Ever since I started using Windows 7 beta I found myself going back to Internet Explorer. The Win7 beta had an 
interim version of IE8 installed and it was hell using it. But for some reason, I was using it every single time I was on the PC.
Then came Windows 7 RC1. The IE8 that came with it is the final release version of the browser. It did manage to resolve most of the bugs that I encountered on the interim version. But it brought forth new ones.
And so, starting today I finally decided to go back to some of my previous browsers of choice.
So here’s how this would work. Over the next days/week I would be using one browser per day, doing ALL of my internet activities solely on that browser. At the end of the day I would be posting my thoughts here on this blog as well as any issues that I have come across in using that browser.
I wouldn’t be using any benchmarking tools with this test. Just plain (no-mercy) usage. I’d be using the browsers with my normal day-to-day activities on the internet. In other words, just like a casual user. With a twist: I’d be trying to ‘break’ the browsers as much as I can.
Day 1: Safari 4 Beta
I would be starting off with the Safari browser from Apple. For this little experiment I would be using Safari 4 which is still in beta stage. Since I would be running it on Win7 RC1, I’d be testing Safari 3.0 as well in case I’d run into too much problems with the Safari 4 Beta.
Safari is the flagship browser for Apple computers. Starting with version 3.0 it has been made available to Windows users and it was widely met with favorable reviews.
Version 4.0 is still in its beta stage but it is currently prominently displayed as the primary download on the Safari drop off page. The stand alone (no QuickTime) exe file is roughly 25.5MB.
The installation went without any problems (take note: I’m installing the browsers on Windows 7 RC1) and I was soon enjoying the new browser.
The first thing I noticed was that it didn’t provide any means of importing favorites, cookies, etc from another browser. There was prompt during the installation process, and no option for such on the menus either. Aside from this, it also doesn’t ask you whether or not you want to set it as the default browser, which I thought was very unpretentious of them. However, these little deviations would surely be a deterrent for some casual users. Of course this is merely a beta version so I guess they’d probably put those in the final release.
After manually setting it as the default browser I opened up my usual web pages, making sure I had plenty of tabs opened. Safari 4.0 features a new look. It now supports Aero Glass, which was a welcome change. No longer does it seem out of place within the Windows environment.
The standard features common to new generation browsers are all present. The tabs feature is implemented differently (more on this later) but is surprisingly more intuitive than the one on Chrome. The 
Smart Address bar (AwesomeBar in Firefox), is also a great enhancement. It dynamically updates the address bar dropdown as you type, displaying a mix of possible matches based on you browsing history and bookmarks.
The new interface sports the usual minimalistic approach, but frees up even more screen real-estate than before. The controls are all on a single strip, flanking the address bar. The status bar (turned off by default) has also been shrunk to almost half of those on other browsers.
Another one of my favorites on this browser is the updated “find” feature. It’s similar to the one on Firefox (and now on IE8). I often do a lot of searching through web pages I visit and I always found this new implementation to be quite handy.
The default ‘homepage’ is the interesting new Top Sites feature. on first use it displays several default bookmarks but after some time it begins to reflect your browsing history. An edit button allows your to pin and/or remove websites from the list (see image below).
Aside from the Top Sites feature, Safari 4.0 also used a Cover Flow interface on its bookmarks and history viewer, allowing users to flip through the bookmarked pages. Should be fun to see on a Windows Touch enabled PC.
Safari 4.0 also has Flash support right out of the box. But it fails in handling pdf files. Click on a pdf link and the browser crashes. No offers to download the file or any other way of handling.
There’s also something I found peculiar with the new tabs. I initially thought that they didn’t allow themselves to be moved around. Apparently they did, but you have to click and drag right at the upper right tip of the tab instead of allowing the dragging on any part of the tab (like in IE8). It’s a minor issue but it might be difficult to handle on Windows Touch.
Safari 4.0 boasts that it is four times faster than the previous version (which they in turn say is twice as fast as other browsers). It is largely attributed to Apple’s new JavaScript engine, Nitro. I think I’d have to agree. It definitely feels a little bit faster, snappier, although I do have to say that IE8 is already fast to begin with.
All in all I have to say that I’m quite happy with Safari 4.0. Even with a dozen tabs open I wasn’t able to crash it. It displayed my favorite websites correctly, even the ones that required ‘compatibility view’ in IE8. Definitely a browser I would recommend.
Want to try out the new Safari 4.0? Go to the Apple website to download this browser.
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Tomorrow on day 2 I’d be taking a look at the new Opera Browser.
Opera currently has version 10.0 in Alpha stage.
