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Top 5 reasons why Safari on Windows is a failure
Posted On Jun 18, 2007 at by Prakash G.R.Disclaimer: Even on my MacBook I use Firefox rather than Safari because of the wonderful plugins that I need.
I'm using Safari on Windows since the day its announced (and switched back to Firefox today). There are some nice things about Safari (like Find) but I don't like the product as a whole. Here are top 5 reasons why Safari is not going to succeed:
5) Safari installs unwanted apps: The installer of Safari tries to install other unwanted software. (No. I definitely don't want Bonjour)
4) Safari doesn't import your settings from IE/Firefox: When I install Firefox, I remember Firefox giving me options to import my settings from IE. So that I don't have to loose any bookmarks. Safari doesn't do that. So I've to recreate all the bookmarks
3) Safari is NOT a fast browser: I don't know about the benchmark results. But the applications I use like Gmail, Google Reader takes more time to load than Firefox/IE. Googling around I found the real reason. More over, its neither a sleek browser. Even for the modest number of websites, the memory usage shoots up.
2) Safari is not a native Windows application: At least it doesn't looks/behaves like one. For example, its Edit > Preferences not Tools > Options, you can resize only from bottom right corner, ...
1) Safari's font rendering is pathetic: Perhaps besides the other reasons like Security/websites compatibility, if there is a single big reason a user is going to dump Safari on Windows, it could the font rendering. There are reasons why Apple selected this rendering. Honestly I don't give a shit about that. To me it should be easily readable in my screen and its not so.
I was wondering why the hell did Apple enters a game which it can't win? The reason is simple. Steve decided to close iPhone to third party applications and the only way to write apps is Web 2.0 and Safari is the only browser in iPhone. No Firefox/IE/Opera. So why should a developer write web apps for a browser that has a single digit market share? The only way to increase the market share is to let Safari go out of Mac and explore the windows arena. Is it going to work? Who knows? It might!!! Look at what people said when iPod was released.
Related Links:
Safari for Windows announced
Gmail extension for Firefox
Top 10 Firefox extensions I use
You enjoy what you're use to. Of course Safari is a failure in your eyes. Maybe not completely for the reasons you mentioned, but you've become a passionate user of Firefox. Its like asking a veteran VW owner to drive an Audi instead. Sure Audi may boast a better car while even being true, but to the owner VW is the best. Value is in the eye of the user.
Memory usage in Safari and FF are the same except for one difference. When Firefox is minimized it doesn't release memory unless I set a setting to do so. And even then it doesn't really do that completely, it just ramps back up after a few minutes. This does not happen in Safari. When Safari releases memory after being minimized it doesn't take it all back after a few minutes.
"2) Safari is not a native Windows application: At least it doesn’t looks/behaves like one. For example, its Edit > Preferences not Tools > Options, "
This isn't standard in any windows application, don't try and pretend otherwise.
Photoshop>Edit>preferences
Wordpad>View>Options
Flash>Edit>Preferences
Enjoy your shit blocky and incorrect fonts
[...] And these are the top 5 reasons from My Thoughts Blog: [...]
This isn’t standard in any windows application, don’t try and pretend otherwise.
Photoshop>Edit>preferences
Wordpad>View>Options
Flash>Edit>Preferences
Enjoy your shit blocky and incorrect fonts
Photoshop starts its way on Mac.
Sorry, stumbled on this link while looking for a Windows IE to Mac Safari import utility.
Had to comment.
5. Bonjour is not an App per se. Bonjour is a network protocol. It's known as Zero-Conf in other circles. It's an extension to TCP-IP that allows for ad-hoc networks and (more usefully) automatic network detection. HP supports Bonjour in their network printers. By default, when you plug a HP network printer in, You can automatically set up an IP connection to it from a mac via Bonjour without needing to know the IP address. The Mac just finds it.
4. Safari doesn't AUTOMATICALLY import your settings. I suspect File-> Import Bookmarks is available on the Windows version as well as the Mac. I'm importing Firefox bookmarks into Safari right now for a long time Windows user who is going back to the Macintosh.
3. YMMV. I've not used Safari for Windows but my colleagues have and they have said it's very fast. It also does a much better job at rendering HTML tests like the ACID suite than IE. Also, don't forget.. IT'S BETA!!!
2. No, it's not. Apple didn't port Safari out of the goodness of their hearts. They want to give users another taste of the MacOS experience. It's a recruitment tool for more converts.
1. Windows font rendering isn't all that great in general. Type looks much better on a Mac (I use both platforms). Not to mention.. IT'S A BETA. Seriously dude.. BETA BETA BETA. :-)
1-2-3-4 --> no &no&no&no
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