
Safari for Windows is out but should you use it?
I have been using the new Safari 3 for Windows for a few days now and I have to say that I’ve found it quite a bit faster than the other browsers. Is that enough of a reason to download it and displace Firefox and IE? One can argue NO, and here are just some quick reasons why:
- The new Safari is a BETA version and we all know beta just means having the outside world test your software.
- Simplicity is not always good. With Firefox and IE stepping up their features in their latest releases the new Safari seems to be missing a lot of the cool features we have all been accustomed to. Perhaps in the future Apple should consider a plug-in directory similar to what Firefox offers to allow users to add features they want. Some 3rd party plug-ins and hacks can be found here, but these are so far only for the Mac and lack the development support of Apple.
- As a Web developer you would seem to think this browser would help you test your sites to see how they would render on a Mac. Well that did not happen either because Apple tried to emulate windows browsers as much as possible.

To summarize, this Safari 3 Beta has provided some excitement in its speed and ease of use but it still has a long way to go if it wants to catch up with the other browsers and their plethora of features. Nonetheless, I will not uninstall it as I always need to be checking how sites render on different browsers and look forward to seeing what Apple includes in the feature complete version once it leaves beta.