Comments on: Apple takes Safari to Windows and iPhone

A beta version of Apple's Web browser is now available for Windows, and budding iPhone developers can use it to create applications.

[crescentdave]

Safari 3 for Window BUGGY

Safari BETA 3, lives up Apple's bad reputation of writing buggy Windows software on one of my XP (fully patched) home box. Unlike Opera and unlike Firefox, it did not install correctly, did not uninstall correctly and is unworkable. It had NO menu bar. None. Where the address box would be, was blank. All menu functions had roll-over effects, but no text and the drop down menus dropped, but had no text and didn't work either. The Google box was blank and didn't work. We're talking a solid, ugly, "brushed grey metal" tool bar of nothingness. The only thing that worked was the START page which happened to be the Apple site. You could use the page links in the browser window to navigate that site but nothing was possible outside of the page.

I uninstalled it and found out Apple's simply "does NOT work" beta Safari also:

1. Does not get rid of numerous registry entries.
2. Does not get rid of owner\application data\Apple Computer\Safari which contains two subfolders and numerous files.
3. Even with an uninstaller, leaves an entire folder of entries called "Bonjour" in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_SOFTWARE.

I rebooted, reinstalled the program and experienced the same "simply does NOT work" experience. So I'm done with it, for now. Beta must mean something really different to Apple than it does to Google or Opera or Firefox.

I did get it to work on anotherr machine, but it didn't handle javascript menus accurately (unlike IE, Firefox and Opera). So either Safari is right and the rest of the world is wrong, or it has a problem in this area. I'll go with the world.

I'll wait until they get things right in version 3 plus plus or 4.

[Jesus#2]

it's beta

That said.. I couldn't even try it at work.. Kept crashing when I enter
my username and password for the proxy at work.
Safari does not like proxies on the Mac either.. the really need to
fix that.

[book_geek]

haven't uninstalled... yet

Yes, I found the same thing. Major sites like Yahoo and Amazon come up mostly blank -- and these site are provided at install on the bookmark toolbar, so you think they would work well. Other small sites -- no content, forms did not display or I could not fill them in. Not a good choice for a first Windows public "beta" on this one. (I'm on XP SP2). Apple will get no converts to Safari today. Do they only test on in-house sites? :-) Will watch for update(s) to be posted over the next week or so.

[technewsjunkie]

I'm glad you're taking your time to review it. 5 minutes.

A) It's a Beta.
B) You've had it for how long?? It's only been out for HOURS.

[Lee in San Diego]

Count your blessings

Apple says that it beta, MicroSoft would say that it is release v1 :)

[CBSTV]

Safari beta working well here

I've been using the Safari beta extensively since it was posted on
Apple's web site this afternoon. I have experienced no problems
with installation or usage.

[crescentdave]

Got It On One Computer!!

Batting .333 on this beta release. Interesting, but has problems with sites, doesn't handle javascript nav buttons on some sites well, or at all. Positioning all off.

It doesn't follow windows protocol and it doesn't resize from any and all sides. It has it's own font rendering overlay which screws up Vista's native font handling.

I stand by my comments (and a few thousand more on various other sites). It's a pretty RAW beta. More like an alpha on the PC side of things. I have to think it was rush-released to coincide with wwdc 2007.

Bottom line? The reason why it's beta? It's obviously not ready for prime time, hearkening back to pre-Google and Firefox definitions of beta.

[tedk7]

What?

What the heck are you talking about? Google and Firefox don't get
to redefine what "beta" means. Beta means beta means beta. Use it,
check it out, don't rely on it. End of story.

Google and Firefox just leave "beta" on their finished products as a
disclaimer for when things go wrong, so they can still feel like they
are perfect and wonderful.

[Thought Police OMalley]

Safari 3 for Windows not that easy to use

it is supposed to have an easy bookmark import feature.

It does not.

I had to do File/Import and browse to where my Firefox
bookmarks where and then import them. After I did I did not see
them in the bookmarks menu. I had to click on "show all
bookmarks" to see "Imported Firefox Bookmarks" and then click
on that to open up my bookmarks. I want my Firefox bookmarks
as part of the bookmarks menu without clicking on "Show all
bookmarks" and I cannot see an option for that. It should not be
that hard, even Firefox and Opera are easier to use when
importing bookmarks. Safari for Windows seems to be harder to
use, more buggy, and the interface looks bad compared to
Firefox.

I'll give Safari a try, I know it is beta software, but damn, I expect
easier to use software from Apple. How do you OSX users put up
with Safari not being intuitive and buggy and hard on the eyes?

[Peter8105]

Blue screen of death

has appeared twice since I installed Safari for Windows. I have PC and my wife has a Mac. The Mac safari is much better than the Safari for Mac. I guess I will probably keep it on my system until the Blue screen reappears
Pete

[agentbb007]

Why do they care??

Why does every company want me to use their web browser?? Can someone explain how they make money off me using their browser?

[Wraith_X]

Brilliant

Apple are gearing this up for when iPhone users play with the
Safari browser on the iPhone and are seriously impressed. I
guess they are hoping for the same iPod/iTunes Combo. So it
will be iPod/iTunes/Safari. Then Windows users will see the
huge benefit in OS X because of the iLife suite.

As for knocking the fact that there isn't many plug-ins, that's
exactly what people said about iTunes - but now look at it, with
excellent plug-ins such as Last.fm and the ever-impressive The Filter

[trimtab]

Control

Whoever controls the browser controls the users and developers! Users *must* use your browser to get access to certain services. While developers *must* develop on/for your browser to get access to captured users.

This is only completely true with closed proprietary browsers like Internet Explorer and Safari. But is also true by default with Firefox, because Mozilla controls what is defined as the "official" version of that browser. The difference is that the Mozilla Foundation cannot hide things that users or developers would not accept because their source code is publicly viewable.

Microsoft and Apple on the other hand have placed controls and "lock ins" into their browsers that are not in their customers (users and developers) interest and can be expected to continue to do so.

[Llib Setag]

B-E-T-A browser for developers people...

Hello?
Safari for Windows is a BETA program released at a SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE for testing, finding bugs & making improvements...

Finding areas for improvement PRIOR to releasing Safari for Windows to PUBLIC IS A GOOD THING PEOPLE! (something that Redmond Microsloth should look into...)

BETA osftware is for developers NOT the general public to put on their home computers...UNTIL certified GOLD PUBLIC RELEASE is made by Apple...

D'oh!

"idiots" Napoleon Dynamite.

[louismanges]

Wow

Did you know that your name spelled backwards is Bill Gates?

On Apple's site they refer to it as a "PUBLIC BETA" not a SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS beta, and they claim that it "IS" the fastest and easiest to use Web browser IN THE WORLD. They don't say it WILL be or it MIGHT be, they say it IS.

So, if it's still in beta, isn't it a little early for them to make such claims?

Either way, I have a pretty fast computer, with a pretty fast connection, so a second here or there doesn't mean as much to me as being able to configure the browser the way I want to. So far Safari (whether on my Vista laptop or my eMac) still lags behind Firefox and IE. There are a number of very useful UI features in both FF and IE that are missing from Safari. And it usually seem to be that if simple UI elements are not in the current stable realease and not in the public beta, they ain't coming.

[frankwick]

not quite

this is a public beta. Apple is encouraging the public to install it. if it was for developers they would have a limited release like MS does.

This shouldn't even qualify as beta. This should be classified as an early alpha release.

I'm afraid Apple has taken a perception hit with this debacle.

[beubanks7507]

Look at it this way

Microsoft just releases to developers and often the software comes
out buggy in the end. The reason for this is that developers will
tend to fix small issues themselves to get on with writing code.
Ergo, small bugs don't always get fixed.
Apple specificly released this browser to developers but allowed it
to be released tgo the general public too. This way, they can find
all of the problems that a developer might over look as
insignificant.

[g8crapachino]

Wow just what the world needed...another browser.

The sad part is all the fan boys will see is "Apple" and think the world of if it even though it brings nothing significantly new.