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-   -   Will there ever be an Omniweb 6? (http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=10707)

NickM 2008-11-25 08:46 PM

Will there ever be an Omniweb 6?
 
Omniweb development has been in maintenance mode for a long long time. We've had a handful of new features since OW 5.0 was released four years ago, and numerous bug fixes and engine changes, but nothing at all like the interface and browsing improvements that OW5 brought over OW4.

I'd go so far as to say that other browsers have caught up, but I still use Omniweb for its interface niceties and site-specific preferences. If an Omniweb 6 worthy of the name doesn't show up in the next year or two, I might have to move on.

For what it's worth, here's some of what I would like to see in a hypothetical Omniweb 6:

[b]site-specific user script[/b]
OW now has site specific CSS files, so why not javascript? It would be great if greasemonkey scripts had a chance of running out of the box (obviously, Mozilla APIs couldn't be supported, but if they could hook in and run in the same way, then simple scripts might work out of the box.

[b]reinvent browser history[/b]
Omniweb's history is still like netscape 2.0's. How can this be improved? One thought would be to snap a thumbnail of every page viewed so that history could be browsed visually. There are problem

[b]Steal from Safari/Firefox[/b]
There are some things Safari got right, like an in-browser view for bookmarks and history, rather than separate windows. Cherry pick the best of the other browsers

[b]Drop Features[/b]
This is controversial, but I think Omniweb has too many features. Some stuff I've used in the past like bookmark syncing and rss support I've given up on. Do significant numbers of users use them? Maybe there are some things that can be cut to make it easier to maintain going forward.

Anyway, these are just some thoughts.

arglborps 2008-11-25 11:16 PM

If OmniWeb would drop bookmark synching, I'd drop it like a hot potatoe. My first two requirements for modern Browsers are: Bookmarksynching (preferably via FTP, helloo Omingroup?!), ad blocking (which I have now found a final and system wide solution with [URL="http://glimmerblocker.org/"]Glimmer Blocker[/URL].

I'd very much like OmniWeb to find better solutions for history/bookmark browsing, update their source view to friggin understand XHTML 1.1 strict for Christs sake. I mean this is already an old standard. I've been pointing this out for years now and NOTHING has been done.
Also make it so that the source code window uses the font it is set to and uses the encoding the browser has set. This is a bug that is YEARS old as well.

Oh, just for the sake of it do something, anything better than all the other browsers, because you're really losing out here. The only thing that OW now has an advantage over the other browsers are the site specific settings. I don't see anything else that really makes a difference on OmniWeb vs. Safari or Camino in combination with Glimmer Blocker.

neurobashing 2008-11-26 09:09 AM

Probably not, at least, not a v6 that looks like what people who post passionately on this forum want to see:
[url]http://waffle.wootest.net/2008/11/16/omniscient/#comment-10211[/url]

theonehorst 2008-11-26 02:09 PM

Just a sign of life would be nice... :D

Handycam 2008-11-27 07:09 AM

[QUOTE=neurobashing;51618]Probably not, at least, not a v6 that looks like what people who post passionately on this forum want to see:
[url]http://waffle.wootest.net/2008/11/16/omniscient/#comment-10211[/url][/QUOTE]

Just as I've been saying.

frankiec 2008-11-30 06:29 PM

[QUOTE]In a vacuum, that would be fine. But Omni doesn’t have enough engineers to go around (*), and when you stack up OmniWeb’s sales against some of our other products (like OmniFocus for iPhone, which has sold tens of thousands of copies in a few months rather than years) [B]it can be hard to justify spending a lot of time on OmniWeb for a much lower number of customers.[/B] Which, of course, is why part of this post is spot on: OmniWeb has effectively been in maintenance mode for the last few years while we’ve focused the bulk of our attention on other products.[/QUOTE]
It's understandable that it's not a quick and easy business decision to spend money on OmniWeb, but OmniWeb gets great press and is an awesome door into the world of other Omni Group products. I hope that OG will never let OmniWeb die and will only continue to make it the best browser on any platform.

I'm eagerly looking forward to sneaky peeks of version 6.

mrglsmrc 2008-11-30 11:25 PM

omniweb doesn't have to be a panacea
 
i use several browsers for different reasons, along with url-manager.
i am starting to use omniweb alot. you can save money using omniweb when shopping because manipulating your site specific cookies can affect the offers and prices you receive from vendors. that pays for the cheap cost of omniweb. so i won't dump it.
i also use safari 3.2 with safari stand and saft. it's fun for certain kinds of work; it's the las vegas of browsers with cover flow history etc. it's also dangerously insecure for those very reasons like smbl loading etc. i don't want omniweb to be insecure just to duplicate what i already have for free.
this seems to be a wish-list thread.

Handycam 2008-12-01 04:45 AM

[QUOTE]but OmniWeb gets great press[/QUOTE]

Only when it's specifically written up. When discussing browsers, even webkit browsers, I never see it mentioned any more. It is clearly out to pasture, with only token webkit updates. And that is sad, but true.

frankiec 2008-12-01 10:41 PM

[QUOTE=Handycam;51835]Only when it's specifically written up. When discussing browsers, even webkit browsers, I never see it mentioned any more. It is clearly out to pasture, with only token webkit updates. And that is sad, but true.[/QUOTE]
I wish we could get some sort of statement from the Omni Group about OmniWeb's future. There's no point for them to cause bad blood with their most loyal customers.

mihnat 2008-12-02 09:14 AM

[QUOTE=frankiec;51900]I wish we could get some sort of statement from the Omni Group about OmniWeb's future. There's no point for them to cause bad blood with their most loyal customers.[/QUOTE]

I agree. Perhaps us thousand or so OW devotees don't deserve the catering to of the OF for iPhone crowd but I would bet that most of us are core Omni customers and speaking for myself I routinely use OF, OO, OG and OW. I would use OP if I had a business to speak....maybe soon.

Another point is that when friends see the way I use OW they are envious, whether it be Mac or Windows users. Another unexplicable phenomenon happens with me and OW - every time I go try a new version of FF or Safari within a week I am back onto OW.

I also love the fact that Omni folks do use OW themselves because I know that updates will be forthcoming (albeit never fast enough for our liking!). Thanks to Ken and all the Omni-geeks for all their dedication to what are some of if not the best products on the market.

VIVA OW!
Mike


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