Safari 4 – Bloody Brilliant…

24Feb09

OK, here I go again. I just can’t take it anymore. It’s Safari 4 this time around. Everyone knows I’ve a sweet spot for Apple and Safari in particular. I was casually going through my RSS feeds and “Boom!”, I notice that Safari 4 is out with a Public Beta release. I’ve been using Safari 4 since its Developer Release, and believe me, I wasn’t expecting what I saw with the Public Beta. I download it that very instant and after installing, the moment the browser launched, I was completely blown away.

I particularly loved what Apple calls “Top Sites”. Opera, I know you guys came up with the “Speed Dial” bit, but frankly, it is UGLY! Mozilla, I know you guys “tried” to incorporate the same within Firefox, but honestly, I think you guys made a joke of yourselves. Lets keep Microsoft out of this for a moment. Safari looked so beautiful when it started, it was love at first sight. Here’s the screen shot of what you’re presented upon launching Safari.

A close second is the iTunes like “Browse” feature that lets you navigate between your history items. Apple is trying to bridge the gap between their products and let me tell you, they are doing a darn good job at it. Well, Microsoft, here’s what YOU need to learn. Have a consistent UI across your products. It’ll never work out if you still have the shitty looking Notepad and jazz up Microsoft Office 2007.

Safari 4 incorporates the Nitro Engine, and they claim it is 30 (THIRTY!!!) times faster than IE and 3 times faster than Firefox 3, which is amazing. Although I’ve heard a LOT about how Firefox 3 is the fastest browser on this planet and how it can even make your breakfast, personally, I’ve never felt that FF3 was even close to being fast. This is my personal opinion and I know lot of people would disagree. But a browser which is 3X faster than FF3 is always a pleasure to have.

Now for the stuffs that didn’t impress. The tabbed title bar which saw the light of dawn through Google Chrome isn’t very readable on Safari 4. Also, Safari 4 now caters the Windows Native Look and Feel. Apple feels “If you’re using Safari on a PC with Windows Vista or Windows XP, you’ll feel right at home”… Well, Mr. Steve Jobs, let me tell you something. The only reason people use Safari on Windows is because either they love the Apple’s Native User Interface, or they just want to forget for a moment that they use Windows. If you think this would please either one, well, you couldn’t be more wrong. I, for one, would love to have the old UI back.

In conclusion, I welcome Safari 4 with open arms. I’m sure it’ll be catering a wider audience this time. And, yes, the Windows version still has a “lotta” bugs!

Filed under: Apple, Safari   |  2 Comments