![]() Therefore, rather than maintain two browsers with different feature sets (something that would only confuse consumers), and in the face of increasingly competent rivals, Apple chose to abandon Windows. That was, for the most part, no longer true by 2012, with vast improvements in speed, security, and extensibility introduced in virtually all of Safari for Windows' competitors. In justifying Safari's port to Windows, Steve Jobs and Apple made a big deal of just how slow and clunky Windows browsers at the time were. It's also important to note that the Windows browser landscape changed significantly between 20, thanks in large part to the late-2008 launch and subsequent rapid development of Chrome. That is if, considering how deep some of these features burrow into the OS, they could be implemented at all. So why kill the product? Apple hasn't officially explained its reasoning, nor is it likely to, but as we've seen from the evolution of Safari since that split in 2012, it's likely that Apple's broader ambitions for unique features like iCloud Tabs and Keychain Password Syncing probably weren't worth the effort to implement in an operating system the company didn't control. But as the days, weeks, and months rolled by, it became clear that Safari for Windows was likely dead. Initial speculation was that Apple obviously wanted to focus on the launch of OS X and needed to have Safari 6 ready for their own platform first, while the Windows version faced no such deadline and could wait. It was then updated quite frequently over the next few years, mostly in line with its OS X-based counterpart.īut things slowed down in early 2012, and when Apple released Safari 6.0 for Mac alongside the launch of OS X Mountain Lion in July 2012, the Safari for Windows download page remained suspiciously quiet. Safari for Windows launched as a public beta of version 3.0 alongside the OS X version. Steve Jobs unveiled the new browser version at WWDC 2007, telling the somewhat shocked crowd that since Apple already made one of the most popular Windows apps of all time (iTunes), they might as well try to make browsing the Web a better experience for Windows users, too. Apple for several years developed and distributed a version of its Safari Web Browser for the Windows platform. Those relatively new to Apple may be a bit confused: "Safari for Windows? Say what now?" But, yes, it's true. ![]() If only, I pondered, had Apple not abandoned Safari for Windows. I use Safari as my primary browser on all of my Macs, and despite its occasionally controversial history, I generally find it to be fast, secure, and able to handle all of my Web browsing needs. So all of this got me thinking, which is usually a pretty dangerous activity, about Safari. I really like the idea of Edge, and I can see where Microsoft is taking this new browser, but it's nowhere near ready for prime time, with an appalling lack of features and some frustrating rendering and performance bugs. One solution that might be the eventual answer is Microsoft Edge. And I've found that Opera, while interesting in some respects, doesn't play nice from a cross-platform perspective, with trouble syncing bookmarks and settings. Firefox is relatively slow in some tasks and I personally don't like its design. From huge memory issues, to frequent rendering crashes, to bugs with basic features like full screen mode, Chrome is often quite a mess in Windows.īut what other choices do I have? Internet Explorer is a dying browser, included by Microsoft in Windows 10 only for compatibility with the online business apps that require it. ![]() ![]() Chrome for OS X has of course been notoriously bad in recent versions, but the Windows version doesn't fare much better. I don't blame Google or Microsoft for this - this is pre-release software, after all, and I understand and accept the risk of things like this happening - but, as I searched for a temporary Chrome replacement, it got me thinking about just how much I dislike Google's browser. These days, the version of Windows I spend the most time with is Windows 10, and a recent update to a beta "Insider" build of the operating system brought Google Chrome crashing down. Due to both personal interest and professional requirements, I run several Windows PCs alongside my Macs, and I use Windows just about every day. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |