metallicamaster3 Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 [newsimg]http://blogs.computerworld.com/sites/default/themes/cw_blogs/cache/files/u121/Safari-Webkit.jpg[/newsimg]Apple released Safari 3.1 yesterday with an updated rendering engine that makes the fastest Internet browser even faster. On top of that, Apple’s new browser includes some features that give an eye to the future of HTML 5 specification. It also adds some needed compatibility and bug fixes as well as some other new features that really make it a great everyday browser. For the uninitiated, Apple provides a great PDF overview of Safari. You can get the upgrade/installer from http://www.apple.com/safari/download/ which is about a 16mb download for both Mac and PC or simply update from Software Update. The installation is easy but strangely requires a restart on Macintosh and not on Windows. The interface and the experience are largely unchanged from Safari 3.0. Under the hood, however, Apple has made some significant changes that it has pulled from the latest builds of the open source Webkit engine. Webkit is the framework version of the engine that's used by Safari. Apple has added features like HTML 5 offline storage, media support and CSS animations and Web fonts, which you can test here if you are using Safari 3.1: http://webkit.org/blog/140/html5-media-support/ http://webkit.org/blog/138/css-animation/ Regarding standards, it leads the pack. It scores 75/100 in the latest Acid3 Tests, which is significantly higher than the previous version of Safari and other shipping browsers (Firefox 3 Beta 4 scores 68/100, the most recent WebKit scores 92/100). It also does significantly better than any shipping browser on the (perhaps biased as it is hosted at Webkit.org) Sunspider Javascript speed tests. While I spend 90% of my time on a Macintosh, I’ve also installed Safari on my Windows XP box to see how it stacks up against Internet Explorer, Opera and Firefox. In short, it works extremely well for everyday browsing. If you appreciate speed and efficiency or if you are using a slow or old machine, definitely give Safari a try. It also performs really well with lots of tabs open. While it does perform much better than the shipping version of Firefox, the speed improvements in Firefox 3 beta4 are neck and neck with Safari 3.1 – though Firefox 3 does consume more resources.One of the drawbacks of Safari has been the perceived “over-smoothing” or softening of fonts on the PC. While still smooth, Apple’s Safari 3 allows websites to specify fonts outside the seven web-safe font family fonts, which are downloadable on the fly. Unfortunately, Safari doesn’t have all of the add-ons that Firefox enjoys so it can’t be my everyday browser. The Google Toolbar is the one add-on that sticks out but I have about five others that I would rather do without. Furthermore, sites like many corporate Microsoft Exchange’s Web Outlook also use Microsoft’s proprietary DirectX technology – which isn’t included with any other browser except IE. The Web Outlook experience on Safari, while usable, leaves much to be desired. Finally, Opera offers things like direct torrent downloads that aren’t offered in Safari. Safari’s open source Webkit engine isn’t just used in Safari. It is the basis of the Web browsing engine in iPhone’s Mobile Safari, Symbian’s browser and the Google Android platform. It is also the basis of Adobe’s new AIR platform. With the latest 3.1 release, Safari shows, though its marketshare numbers don’t exactly prove it, that it is a force on the desktop as well. Link to comment
SbuxBlaze Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 I'm gonna install right now and see if it got any better Link to comment
rjohnstone Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 Font rendering on the Windows platform still sucks. It's ugly as sin. Plus it still tries to render web controls (i.e. Submit buttons, drop down menus, dialog boxes with the ugly blue glow) to look like Apple buttons. I have an idea... how about they let it render web controls the way the web designer implemented them. Safari 3.1 Firefox IE7 But it does run smoother than the previous version. Link to comment
Suzumushi Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 Good news.Im still using 3.1 (525.13) Developer Beta. Link to comment
kjohnson Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 I'll update this as soon as I can on HP the minute it returns from repair. XP machine I'm using doesn't seem to like anything newer that 3.0.4. Link to comment
Desides Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 Font rendering on the Windows platform still sucks. It's ugly as sin.Plus it still tries to render web controls (i.e. Submit buttons, drop down menus, dialog boxes with the ugly blue glow) to look like Apple buttons.Font rendering looks fine on Windows. Adjust the intensity settings in Preferences. IMO, Apple's imported font rendering engine looks better than anything Microsoft has done with fonts in XP and Vista.I have an idea... how about they let it render web controls the way the web designer implemented them.Firefox and IE use system native widgets too. Change your system theme and you'll see the widgets change. The difference is that Safari imports OS X's native widgets instead of using Windows' native widgets.What I'd like to know is, will Aqua Soft now use CSS properties specific to Safari 3.1, such as the new CSS web fonts feature? Link to comment
Levi- The perfectionist Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 firefox extensions work on safari now. true or false?... Link to comment
metallicamaster3 Posted March 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 firefox extensions work on safari now. true or false? ... This is absurdly false . Link to comment
Narfmaster Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 ...but strangely requires a restart on Macintosh and not on Windows...Not really, Safari is part of the system and its services are used in a multitude of applications. it would need a restart to reset them. On windows it's a secondary browser and and such, isn't used by anything else.Anyway, sweet new features. HTML and CSS are growing up... Link to comment
Ghostwalker Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 This is the first version that has worked for me since the very first one that came out. Fonts look fine here really nice, but until it can use extensions like Firefox it is pretty useless to me. Link to comment
wizard Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 I have an idea... how about they let it render web controls the way the web designer implemented them.No! In fact, I want Apple to make Safari splice the content on a web-page and apply it to the format and style of Apple.com's homepage . The funny thing is that the OS X version of Safari does allow some styling to form elements. I guess they are figuring out what the most efficient way of doing this on Windows is. Link to comment
ShadyApple Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Anybody know the name of the font safari uses? I'm not satisfied with the windows version of safari as of yet plus I'm quite comfortable with using firefox, I just want to use it's font, I'd appreciate it if anyone can send the font to my email at [email protected]. Link to comment
Ghostwalker Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Lucida Grande you can find it here...C:Program FilesSafariSafari.resources then just install it into your fonts folder. Link to comment
Jmymx1 Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Safari is great for a basic Internet browser. One thing I really hate about it is when it doesn't remember its window size and position. Other than that, its great. Link to comment
metallicamaster3 Posted March 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 All you PC users with safari, you are breaking the law!! Link to comment
metallicamaster3 Posted March 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Apple is seriously slacking :slant: In the meantime... Enjoy your Internet Explorer . Link to comment
ShadyApple Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Lucida Grande you can find it here...C:Program FilesSafariSafari.resources then just install it into your fonts folder. That's the thing I don't want to install safari on my pc, it would be more convenient if somebody sent me that font....please Link to comment
metallicamaster3 Posted March 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Here you are. http://www.jonmega.com/iceman/stuff/fonts/ Link to comment
Jmymx1 Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 If only there was 1 browser. That way, people don't have to choose which one is better, which one has more features, which one is customizable, which one is safer and etc. Look at how many browsers there are: Internet Explorer Mozilla Firefox Netscape Opera Safari Avant SpaceTime AOL Explorer Maxthon Slim Browser MSN Explorer Yahoo! Browser Ultra Browser 3B .........................and much more........................ Link to comment
metallicamaster3 Posted March 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 The ones that people actually use? only about, what, 5? Link to comment
ShadyApple Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 Firefox and IE are the two most used browsers for pc owners, Safari is closing in with about 5% of all users which isn't bad considering it came out just last year, still has ways to go. Link to comment
Jeter2Fan93 Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 All you PC users with safari, you are breaking the law!!Not anymore. Link to comment
metallicamaster3 Posted March 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 Took them long enough :confused: Link to comment
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