If you’ve missed the breaking news in the last few days… Apple has made a huge move – they’ve released Safari for Windows.
I scooted over to my Windows computer, did the quick download, and took this screen-shot:
The free download is available here.
Now, some people are downplaying the importance of this change, but for some people it’s very helpful – such as web developers. While it will not be a perfect rendering of websites in Safari on Mac (as most people currently use it) it will give web developers a glimpse at how sites probably show on Mac computers if they do not have one. Of course, on the flip side – there’s now a new browser variant that needs must be tested for.
On a business level, it’s downright smart. With Mac users growing, this gives Apple an opportunity to grab a few Windows users who want to get a ‘glimpse’ of what computing on a Mac (or at least web surfing) might be like. As a free download, it might be enough to give a little nudge in the Safari user base. I don’t think it will make a huge difference, or at least not quickly, but having access to alternatives is always good for users.
So, download it, try it, use it, test with it. But… keep in mind this is a BETA release. Which means that there are probably still issues to overcome, as this post rant on a message board talks about when it was discovered that there were security issues with the new Safari.
By the by… the main Apple site got a facelift in preparation for the release of the new Mac OS X Leopard. Very slick looking and nice graphic look to it all – though its a bit of a wait to load with all the new graphics (even on my cable modem).
~Nicole
And what sweet reality it is! http://thenewsroom.com/details/396038?c_id=wom-bc-js
I am so glad other developers are getting on this story. I have heard people downplay the importance of Safari on Windows, but I can honestly say that not having to find a Mac owner and not having to buy a Mac to test my designs is invaluable.
Of course, I do plan on buying a Mac (because they’re cool), but I think it is top class that Apple would produce a product made for cross platform compatibility that actually helps out the community that the software serves the most. Kudos to you for catching on to it.
New browser, new hack!
So, if you need to target Safari 3.0, the :first-of-type pseudo class hack can come to the rescue.
The cool part about Safari 3 — I mean, the seriously cool part — is that the Safari 3 engine will be used in the iPhone. We’re trying to make it possible to use SynchroEdit on the iPhone by making it possible to use SynchroEdit in Safari 3, and we’re making some good progress.
(*mutters about Liferea* I upgraded to Feisty earlier and it reverted to an older state so I lost a bunch of feeds, yours included. Back now though.)