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Yeah I had just grabbed it from Apple and am seriously debating on whether or not to install it.

I've downloaded it and my first impressions are:

Things I like:
1) It is definitely snappier.
2) The auto-fill address field is nice. I know that some people will say Firefox 3 already has this. However, it is actually a better implementation, IMHO. They took what was good about Firefox 3 (the autofill portion), added the nice thing about Safari (the first item is already loaded into the address field), and also added a Spotlight-esque feature (the categories of possible results).
3) Top sites is slick, cool, and useful. This is going to be a killer feature that the average person will come to LOVE about Safari when comparing it to other browsers.
4) Cover flow for bookmarks and history is nice.
5) Full history search. This is one of those things that we will come to wonder why it wasn't included all along and we won't know how we lived without it, similar to the way I feel when I'm on a Windows computer and I don't have Quick Look.


Things I don't like:
1) When you have more tabs than can be shown the ... that allows you to select the tabs that aren't shown is on the right hand side, even if the tabs that aren't being shown are on the left. I knew that the tab I wanted was to the left so that is where I looked. It took me a second to look over to the right and realize that the ... was something I should click. I know for a fact that it wouldn't pass the "Mom test."
2) Cover flow for bookmarks and history doesn't work at 100% yet. Most of my bookmarks did not load thumbnails, even after I clicked the page and displayed the bookmarks again.


Things I'm reserving judgement on:
1) Tabs on top. My first reaction is that I don't like these. Only time will tell if I really don't like them or if I'm simply not used to them yet.
2) Developer Tools. I simply haven't had a chance to play with them yet.



The bottom line is that this is the most significant update to Safari yet. I am very happy that they are pushing forward in this manner.

Later, Frank

Coverflow or TopSites ?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w6ouOfYhnk

various by CrunchGear  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABUky-JI3IU

another runthru http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds-tiHWqHkc

mrreet2001 wrote:

Develop menu (i assume is what you meant by "Developer Tools")has been available for years. It used to be the "debug" menu and could be enabled via the terminal. I am guessing it will be off on the final release. Beta 3 also had it on by default and off on the release if i recall.

No, I meant Developer Tools: http://www.apple.com/safari/features.html#developer

The ones listed specifically as new include Web Inspector, Elements, JavaScript Debugger, JavaScript Profiler, Databases, and Resources.

Frank

Downloaded, installed, trying it.

kman wrote:

I am glad that a certain site that lets you watch all of The Simpsons for free seems to be working again in Safari 4.

Might as well mention it (or one), it's legit, if NSFW.

http://www.southparkstudios.com/

I've had it freeze up with a beach ball (having to force quit) on youtube 2 or 3 times now.  Other than that it's working OK.

I have never used coverflow - in the OS or in iTunes.  It looks pretty, but I just don't find it to be practical for everyday use.  With a list view I can see 10-20 things at once - much less for coverflow.

Nefarious wrote:

G3's with built-in Firewire ?    That would include the gumdrop iMacs.

Only the later ones. (DV,DV+, DV SE and the Early and Summer 2001)

The theoretical slowest one would be the imac DV 400 (the 350 doesn't support tiger)

Also the imac g3 was available in speeds up to 700

Last edited by mrreet2001 (2009-02-24 1:42 pm)

Apple seems to have gone with a Chrome-ish interface in this beta (the lack of buttons + tab to the right of the screen).

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10170764-37.html

Another example besides Top Sites of Apple's polished user interface is the Cover Flow interface to browser history. I'm not a big user of history, so this looks cosmetic more than useful to me, but if you are going to use it, perhaps the visual images will help you find what you need more rapidly than scanning a list of text. A text search box also helps retrieve information.

As a visual person, I can vouch for that.

You can shrink Coverflow so only the resize toggle & search field remain if you want.

Donkey Butter wrote:

I wish apple would quit trying to jam cover flow down our throats. it has got to be the most useless way ever created to navigate.

they still haven't made it so that the downloads window closes after it's finished downloading. every other browser I have used has this and I really wish apple would get on board.

I like cover flow. I find it the best way to navigate image folders. History and book marks? I don't use those anyway so I don't really know on that.

I like that the downloads window stays open. It saves me from having to fish through the downloads folder.

I am not saying that you should like these things ... just that others do.

Last edited by mrreet2001 (2009-02-25 7:02 am)