Apple released Safari 4 yesterday after a beta-testing period since February. It is the first web browser to pass the Web Standards Project Acid3 test, which calls for the highest standards in the Internet languages of HTML, CSS, XML, and SVG.
Safari 4’s speed is mainly derived from its utilisation of Nitro, the new engine that runs JavaScript up to 4.5 times faster than Safari 3, four times faster than Firefox 3, and eight times faster than Internet Explorer 8. Safari 4 can also load HTML about three times faster than both Firefox 3 and IE8.
Safari 4 arrives with several new features to aid in web browsing. Top Sites gives a visual preview of the most-visited sites on that browser. Full History Search makes it possible to not only search through browsing history by title and address, but also the full text of the pages themselves. Cover Flow borrows the same visual from the latest version of iTunes, but instead of flipping through albums, users can flip through their favourites or history. Smart Address Fields complete website addresses based on previously visited sites. Search Fields remember past searches of the Internet and also use Google suggestions. Finally, Full Page Zoom allows users to zoom in on any part of a website while still maintaining a quality image.
Safari 4 will not only be compatible with the upcoming release of the just-announced Mac OSX Snow Leopard, it will run as a 64-bit application. The operating system enhances the browser’s performance, particularly the Nitro Javascript engine which will improve up to 50%. Safari 4 comes plug-in-ready, but rather than include the plug-ins in the processing of the web browser, Snow Leopard will make it a separate process. Because of this, Safari 4 will be very resistant to crashes, and if they occur a page needs only to be refreshed rather than shutting down the browser itself.
Safari 4 is available as a free download for Macs and PCs at www.apple.com/ie/safari.
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