Safari 3 Public Beta. Safari for Windows. Unfortunately this kills the best excuse corporate Web developers had for getting Macs (“we need to run all our supported browsers on one machine”).
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Safari 3 Public Beta. Safari for Windows. Unfortunately this kills the best excuse corporate Web developers had for getting Macs (“we need to run all our supported browsers on one machine”).
Wouldn't you still want to test in both operating systems?
David Robarts - 12th June 2007 00:05 - #
Yup, but that's probably not going to convince corporate IT.
> Wouldn't you still want to test in both operating systems?
Depends, I reckon. I don't test Firefox or Opera separately on Windows and Mac.
If there turn out to be know differences in the rendering engine, then yup. But otherwise it sounds like a waste of time.
On the other hand, people who can't or won't afford a Mac can now test with Safari, so it will be better supported, which is good for everyone.
Jon Leighton - 12th June 2007 09:06 - #
Yes, improved browser support from Windows-centric developers is a big deal. I liked John Gruber's take:
Seen how great Safari 3 is at css3? :)
Joost de Valk - 12th June 2007 15:03 - #
I think the interesting question is why have they released it? Assuming it stays free once out of beta (which, looking at the EULA, it may not), I'd have thought it would only damage sales of their machines.
All I can think is that they've got a bigger plan in mind, like trying to position themselves to make a push into web applications, with Safari acting as a delivery system for enhanced client-side interaction. Perhaps not, but certainly an interesting idea considering their ongoing friendship with Google, and that they're now pushing web apps as the development solution for the iPhone.
I use IE, Firefox, Opera, Webkit, and Konqueror on Linux all the time. Now, I concede that I'm running a more up-to-date version of Webkit than what's bundled with Safari, but it won't be long before it catches up.
Please do not hold your breath. You may believe Opera will become a "popular" browser, and yet most big new webapps could care a rats patooi about it.
Take, for example, the Opera 'feature' that causes it to break on long code lines. (Popular large website) that I work for/on was contacted by the Opera guys to get that fixed and we really couldn't be bothered, since it
Unfortunately, if Safari doesn't adhere to the standard standards (i.e., what works on IE + FF), then it will be forevermore a niche browser.
Bryan - 13th June 2007 00:53 - #