Safari 4 beta

Superkid11 · #1 February 25, 2009, 11:13 AM

Apple released the Safari 4.0 beta. I just now installed it, seems fine so far, though the new tab placement is a little much I think. How's it working out?

Danny Stewart · #2 February 25, 2009, 11:23 AM

That's Safari 4 beta, not 4.0 beta.

Anyway, things are good here. I've had it installed since the second it came out. The new tab placement is taken from Google Chrome, really, and of course it will take some getting used to, but I think it makes a lot of sense, and I'm all for consolidation of visual space (which this provides), so I'm happy to adjust to the change. The only thing I don't like is not being able to easily rearrange my tabs anymore (having to grab them by the little corner handle is severely irritating).

Other than that, it seems a substantial improvement, I'd say. Speed has certainly improved, and the addition of full text history searching and cover flow will probably turn out to be useful when they're needed. The new pop-down searches from the URL bar and Google Suggest in the search bar are welcome additions as well. Overall, Safari 4 is a winner.

Here are some articles that are interesting:

http://swedishcampground.com/safari-...en-preferences

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...w_leopard.html

http://smokingapples.com/software/ti...ld-you-use-it/

And an example screenshot of Safari 4 on Windows XP:

http://img.skitch.com/20090225-estaf...urb1mw9cdw.png

Jamie Minty · #3 February 25, 2009, 2:20 PM

Sounds cool! I can see a little screenshot on the Apple Homepage. Has it got iTunes windows on it, that separate your tabs!

I'll get it installed later!

Danny Stewart · #4 February 25, 2009, 3:08 PM

Here's a better screenshot, taken on Mac OS X this time.

Chris Britton · #5 February 26, 2009, 7:58 AM

Originally Posted by Danny Stewart

Here's a better screenshot, taken on Mac OS X this time.

Will go and check this out, my current version of Safari has a habit of misbehaving.

When do you plan to get the Apple Logo Tattooed on your forehead, Danny?

Danny Stewart · #6 February 26, 2009, 11:15 AM

Pro tip: Top Sites makes a good replacement for the Bookmarks Bar. For maximum browsing space, turn off the Bookmarks Bar and set your home page to topsites:// -- if you need to get to Top Sites in a hurry, add the Home button to your toolbar; then your favorite sites are just a click away.

EDIT: What does that look like? Here's an example.

Superkid11 · #7 February 26, 2009, 1:38 PM

It's... beautiful...

Though topsites tends to vary depending on what pages you've visited. Can you set it to stay on certain pages?

Danny Stewart · #8 February 26, 2009, 3:12 PM

Originally Posted by Superkid11

It's... beautiful...

Though topsites tends to vary depending on what pages you've visited. Can you set it to stay on certain pages?

Do you not pay attention? That's kind of the entire point of my tip, silly.

Just click Edit at the bottom and you can set them to whatever pages you want.

Ronnie Rowlands · #9 February 26, 2009, 3:22 PM

hmm, how does one go about dragging the window around the screen if the entire toppy grey thing is made up of tabs?

Danny Stewart · #10 February 27, 2009, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by Ronnie Rowlands

hmm, how does one go about dragging the window around the screen if the entire toppy grey thing is made up of tabs?

95% of the title bar still drags the window. You have to grab tabs by the little corner handle to rearrange them, as I said in my post above.

Video demonstration: http://www.dannystewart.com/video/safari.mov