Loading ...Competition is good for innovation, and there is certainly competition in web browsers these days. It’s not that there’s much money to be made in the browser itself given these are “free” downloads, but the value of the ecosystem that browsers can control is immense. Browsers are the development platform and gateway to the cloud, thus if you control the browser, you theoretically control some cloud access.
At CES 2009, AMD demonstrated playing through a smartphone web browser, EA’s latest Mercenaries 2: World in FlamesTM. We also demonstrated watching through a smartphone browser a Hancock Blu-ray movie with the full menuing system. Both of these were streamed by the AMD Fusion Render Cloud reference design. So the browser matters. 
This makes me naturally quick to try the latest browser or major revision of one. I spent 24 hours with the Apple Safari 4 Beta and wanted to share my experiences. 24 hours on beta software isn’t the complete picture but I can get maybe 85% of my perspective in that time frame.
I want to do some level setting up front- this is a beta and therefore should have bugs, that’s natural and I thank Apple for doing a public beta. Secondly, browser choices are driven by personal needs and preferences like simplicity, speed, familiarity, add-on features, and even enterprise-mandated browser standards for full compatibility. But many people are oblivious and simply use the browser that was installed on their PC bought from a local retailer.
So these are MY views based on my history and usage patterns. I am primarily a PC user but also have two Macs. I primarily use Firefox but use Internet Explorer as the corporate front-end to SAP applications. I use Chrome also. I obviously use Safari on my iPod Touch (no choice) and prefer the integrated browser on my Bold, Storm, and G1 Android versus mobile Opera.
I did my 24 hours of testing on three systems:
- Hand-built desktop with Windows Vista Business Edition 32-bit, AMD Phenom TM 9850 processor, ATI Radeon TM HD 4870 graphics
- HP Pavilion dv5 with Windows Vista Premium 64-bit, AMD Turion TM ZM-80 processor, ATI Radeon TM HD 3200 graphics
- Fujitsu Lifebook 2110 with Windows XP Pro 32-bit, AMD Turion TM 64 X2 TL-58 processor, ATI Radeon TM Xpress 1150 graphics
Plusses
- Easy to install, no error messages. Apple must supercharge this download through a big-time caching service because it was FAST.
- Imported my Internet Explorer and Firefox bookmarks without issues into legible folders.
- Not a single lock up on 100’s of pages from many different sites.
- Full functionality on the many sites I visited with the exception of the two important sites listed below.
Too Early To Tell
- Meaningful speed. Reportedly faster than Chrome and that means real fast. I cannot tell the difference between the speed of Chrome and Safari 4, but folks I follow are citing tests that show it is. CNet UK says it is faster than Chrome while PC Magazine says that it still trailed Chrome on some key tests. But they both say it’s faster than Firefox but yet I cannot tell ANY real experiential difference.
- iTunes-like scroll bar (picture below). This is under Bookmarks. I may end up loving this but right now I just don’t know.
Improvements I Would Like To See
- Add-ons. This is just more of an issue with Safari in general, not Safari 4. Safari has add-ons too, but in my opinion, don’t have the depth or breadth I want. Every cool tool I run across, it seems like Firefox has an add-on immediately.
- Multi-tab Startup. I want to pre-load 10 tabs whenever I open the browser. I use my browser for real work and pong from tab to tab like a day-trader, but I am trading information. I cannot figure out how to do that yet with Safari 4, maybe I cannot.
- Forced application close: On Windows 64 install, shut down Tweetdeck and other browsers without prompting.
- A few bugs: Hey it’s called beta for a reason, to ring out some of the last issues. Blogger: comment validation error with perpetual “loading” message. WordPress: Perpetual loading of a few assets. Its a beta, live with it!
- Forward/Next page drop downs. This is truly personal and out of habit, but I want drop downs, not holding down the mouse button. See the difference below. I miss that.
Firefox
Internet Explorer
Safari
Conclusion
Safari 4 is an elegant and speedy browser and I am certain that Mac lovers will use it in droves — and maybe even a few iPhone/PC users if they see sufficient value in integration. I may fall in love with some of the more visual features at some point, but for right now, Firefox is fast enough for me, is easier for me to open my multiple tabbed workspace, and finally, for the kind of work I do, you can’t beat the Firefox add-ons. What are your thoughts on Safari 4 Beta?
Pat Moorhead is Vice President of Advanced Marketing at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
#1 by davesmall - March 12th, 2009 at 22:05
Pat – You can set up those ten sites that you visit frequently but in a little different way with Safari. When in the Top Sites page use the lower left hand Edit button to edit your Top Sites page. Click on the small size thumbnails in the lower right hand corner. This will give you twenty four page thumbnails. Now drag the images of those ten pages you visit frequently up toward the top of the page. Then anchor them in place by clicking the blue stick pin icons. From now on, Top Sites will come up whenever you create a new tab and you simply click on the page you want to visit. It works very well and very fast. I think you’ll like it if you give it a try. The ten pages you’ve anchored will always be at the top of your Top Sites page. The other 14 thumbnails will show the sites you’ve visited most recently. Very nicely designed.
#2 by dON - March 12th, 2009 at 22:05
“”"Multi-tab Startup. I want to pre-load 10 tabs whenever I open the browser. I use my browser for real work and pong from tab to tab like a day-trader, but I am trading information. I cannot figure out how to do that yet with Safari 4, maybe I cannot.”"
I believe you can do that directly in Safari Preferences: General. Check the options in the pull-downs (”"Choose tabs folder…”").”
#3 by AUDIguy - March 12th, 2009 at 22:06
“Isn’t the concern with the “”factory installed”" OS simply mainstream paranoia and fearmongering by the software giants that cripples most consumers interest in tweaking, upgrading or moving away from their normal OS?
Simply, do you believe people are too afraid to move away from what is perceived as normal? i.e. IE
As Google encroaches in this space, both in terms of OS and office apps, do you see a time when consumers will be free’d from their fear shackles and willing to embrace an open software environment?”
#4 by Bryan Bartow - March 12th, 2009 at 22:06
“While I’ve always been a proponent of the idea of Firefox, I’ve never been a fan of it’s performance. I have been using Safari as my primary browser since its version 1 release. I’ve tested every major version of every major browser on Mac OS X and Windows, but my day-to-day web browsing takes place entirely in Safari.
With that said, Safari 4 beta blows away every other browser I’ve used, in terms of speed. It makes Safari 3 on my MacBook Pro look like a snail.
Some don’t view Safari as a viable browser option because of its limited selection of add-ons or plugins, which is a valid point. Because the only add-on I use is AdBlock (which is available for Firefox and Safari), this is not a concern for me.”
#5 by mark - April 26th, 2009 at 20:02
once it has true add-on support there is no way to stop safari.
firefox is just horribly broken not just on windows, on linux and OS X it’s even worse!
adblock is Mac OS X only for safari, with firefox it’s cross-platform (for 80% of the plug-ins).