Screencast: First look at Safari for Windows

by Brad Linder Jun 11th 2007

You've probably heard by now that Apple has released the Safari web browser for Windows XP and Vista. Apple will eventually bundle the browser with iTunes and Quicktime, but you can already download a beta version of the application.

So we decided to take it for a spin.

Click To Play

On the one hand, competition in the web browser market is always good news. Safari is a fully functional, fast, and attractive web browser that's been available to Mac users for some time. Does it have anything special to attract Windows users? Right now it's hard to say.

One funny thing Mac users often complain that Windows programs ported to the Mac don't look and feel like Mac applications. Safari for Windows looks and feels like a Mac application. Some of the buttons aren't intuitive. That plus button at the top of the screen? It adds bookmarks, while Firefox users might thing it would open a new tab. And the only way to resize a window is by clicking on the lower right corner of the browser.

It should be interesting to see if Safari gets a graphics overhaul or any new features before the final version is released.

Edit: Toward the end of the screencast, I mention that Apple plans to bundle Safari with iTunes. It's not clear at the moment if this is just a rumor. During his presentation, Steve Jobs responded preemptively to any criticism that Apple doesn't know how to market to Windows users by pointing out that iTunes has been downloaded to over half a billion Windows machines. This may mean that Apple will use iTunes to spread the word about Safari. Or it may just be an example.

Tags: apple, browser, firefox, mac, safari, web browser, WebBrowser

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

weirdguy said 8:15PM on 6-11-2007

I Reeeeealy wish I could use firefox extensions with safari. Then I would be on it alllll the time.

Rob H said 10:09PM on 6-11-2007

I have often been wrongly put into the "Windows fanboy" box in the past, mainly due to my complete ignorance of the mac OS. I spend my days fixing home computers and maintaining the servers at my workplace.

All bar none of the home machines that I have fixed in the last year have been Windows machines (not all OS problems before the Apple fanboys pipe up ;) ) and my servers are mainly Windows 2003 server or Raq Cobalts.

Excepting iTunes I have never used an Apple app on a day to day basis, but at first glance Safari seems pretty damn good! On all my machines I keep IE7, Opera, and Firefox. I use them all pretty much every day with Firefox being my default browser on all machines. I tend to use Firefox the most as I like the layout and functionality, Opera for speedy surfing without multiple homepages to slow it down (as I have on FF), and IE7 just because its there! I'm sure I'll find a niche that Safari will fill in my browser compendium, even if that niche is just making others think that I've switched OS and am no longer the Windows fanboy they wrongly thought I was!

I also Yahoo widgets (previously Konfabulator) that without fail, convinces all untrained eyes that I am running Vista..... This will really fox em!

Danilo said 12:22AM on 6-12-2007

Very cool screencast indeed. Thanks!

mark rushworth said 4:38AM on 6-12-2007

didnt work on my vista machine http://www.markrushworth.com - for screen shots, also not installing in XP :(

mike said 7:39AM on 6-12-2007

Dude. Your resolution is fucked.

Criwil said 7:40AM on 6-12-2007

I wasn't anticipating excitement over Safari for Windows (even though I'm an Apple fan). But when I compared the browser speeds and found that Safari really was faster than IE or Firefox. and I REALLY LOVE THE FIND feature!!!!!

mattyohe said 7:40AM on 6-12-2007

You should have pointed out the Find feature a little more... It's a pretty dramatic feature that you totally overlooked.

Brau said 7:40AM on 6-12-2007

I don't recall Steve Jobs saying he was going to bundle Safari with iTunes and Quicktime, rather he said they were going to offer it on iTunes as a free download. He alluded that the bulk of iTunes downloads are to Windows users meaning they have the storefront to market this browser effectively. I personally note they could also add incentives to those who download if they really wanted to, something like credits toward a future purchase.

Acacia said 7:41AM on 6-12-2007

Love the fact that it's on Win now. It would however be even nicer if it didn't crash everytime I try to import/add/view bookmarks, or to be able to actually read forums and blogs with it.

ramcosca said 7:41AM on 6-12-2007

You don't need to move the tab to an empty space for it to make a new window, just dragging it off from the tab bar will do. Well, at least on Mac.

Anindya Biswas said 7:42AM on 6-12-2007

I used safari but some how firefox still rules

gooby said 8:11AM on 6-12-2007

I also found it interesting and useful that you can scale the size of your form textboxes on the fly. Kinda cool.

YeFFreY said 8:38AM on 6-12-2007

I've tried it for 30 minutes and then I've deleted from my Vista... It is ugly, really ugly, as you said, it is not a good visual integration... The installation wasn't ok, some things was missing, when you get the first time on a page that need a flash player, safari shows nothing, not even an information that a plugin is required... sad again (maybe this was because of my installation). an other thing is that when I made a search on google, the result page is messy, css problem ?? ok it is a beta, but I don't think I'll download the final version...

(Sorry for my english)

Andrew Shell said 8:43AM on 6-12-2007

I've found that safari for windows doesn't handle dual monitors very well. If you move the window to the secondary monitor and click maximize, the window disappears and you have to right-click on the taskbar button and close it.

Snipr said 9:10AM on 6-12-2007

I suppose it is just me then who's seeing the weird characters? Why is Safari not reading my default fonts and my setup language?!

Here's a screenshot of what junk it comes up with:
http://sniptools.com/toolsreviews/apple-safari-beta-for-windows

Jhon said 9:10AM on 6-12-2007

see http://photo2text.com/

jim said 9:10AM on 6-12-2007

I tried it and wasn't impressed. I'll keep using Firefox.

Brad Linder said 9:12AM on 6-12-2007

Snipr: This might help you with your display problems:

http://labnol.blogspot.com/2007/06/fix-fonts-issues-in-safari-3-for.html

Joshua said 9:19AM on 6-12-2007

One thing --- Safari does import your Firefox bookmarks...at least it did on mine with no user interaction whatsoever. Both my IE and Firefox bookmarks were waiting in the window when I started up Safari for the first time.

solsie said 9:19AM on 6-12-2007

Safari is faster than Firefox with a cost. See the memory consumption between the 2 HERE:

http://solsie.com/safari-firefox-memory-consumption-speed-gain-with-a-cost/

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