If you’re using Google’s Chrome browser, it’s a bit more difficult. That’s because Google includes Flash as part of the browser itself. Thankfully, they’ve included it as a plug-in which can be turned off.

Type about:plugins in the URL bar and hit Return/Enter. A list of the plug-ins you have installed is displayed. Note that these are plug-ins, not extensions you install from the Chrome Store. Find the Adobe Flash Player plugin in the list and tick the Disable checkbox. After restarting Chrome, Flash will be off.

The downside is that Flash will be re-enabled the next time Google updates Chrome, which is quite often. You can download Flash blocker extensions, but I prefer to completely remove it and save myself the overhead of having yet another extension installed.

Some of the most popular browsers from Mozilla, Google, Apple, and others

When Apple first released Mac OS X a decade ago, Mac users had little choice in web browsers. There was Microsoft Explorer, and Netscape Navigator, and… well, that was it. Soon after we were treated to a few more options, but nothing like we have today.

With Safari shipping on every Mac, and the world-wide popularity of Mozilla’s Firefox, you would think there wouldn’t be much room for competition in the web browser market. But the options have actually never been better for Mac users.

Mozilla:

• Minefield – The nightly code update from Mozilla, Minefield is generally two versions ahead of Firefox, and can be somewhat unstable.
• Aurora – A mostly optimized version of Mozilla’s next-gen Firefox code, this version is bound to still have bugs, but also contains the latest and greatest.
• Firefox Beta – Mozilla has yet to release a public beta, but it’s coming soon and available from the same download page as Aurora.
• Firefox – The most flexible and powerful web browser on any platform. Extensions make this a tech-geek favorite.
• SeaMonkey – Netscape Communicator died years ago, but Mozilla continues to offer essentially the same app in SeaMonkey, which contains a browser (based on the code from Firefox), an advanced e-mail and newsgroup client, IRC chat client, and HTML editor.

Google:

• Chromium – The nightly code update from Google. If you want to see what Google has up their sleeve for Chrome and don’t mind bugs, give Chromium a try.
• Canary – The bleeding edge version of Google Chrome that contains the latest, somewhat stable, code of Chromium.
• Chrome (Developer) – Based on Canary code, this version contains only the most stable code and features. I’ve been using it for nearly a year and find it to be the best version of Google Chrome to use.
• Chrome (Beta) – Chrome Beta contains the optimized and final code for Google Chrome. This version may still contain bugs, but they’re likely to be minor.
• Chrome (Stable/Final) – The general public (final) version.

Apple:

• Webkit – The opensource version of Apple’s Safari browser – you can download the nightly build to experience the most up-to-date version of the next Safari.
• Safari – The standard shipping version of Apple’s web browser.

The Rest:

• Rockmelt – Backed by Marc Andreessen (founder of Netscape) and based on Google Chrome, Rockmelt builds a plethora of social media features right into the browser.
• OmniWeb – OmniWeb was once the most popular alternative browser for the Mac, with one of its biggest claims to fame being the ability to set site-specific preferences.
• Camino – Based on Mozilla’s Firefox codebase, Camino offers a slimmed-down and streamlined Firefox experience.
• Opera – Opera offers so many options for customization that it’s likely to make you dizzy. Opera also offers a download of the new beta version here.
• TenFourFox – For users of older PPC Macs or Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger who want the Firefox 4 experience without the expensive computer upgrade.
• iCab – Carrying over from the days of Mac OS 9, iCab is still around.

Flock is still floating around, but has been discontinued. And there are numerous other specialty browsers out there, but that’s the main collection for Mac users. If you’re willing to spend the time to try them, there are some great alternatives to Safari out there.

Firefox 4 for the Mac is now available

If you’re a Firefox browser user, you’ll be happy to know that while they haven’t officially announced it, Firefox 4 for the Mac is already available for download.

Firefox 4 brings a wealth of updates, including faster launch times, faster JavaScript engine, account syncing (for those with multiple Macs that want to keep their bookmarks and prefs in sync), tabs on top and tab pinning, and a host of under-the-hood updates.

Google's new Chrome browser icon

The new logo should work it’s way down into the beta and stable release version soon. While I had nothing against the old icon, the new version is definitely more recognizable in the OS X Dock. The only problem I see with it now is that it looks too much like Google Picasa.

Apparently Adobe is toying with the idea of producing a Photoshop file viewing app for Apple’s iPad. John Nack is asking on his Adobe blog if users would like to take it a step further as well, by allowing the user to manipulate layers, and more. Adobe is definitely in development for tablet devices, as evidenced by this report from MacRumors.

iPhone Apps:

Two nifty looking iPhone apps caught my attention this past week, both from RPA Technology. The first, Mobile Mouse Pro turns your iPhone into a wireless controller for your Mac. The combo desktop andiPhone app costs only $1.99 and looks to be uber cool. If you don’t require full control of your Mac, you can use the free Mobile Remote, which allows you to control a variety of audio and video apps on your Mac.

From the same company, Photo Keys offers iPhone users a companion tool to Adobe Photoshop on the desktop. Photo Keys puts the entire Photoshop toolbar, as well as many useful shortcuts right at your fingertips. Photo keys costs $2.99.

Bookmark Syncing with Xmarks:

Xmarks started out as a free extension for Firefox that allowed you to Sync your bookmarks between computers. Its popularity grew quickly, and soon there were versions available for Safari and Google Chrome as well. It was fantastic to be able to keep all my browsers on all my computers (Mac and PC) in sync. But just as soon as its popularity was exploding, they suddenly announced they were shutting down for financial reasons. Apparently, things have changed. According to reports, Xmarks has found a buyer and will make a lot of users very happy.

I’ve been using Google Chrome (developer builds, not the betas) for quite some time now, and made it my default browser within hours of installing it. Nevertheless, I’m going to remain unbiased in thoughts.

Below is my extremely thorough review and expert advice for which Web browser you should use in Mac OS X.

Chrome (most recent dev build or beta version)

Uber fast to launch. Smokin’ fast browsing speed. Compatibility is nearly perfect, but there are a few sites it doesn’t work with. Expansion via extensions is pretty good, and getting better every week. Frequent updates and improvements make it more fun to work with lately. The clean interface coupled with the speed make this my favorite, and you should use this as your main browser!
Download: Release Version | Beta Version | Developer Build

Safari 4.0.5

Looks great. Quite speedy. Completely lacks any usefulness beyond just surfing pages randomly. With no expansion opportunity beyond a few really crappy plugins, it’s feature-starved. Make it your backup browser though.
Download: Release Version

Firefox 3.63.

Looks clunky. Works clunky. Takes forever and 6 months to launch. It’s fast, but not as fast as Safari. The only real redeeming thing about it is the obnoxious amount of add-ons you can install to do virtually anything – which unfortunately makes it look and work even more clunky. Don’t bother with it unless you’re a geek and want all the extra add-ons.
Download: Release Version | Beta Version

Opera 10.52

Interface lacks polish. Just configuring all the options and preferences can take weeks. Speed ain’t all that. Buggy. It basically sucks and you shouldn’t even bother trying it.
Download: Shipping Version

The Rest of them

They all suck, don’t bother.
Download: Really, don’t bother.

Mac Web browsers

Firefox

In November of 2004, Mozilla released Firefox 1.0, and browsing the web on the Mac has never been the same. Tabbed browsing and the ability to add features to the browser via extensions quickly made Firefox a popular alternative to IE, Navigator and OmniWeb. It was fast, and free — two things that helped make it what it is today, which is the second most popular browser in the world.

OmniWeb

Despite its best efforts, OmniGroup simply never stood a chance. Charging for a browser was, and never will be, a popular or accepted idea. Despite this “deal breaker,” and only modest development the last few years, OmniWeb remains a pretty decent browser. It’s relatively fast, and still offers a few features not found natively in other browsers. In a classic case of too-little, too-late, OmniWeb is now free.

Safari

Apple generally focuses on speed, usability and a beautiful interface with its software. The release of Safari in mid-2003 changed the landscape of Web browsers on the Mac forever. A sleek and simple interface and raw speed covered the fact that the browser was actually quite under-featured. To this day, Safari still offers no official way of adding features (though there are several highly-popular plugins that use a workaround), but it continues to be the fastest browser available for Mac OS X. Safari has enjoyed a high adoption rate, due to the fact that it’s the default browser, and the only one installed on any new Mac.

Camino:

Due to Mozilla making all their code open-source, a number of browser developers have chosen to base their browser off the very same code that Firefox employs. The most popular of these to date has been Camino. With its native OS X interface and a speedy rendering engine, Camino is a popular choice for those seeking alternative browsers. The only real draw-back to Camino is that despite the fact that it’s basically Firefox under the hood, it does not support additional features via extensions.

Flock:

Billed as the “Social Media Browser,” Flock has gained quite a following among Twitter, Facebook, RSS, YouTube and Flickr users due to those services’ integration into the browser. Flock is another Mozilla-based browser, but adds a much more sleek interface, and numerous social media doo-dads. While I’ve found the browser to be speedy enough for most users, its biggest failure is the very set of features that makes it what it is. The social media features are all very basic in nature. If you’re heavily involved in social media, you’ll most likely find the features too lacking to get any value out of.

SeaMonkey:

Though the Netscape brand has long since been retired, the original Netscape Navigator Application Suite lives on in the form of the open source SeaMonkey. The Mozilla Ghecko rendering engine powers this suite of applications that includes a browser (Navigator), Email and Newsgroup reader (Mail & Newsgroups, similar to Mozilla Thunderbird), HTML Editor (Composer), and an IRC client (ChatZilla). Because the suite is all based on open source code, SeaMonkey is still under development. But most users will find that SeaMonkey underwhelming compared to the other options out there.

The rest:

The latest entry into the Mac browser market is perhaps going to have the largest impact. With the seemingly endless engineering brain-trust and virtually unlimited marketing power, you would think that when Google finally releases Chrome for the Mac, it’s going to make a big splash. As with all Google products, Chrome will feature a sparse GUI, and superb integration with Google’s online app offerings. Chrome is in early beta stages, so it’s difficult to tell how well it will perform. But with Google backing it, I can’t imagine it being a failure by any stretch of the imagination. There are several more options out there. Opera is a popular Windows browser that has a Mac version. In my experiences with it though, it suffers from feature-bloat like no app I’ve ever seen. It simply has too much in the way of customization! iCab has been around since before OS X. You’ve probably never heard of it, and there’s a reason for that; it’s lackluster at best. Then there are newcomers like Demeter and Shiira trying to break-in to the market. They’ve got an uphill battle ahead of them. What I fear is that while we expect more and more from our Web browser with every update, we are quickly approaching the very problem we had that brought on all these options to begin with. Feature-bloat. With Firefox and Safari being the only two guaranteed success’, one has to wonder if we really “need” all these offerings. Does having so many options with their unique features serve to do nothing but muddy the water, and force the more popular browsers to add more and more features, thus adding to the bloat? In short, I have to wonder; with all these browsers available to us, “are we there yet?”