Safari 4 beta
Careful! This post is looking a little old and could be inaccurate in many, many ways
This week saw the launch of Safari 4 beta and as a PC user this would normally pass me by without much thought. However with Safari 3 making the transition to Windows the browser is securing its place as a major player in the browser market irrespective of operating system.
Within the web community Safari has always been a popular choice due to its quick adoption of web technologies and of course being preinstalled on Apple computers which are the ultimate fashion statement for any web geek. As a PC user though I have rarely used the desktop version of the browser outside of testing purposes but must admit version 4 has some nice additions.
Most of Safari 4’s new features are workflow and UI improvements, with the native Windows chrome getting the most coverage, but the feature I have been most interested in is the Developer Tools. Now fully integrated into the browser the Developer Tools are essentially Firebug for Safari with many features present that it’s Firefox cousin boasts but with some nice extras that require extra plugins in Firefox. The presence of this feature will make browser testing and optimisation much easier but having to open the Web Inspector and then dock it to the main window every time you open Safari could get tiresome. Hopefully as Safari moves towards its full release the option to do this as default may appear.
Although the browser is certainly a step in the right direction and may arguably be the best available I will be sticking to Firefox as my main browser. This isn’t because Firefox or its plugins are any better than what is available elsewhere but it’s the fact that it’s all in one place. I have a browser set to my preferences, with the right plugins, settings and bookmarks as well as the knowledge of how to use the browser that all together gives me what I need to do my job quickly and effectively.