version provides over a 32-bit version?[/QUOTE]

Switching to a 64-bit version would mean that the browser can utilize more memory. If your browser is crashing regularly because it's running out of memory, this is a big deal. (I rarely encounter such crashes myself, but I tend not to let any particular OmniWeb workspace get too large.)

It's also a big deal if you're wanting to be compatible with 64-bit plug-ins.

[QUOTE]And can Omniweb give an update on the status of this effort? At this point, it has the decided feel of vaporware.[/QUOTE]

Sorry this wasn't more clear! OmniWeb is on the back burner until we've finished all of our [URL="http://www.omnigroup.com/blog/category/roadmap"]iPad or Bust![/URL] projects. We're putting the finishing touches on the last of those projects (OmniPlan for iPad) right now, and expect to ship it in the next few months.

Now, that doesn't mean we'll be turning our attention back to OmniWeb right away: we have several other big projects which were also put on the back burner which we also need to finish.

But I do have some good news for OmniWeb fans…

Though OmniWeb has been on the back burner, in our spare time we've tried to squeeze in a little work here and there. We recently finished updating OmniWeb to work with Mountain Lion, where it's now building 64-bit and using the latest WebKit. We've got our tabs, workspaces, and cookie management working—but it's missing all of our WebKit customizations, which means it's missing ad blocking, plug-in management (such as click-to-load Flash content), and most site-specific preferences. (In other words, there's still a lot to do before it really feels like OmniWeb again!)

This new build of OmniWeb requires some new technologies which are being introduced in Mountain Lion, so I'm afraid it won't run on any currently shipping operating systems (such as Lion). OmniWeb 5.11 will continue to run on older operating systems, of course.

Thanks Ken, much appreciated. Looking forward to seeing Mtn Lion and a new version of OW!

What does 64-bit provide?
 

[QUOTE=rmathes;109617]For the layman, can someone help me understand what value a 64-bit version provides over a 32-bit version?
[/QUOTE]

In addition to Ken's spot-on reply, I've been told by other OmniGroup'ers that the conversion to 64-bit will allow OmniWeb to take advantage of OS X features such as text completion/substitution.

hello am new to OmniWeb i do like it has helped os 10.4 more tan any other bowser but i can not find a way to send email from cregslist can some one help thanks

Kudos on shipping OmniPlan for iPad, Ken et al. Any hope for a Halloween themed OW sneaky peek like the days of yore?

[QUOTE=Ken Case;109763]

Now, that doesn't mean we'll be turning our attention back to OmniWeb right away: we have several other big projects which were also put on the back burner which we also need to finish.

[/QUOTE]

I can't help thinking that with the focus on new products the Omni Group may have lost sight of the fact that OmniWeb was - and often is today, the portal to all of your other products. Yes, it had to go out free, finally, but it is carrying enormous marketing freight and still shouts Omni credibility to the world. It is also a window into the world of the internet and probably could be revived as a marketing tool to do the job of megaphoning the OmniGroup stable of other products - and the fact that it is free ensures that users will come on board to experience the Omni heft.

You really do need to reframe OmniWeb as a marketing tool not just a lost and unloved product that is little more than a free service to a few die-hard disciples.

You are missing out on an outstanding opportunity to garner customers who might otherwise not use your other products.

This is a seriously loved product and you are wasting it. It still easily has the measure of browsers that have years more development. Make it your number one project. You are shooting yourselves in the foot. Can't you see that?

I agree with the above post!

I think OmniWeb is the major reason for OmniGroup's actual success!
Most people got to know Omni products through OmniWeb.

Please don't let it die!

Clarification, please
 

The last posting from Ken is dated April 2012.

Could Ken please post a statement about what can be expected for the near future regarding OmniWeb?

Is there a future at all?

Thank you.
Regards,
CA

I'm not Ken, and I don't speak for him, but if you look at what he has posted recently about [URL="http://www.omnigroup.com/blog/entry/omni-plans-for-2013"]Omni's plans for 2013[/URL], there's no mention of OmniWeb, and there's a lot of work on the schedule...

Yes, I had noticed that, and precisely because of that, I was hoping that Ken would make an explicit statement about the future of OmniWeb.

It should not take too much time or effort to just post a couple of paragraphs letting those of us who still use and care about OmniWeb what to expect, and therfore allow us to make decisions accordingly.

Sure! Happy to offer a quick status update.

In my last update, I wrote:

[QUOTE=Ken Case;109763]OmniWeb is on the back burner until we've finished all of our [URL="http://www.omnigroup.com/blog/category/roadmap"]iPad or Bust![/URL] projects. We're putting the finishing touches on the last of those projects (OmniPlan for iPad) right now, and expect to ship it in the next few months.[/QUOTE]

As hoped, we finished our last "iPad or Bust!" project last year (on June 7, 2012).

[QUOTE]Now, that doesn't mean we'll be turning our attention back to OmniWeb right away: we have several other big projects which were also put on the back burner which we also need to finish.[/QUOTE]

And as expected, this also happened: we've turned quite a bit of attention back to the Mac, but right now that attention is focused on OmniOutliner 4, OmniFocus 2, and OmniPresence—not OmniWeb, I'm afraid.

[QUOTE]Though OmniWeb has been on the back burner, in our spare time we've tried to squeeze in a little work here and there....[/QUOTE]

I squeezed in a little more work on OmniWeb over the holidays, fixing global and site preferences (which had broken during the 64-bit conversion), turning off autofill from contacts by default (so OmniWeb stops prompting for access to contacts unless you explicitly turn that feature on), fixing the source editor, drawing filtered placeholders in blocked frames and loading blocked frames when you click on them.

I also updated OmniWeb to skip autofilling password fields that already have a password in them, fixing the issue at sites like amazon where you'd start typing a password, and then a second later another child frame would finish loading and triggering another autofill and wiping out the password you'd just typed.

My list of known regressions in the 64-bit build at the moment are:
[LIST][*]Site icons ("favicons") should be visible in the title bar, address bar, and bookmarks.[*]There should be some visible indication of blocked inline ads. (I fixed this for inline frames, but not inline images or plug-ins.)[*]There should be some way to manually load blocked ads. (Also fixed for inline frames, but not inline images or plug-ins.)[*]Web pages should honor the "override page styles" site preference.[*]Re-implement click-to-load Flash content.[*]Re-implement site-specific preferences.[/LIST]
Meanwhile, I'm still using OmniWeb v5.11.2 for >99% of my desktop browsing. (Very rarely, I'll encounter something which requires another browser—so I'll use something else to load that page and then go back to OmniWeb.)

Hi Ken,

Thank you very much for posting this information.
Is it possible to say when the new version will be made available for download?
Also, I would like to make a personal request.

I frequently use the "Save as Webarchive" to gather and store information.

After OW 5.9.2, the default names of the files no longer correspond to the title of the pages as shown in the windows/tabs. A perfect example, is this very same page:

1) Saving as webarchive with OW 5.11.2/GM-v622.19.3., the default file name is:
"showthread.php.webarchive"

2) Saving with Safari (6.0.2) the default filename is:
"The Future of OmniWeb? - Page 8 - The Omni Group Forums"

3) Interestingly, bookmarking the page in OW, one gets this name:
"The Future of OmniWeb? - Page 8 - The Omni Group Forums"

So, why couldn't the default filename, when saving as Webarchive, be the same as the name attributed to the bookmark, which invariably is always something that is identical (or nearly so) to the title of the webpage?

I would like to think that making this change requires a truly minimal amount of effort, and would fix a problem introduced after OW 5.9.2. For me, this would remove the need to visit certain webpages with Safari.

An additional request, which I assume requires some more work, would be to improve the "Save as" Webarchive, to the capabilities that MS IE had, namely specifying a number of "levels", and the type of files to be included or excluded. (I hope my explanation is clear enough).

Thank you very much.
Best regards,
CA

[QUOTE=Ken Case;119968]Sure! Happy to offer a quick status update.

In my last update, I wrote:


I squeezed in a little more work on OmniWeb over the holidays...

[/QUOTE]

So, when may we download a version that includes the work you did?

Any word on updates? Or even a sneekypeek? I don't want to give up on OW yet (or have OW give up on me)!

Well folks, after a long time of being a both paid and free user of; IMHO, the best web browser for OS X, it would appear that after months and months of empty promises and back burner busy work, I think we all can assume Omniweb is in fact defunct. The Big Guns have won.

Having been around the net before there was one, and been around much longer than most of you have been alive, I find it increasingly depressing that the Web is being transformed into all things portable. "Smart Phone" types or demographics if you will. As an owner of an iPad and not a smart phone, I have yet to find one single web browser that will function properly on any websites with some level of normalcy. Chrome based variants, Mercury, iCab, Opera, Puffin, and that awful Safari, and many others not worth mentioning, that can't do flash, have trouble with xml and consistently crash with any website that uses Java. Is this what we've allowed to happen?

With Mac OS X beginning to ride off into the sunset, or certainly the way of iOS, it doesn't leave much promise for us users that use the web for Research, News, Comments, etc. We have been given browsers like Chromium, Opera, FireFox and its Gecko based variants; (Sea Monkey, Camino, Etc.) and yet again that awful Safari and the now unsupported speedster but weird, iCab. The Mozilla Foundation is keen on building an iOS or Android based comparable platform, so it shows where there headed. FireFox will soon go away too and so will Opera, and the rest of them.

Omniweb was an oasis in a sea of mediocrity. It has been my browser of choice for two reasons for over 10 years. Predictability and reliability. It was with out a doubt a workhorse. Sure, it didn't have a website dedicated to plug-ins that may or may not work, but it would catch the majority of dumb ads on websites. Even though it was based on WebKit, it certainly didn't act like it. I watched the changes come through as this little company continued to improve their products and move forward. Times change and unfortunately Omniweb and Mac OS X are not part of the future. I guess myself and other people like me will begin to disappear from the web entirely unless we're willing to embrace Smart phones and tablets with below average performance as a abysmal replacement.

[b]To all the members of The Omni Group:[/b] [i]My Humble thank you for years of a fun, reliable web browser and the other products you have developed over the years that you have provided.[/i]

[b]To Mattias and others on this forum:[/b] [i]Thanks for being you, offering tweaks, ideas and adding to the experience of Omniweb, and Camino. It was fun![/i]

The next chapter of the Web known loosely as Web 2.0 is certainly on the move. What will it be and how will it be embraced? And how will companies like OmniGroup be part of it? For the first time in my technological life, I feel like technology is leaving me and others behind, and were not better for it.

[b]Wilson, Out...[/b]

Boy! I've heard of procrastination and putting customers off - but Omni takes the cake with this once glorious app. Hell, just reissue 5.11.2 with a new number. At least it'll makes us feel that we have not been completely ignored.

Oh, PS, I agree pretty much with Wilson's sentiments - but I'll hang around for a bit longer.

Keep checking back a couple of times a week hoping to see a reply or at least an update…

Oh, well.

[QUOTE=TimmyDee;124967]Keep checking back a couple of times a week hoping to see a reply or at least an update…

Oh, well.[/QUOTE]

Why don't you just go to WebKit directly? Always choose the latest build and you have all the security and speed of Safari - even before Safari gets there with the Apple releases - and it is the engine that OmniWeb uses anyway. Do read the first ten or so comments on the WebKit page - they make it quite clear how to use it (it runs all of your Safari stuff - as is).

[url]http://nightly.webkit.org/[/url]

I just don't want to give up on OW. It is still the best browser on OSX - in principle. Unfortunately the current version crashes far too often, thus I desparately wait for a new version.

Maybe we should set up a donation system via paypal through which we can collect money to allow developer allocation on OW at Omni? I'd be willing spend as much as I paid for OmniGraffle if I knew that there will be some progress within the next few months...

As mentioned earlier, I don't mind paying for a tool I use almost all day at work.

[QUOTE=mbert;124984]I just don't want to give up on OW.
[/QUOTE]
Me neither. It is so efficient on older machines. I imagine that it would "fly" on newer ones.

[QUOTE=mbert;124984]It is still the best browser on OSX - in principle. Unfortunately the current version crashes far too often, thus I desparately wait for a new version.
[/QUOTE]
Very stable here, on an old black Macbook. Which is your machine?

[QUOTE=mbert;124984]Maybe we should set up a donation system via paypal through which we can collect money to allow developer allocation on OW at Omni? I'd be willing spend as much as I paid for OmniGraffle if I knew that there will be some progress within the next few months...

As mentioned earlier, I don't mind paying for a tool I use almost all day at work.[/QUOTE]
Well, I cannot pretend that I know how this business works, but years ago Omniweb was shareware. I am one of those who paid for it. So, perhaps Omni Group could consider going back to that model? Just a thought.

But please, whatever you do, don't let it die. OmniWeb, even after all these years of web browser development for the Macintosh, is simply the one with the best quality. It may have some small quirks here and there, easy to fix, but overall is second to none.

[QUOTE=Regal;125346]
…Well, I cannot pretend that I know how this business works, but years ago Omniweb was shareware. I am one of those who paid for it. So, perhaps Omni Group could consider going back to that model? Just a thought…[/QUOTE]

Yup. I paid $29.95 for OW4 and $9.95 for an upgrade to 5 and would happily do so again.

Unfortunately, ever since Microsoft first gave away IE to the masses there are very few people nowadays prepared to pay for a browser.

[QUOTE=derekJAB;125354]Yup. I paid $29.95 for OW4 and $9.95 for an upgrade to 5 and would happily do so again.

Unfortunately, ever since Microsoft first gave away IE to the masses there are very few people nowadays prepared to pay for a browser.[/QUOTE]

Unless, of course, it's the best browser money can buy.

[QUOTE=Scrivener;125363]Unless, of course, it's the best browser money can buy.[/QUOTE]
I don't know. With the development of web today, it is inconceivable to pay for a web browser. It is up to Omni Group to imagine a situation where Omniweb would fit. If they can redesign it with a rich and advanced feature set (for example ssh/sftp sessions, some modern web development tools - remember Netscape Composer?) combined with intuitive and easy way of use, then probably they could justify charging for it. For such an effort to be successful, they need a good feeling on what people need or could need/use in their web life.

Another idea comes from iSkysoft's video converter. In fact, it has a built-in web browser. In the beginning I thought that it was just for the YouTube videos but when I threw it Google and some other web sites, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it could handle almost everything. I don't see of course how such an idea would work in the case of Omniweb. But who knows? Maybe it can.

It is difficult to say. Personally I'd say that there's more of a market for a commercial browser on OSX than on other platforms. Let's take a look: Safari is pretty minimalistic, may be OK for most people, but definitely not for me. Opera has been too unstable and too resource-hungry ever since I switched from Linux to OSX, and as they're redoing most of it now we simply cannot anticipate what will come out in the end. Camino is pretty minimalistic again, Firefox too slow and not really integrated into OSX's GUI, finally Google Chrome is fast and stable but unusable for large sets of tabs due to its lack of workspaces and vertical tabs. This is why I still use OW despite of its lack of stability and its rather antique rendering engine.

Now the only question is - how many more people like myself are out there?

A Whole Year
 

A year is a long time - goodness, regimes change in less time. Space is explored. New Galaxies have been discovered. The earth's tectonic plates move faster than OmniWeb updates. Not a good look.

The idea of which is much the same as it is in Safari and Mozilla-based browsers, but the visual presentation is quite different
The advantage to OmniWeb’s presentation is when you use the thumbnail view, use,I like tabbed-browsing in general, and I like the Omni Group’s implementation,

Any updates? Anyone? OW is crashing with increasing frequency, often multiple times a day. And the number of sites that are incompatible is growing, too.

If development has ceased, it would be nice to know that, too. I love this browser, but if it's dead, let's acknowledge that so we can move on.

[QUOTE=TimmyDee;126598]Any updates? Anyone? OW is crashing with increasing frequency, often multiple times a day.[/QUOTE]
That may well be because [B]OmniWeb[/B] is still 32 bit [I]and[/I] increasingly leaks memory for whatever reason. So even with only a few web pages open, its memory usage might exceed the 32 bit induced, nasty 4 GB (virtual) memory limit, in which case it immediately crashes.

At least that's what's happening for me. Even though I'm an [B]OmniWeb[/B] power user, I'm not aware of (many) crashes induced by HTML code etc. directly.

[QUOTE]And the number of sites that are incompatible is growing, too.[/QUOTE]
True. Mostly JavaScript issues in my experience.

Alas, it's getting [I]much[/I] worse in Mavericks. [B]:–([/B] For some reason, cookies mostly don't work anymore in Mavericks, and as a result, [B]OmniWeb[/B] becomes basically unusable for anything but completely static web pages.

[QUOTE]If development has ceased, it would be nice to know that, too. I love this browser, but if it's dead, let's acknowledge that so we can move on.[/QUOTE]
I emailed Omni because of the Mavericks issue, hoping that maybe a quick fix would be possible to keep [B]OmniWeb[/B] alive at least at a basic level in Mavericks. Unfortunately, the only reply I got was the usual boilerplate that

[I]For the time being, our commercial products have been keeping us busy. Though OmniWeb is not currently in active development, if we do work on it again in the future our team will take a look at resolving the issue.[/I]

<Sigh/>

Uli

Thanks for the info, Uli. Sounds like the replies from OG are the same as they have been for the past few years. Time to start looking elsewhere, I'm afraid...

(Would be nice if they posted that more publicly somewhere.)

[QUOTE=TimmyDee;126602]Time to start looking elsewhere, I'm afraid...

(Would be nice if they posted that more publicly somewhere.)[/QUOTE]
I have a feeling they might be trapped in what I know as a "developer loop":[LIST=1][*]First, for whatever reason, you don't keep your application as up-to-date as it should be.[*]Then, you feel since it's been so long since the last update, the next update should be [I]really[/I] big, offering all kinds of features to publically justify the lengthy period without updates.[*]Unfortunately, while it would be feasible to quickly & dirtily fix the really urgent problems, you don't have time for something as big as (2). Therefore, go back to (1).[/LIST]At least that's one possible explanation for why they don't do anything with [B]OmniWeb[/B], but also don't admit it's dead.

Uli

[URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=30557"]64-bit test builds of OmniWeb[/URL] are now available.

[QUOTE=Ken Case;126623][URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=30557"]64-bit test builds of OmniWeb[/URL] are now available.[/QUOTE]
Yaaahooooooooo! [B][SIZE="6"]:-)))))))))))))))))[/SIZE][/B]

[QUOTE=Uli Zappe;126599]Alas, it's getting [I]much[/I] worse in Mavericks. [B]:–([/B] For some reason, cookies mostly don't work anymore in Mavericks, and as a result, [B]OmniWeb[/B] becomes basically unusable for anything but completely static web pages.[/QUOTE]
I’m overjoyed to report that the new 64-bit [B]OmniWeb[/B] also fixes this issue and runs just fine on Mavericks!

Thanks soooooooo much, Ken!

Uli

Thanks for updating Omniweb!

Any alternatives to OW meanwhile?
 

Hi there,

is there any browser out there, which has got a similar tab-solution as OW has got?
I am on 10.9 and hate to work with Safari or Firefox and their titled tabs.

I am surfing the internet with OW since OS X 10.3 and I will be back as soon as the 64bit version is stable. But meanwhile I need an alternative.

Best Matze

[QUOTE=Mumpitz;128920]is there any browser out there, which has got a similar tab-solution as OW has got?[/QUOTE]
I don't think so.

[QUOTE]I am surfing the internet with OW since OS X 10.3 and I will be back as soon as the 64bit version is stable.[/QUOTE]
What exactly do you find unstable in the current version of OmniWeb?

For what it's worth, Safari crashes more often for me than OmniWeb, although I use it less often …